Transit Connect Van

[Bill B]

In the U.S., the Transit Connect is only available with an Auto. If you get one in the UK, you can get one with a manual. I guess Ford sells what U.S. buyers want. Click on link below for photo. The steering wheel is on the right. Would be hard to get used to shifting with your left hand.

http://www.ford.co.uk/CommercialVehicle ... Experience

[theholycow]

I wonder if it's sufficiently similar to transplant the transmission.

[tankinbeans]

Ford's corporate face looks downright goofy on the Transit Connect. I saw one yesterday while my brother and I were out and about looking for conveyances.

[pirripal4]

I shift gears with my left hand

[DrJerryrigger]

I shift gears with my left hand

That would really mess up my posture (after all I'm trying to look as much like this a possible)

[Squint]

I shift gears with my left hand

That would really mess up my posture (after all I'm trying to look as much like this a possible)

You want to look like a pacifier?

[DrJerryrigger]

I shift gears with my left hand

That would really mess up my posture (after all I'm trying to look as much like this a possible)

You want to look like a douche canoe?

Fixed, and isn't that everyone's primary reason for driving stick.

[MisterTwo]

UK also gets a diesel option that we don't...

[Rope-Pusher]

I shift gears with my left hand

That would really mess up my posture (after all I'm trying to look as much like this a possible)

Shave your head - it's the new comb-over!

[pirripal4]

I shift gears with my left hand

That would really mess up my posture (after all I'm trying to look as much like this a possible)

In the opposite case, I've been wondering what it would be like for me to shift with my right hand...every time I try to think about it, it feels strange for some reason.. probably how you feel about shifting with your left hand

[tankinbeans]

I'd have to resist the urge to start in fifth and work backwards. To me shifting gears away from my body is more intuitive than toward my body. Then again I grew up here and don't have experience with anything else.

[Rope-Pusher]

I'd have to resist the urge to start in fifth and work backwards. To me shifting gears away from my body is more intuitive than toward my body. Then again I grew up here and don't have experience with anything else.

It seemed so awkward shifting RHD minivans that we built a shifter with the pattern flipt left to right:

5 3 1

R 4 2

It was so much easier for us to shift that we thought we might be onto something, but we never pursued it further:
1) We were solving a problem that wasn't much of a problem - Nobody in RHD countries is crying for an answer to their shifting woes.
2) Talking to some engineers from Lotus Engineering, they said that although it was an ergonomic improvement, placing the gears with the most usage and the highest shift efforts closer to the drivers body, they were not aware of any other company offering a vehicle with such a shift pattern.

We didn't want to offer a product that was so different it might cause issues..and potentially get sued for doing so. We used that special shifter for our own purposes, but never pursued releasing it for production.

[Tups]

According to Wikipedia:

To circumvent the 25% tariff on imported light trucks, Ford imports all Transit Connects as passenger vehicles with rear windows, rear seats and rear seatbelts. The vehicles are exported from Turkey on cargo ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, arrive in Baltimore, and are converted into commercial vehicles at WWL Vehicle Services Americas Inc. facility: rear windows are replaced with metal panels and rear seats removed (except on wagons). The removed parts are then recycled. The process exploits a loophole in the customs definition of a commercial vehicle. As cargo does not need seats with seat belts or rear windows, presence of those items exempts the vehicle from commercial vehicle status. The conversion process costs Ford hundreds of dollars per van, but saves thousands over having to pay the tax. Partly because of this, only the long-wheelbase, high roof configuration is exported to North America. In most places, the high-roof Transit Connect, like most Ford Econoline vans, is unable to access multi-story parking because of its height of 1.98 m (6′ 6″).

It's good to know Finland is not the only country with a history of tax evasion. We used to do that for American vans (replace rear seats with "hard" ones in order to avoid some taxes)... :D

I once thought about buying the first-generation Transit Connect as my next car. It's handy but boring, so it would keep me from driving too much. Also, being a van, the diesel tax would be a bit smaller, so I would save in the overall fuel costs (as diesel is considerably cheaper than gasoline).

[Rope-Pusher]

According to Wikipedia:

To circumvent the 25% tariff on imported light trucks, Ford imports all Transit Connects as passenger vehicles with rear windows, rear seats and rear seatbelts. The vehicles are exported from Turkey on cargo ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, arrive in Baltimore, and are converted into commercial vehicles at WWL Vehicle Services Americas Inc. facility: rear windows are replaced with metal panels and rear seats removed (except on wagons). The removed parts are then recycled. The process exploits a loophole in the customs definition of a commercial vehicle. As cargo does not need seats with seat belts or rear windows, presence of those items exempts the vehicle from commercial vehicle status. The conversion process costs Ford hundreds of dollars per van, but saves thousands over having to pay the tax. Partly because of this, only the long-wheelbase, high roof configuration is exported to North America. In most places, the high-roof Transit Connect, like most Ford Econoline vans, is unable to access multi-story parking because of its height of 1.98 m (6′ 6″).

It's good to know Finland is not the only country with a history of tax evasion. We used to do that for American vans (replace rear seats with "hard" ones in order to avoid some taxes)...

I once thought about buying the first-generation Transit Connect as my next car. It's handy but boring, so it would keep me from driving too much. Also, being a van, the diesel tax would be a bit smaller, so I would save in the overall fuel costs (as diesel is considerably cheaper than gasoline).

I blame the chickens!

"The chicken tax is a 25% tariff on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks imposed in 1963 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson in response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken"