Topic: CD Article: 2010 Ford Transit Connect

[Shnak]

As someone pointed out in the article's comments, these arrive to Canada equipped as passenger vans, with windows, benches and carpets. All of this is then ripped out, shredded and sent to recycling.

That has to be one of the stupids things I read in a while
And I though Cord had the funniest stories out there

http://www.greencarreports.com/review/1021043_first-drive-2010-ford-transit-connect_page-3_3

To avoid the notorious chicken tax, Ford ships all Transit Connects into the US with a rear bench seat. For cargo versions, that seat is removed when the van lands at Baltimore or Los Angeles and immediately recycled.

Also, from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit_Connect

All North American Transit Connects start their lives as this Tourneo Connect to circumvent the 25% chicken tax if imported from Europe as a commercial van instead of as a ′wagon′
.....
To circumvent the 25% tariff on imported light trucks (known as the 1964 Chicken tax), Ford imports all Transit Connects as passenger vehicles with rear windows, rear seats and rear seatbelts.[11] 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.[11] The removed parts are then recycled.[11] The process exploits a loophole in the customs definition of a commercial vehicle. As cargo doesn't need seats with seat belts or rear windows, presence of those items exempts the vehicle from commercial vehicle status. The process costs Ford only hundreds of dollars per van, but saves thousands.


Interesting read...
To Outfox the Chicken Tax, Ford Strips Its Own Vans
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125357990638429655.html

[Ex-airbalancer]

If this is true, it is stupid
Cord give us the scoop

[Leviathan]

NSFW http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdnXYWSa56w 

[vdk]

NSFW http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdnXYWSa56w 

  Good night! Keep that chicken!

[Cord]

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/22/report-all-ford-transit-connects-arrive-in-u-s-with-full-inter/

The law of unintended consequences is a funny one. Take the chicken tax. Back in the 1960s, West Germany imposed high tariffs on American grown chicken. President Johnson – a man you would not want to mess with – fought back by imposing high import tariffs on foreign made trucks and commercial vans. This is one of the reasons why there are no full-size German pickup trucks. It's also why German egg yolks are orange while ours are yellow (grass fed chicken vs. corn fed chicken), but that's another story. The only reason we have the Toyota Tundra and the Nissan Titan is because those companies decided to make them here in the U.S. Otherwise they'd be too expensive. This poses a real problem if you're Ford and you want to bring in your made-in-Turkey Transit Connect van.

How to circumvent the law? There's all sorts of creative ways. Up until just recently, Chrysler's been selling Sprinter vans here in the States by shipping them unassembled to a factory in South Carolina where the vans are reconstituted and shipped to dealers. Ford's taking a slightly different approach. They actually ship the Transit Connects here with the vans classified as wagons. Then, once they reach a processing facility in Baltimore, they are transformed into cargo vans, totally side-stepping the Chicken Tax. Smart, huh?

[PJungnitsch]

That chicken tax also complicated Fords plans for the Ranger replacement. They probably would have brought in the 'Thai Ranger' a long time ago otherwise.

[Honda Owner]

I saw two Transit Connects on my travels today, one with a courier and the other a florist. I have also seen several with catering companies. This vehicle is perfect for a congested place like Vancouver when all you need to do is light deliveries.

I doubt anyone buying one gives a hoot about 0-100km/h times or towing capacity.

[Ex-airbalancer]

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/22/report-all-ford-transit-connects-arrive-in-u-s-with-full-inter/

The law of unintended consequences is a funny one. Take the chicken tax. Back in the 1960s, West Germany imposed high tariffs on American grown chicken. President Johnson – a man you would not want to mess with – fought back by imposing high import tariffs on foreign made trucks and commercial vans. This is one of the reasons why there are no full-size German pickup trucks. It's also why German egg yolks are orange while ours are yellow (grass fed chicken vs. corn fed chicken), but that's another story. The only reason we have the Toyota Tundra and the Nissan Titan is because those companies decided to make them here in the U.S. Otherwise they'd be too expensive. This poses a real problem if you're Ford and you want to bring in your made-in-Turkey Transit Connect van.

How to circumvent the law? There's all sorts of creative ways. Up until just recently, Chrysler's been selling Sprinter vans here in the States by shipping them unassembled to a factory in South Carolina where the vans are reconstituted and shipped to dealers. Ford's taking a slightly different approach. They actually ship the Transit Connects here with the vans classified as wagons. Then, once they reach a processing facility in Baltimore, they are transformed into cargo vans, totally side-stepping the Chicken Tax. Smart, huh?

SO would that be true for Canadian Transits?

[Rupert]

This vehicle is marketed elsewhere as a family oriented recreation vehicle...hence the rear seats and windows presumably. In this guise towing is a pre-requisite I would have thought. So that thought might have been put into this mode as a development of the product. Anyway, for small trailers there is not much out there that fits the bill very well if you discount pick-ups, SUVs and ordinary cars. Internal vehicle stowage is required to cary some stuff. The Caravan does a decent job but is a little long.
Commercial users would probably not need this ability.

[Cord]

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/22/report-all-ford-transit-connects-arrive-in-u-s-with-full-inter/

The law of unintended consequences is a funny one. Take the chicken tax. Back in the 1960s, West Germany imposed high tariffs on American grown chicken. President Johnson – a man you would not want to mess with – fought back by imposing high import tariffs on foreign made trucks and commercial vans. This is one of the reasons why there are no full-size German pickup trucks. It's also why German egg yolks are orange while ours are yellow (grass fed chicken vs. corn fed chicken), but that's another story. The only reason we have the Toyota Tundra and the Nissan Titan is because those companies decided to make them here in the U.S. Otherwise they'd be too expensive. This poses a real problem if you're Ford and you want to bring in your made-in-Turkey Transit Connect van.

How to circumvent the law? There's all sorts of creative ways. Up until just recently, Chrysler's been selling Sprinter vans here in the States by shipping them unassembled to a factory in South Carolina where the vans are reconstituted and shipped to dealers. Ford's taking a slightly different approach. They actually ship the Transit Connects here with the vans classified as wagons. Then, once they reach a processing facility in Baltimore, they are transformed into cargo vans, totally side-stepping the Chicken Tax. Smart, huh?

SO would that be true for Canadian Transits?

Just speculating, but I doubt that Ford would develop a separate channel for bringing Transit Connects into Canada vs. the U.S.

So yes, I would expect it to be the same for Canadian Transits.

[G0dspd]

The rear windows are removed and replaced by a sheet of metal that's quick cured in place. The rear seats and seat belts are then removed and a new floorboard is screwed into place. Voila – five minutes after they start as five-passenger wagons, Ford has a bunch of two-seater panel vans. The seats are then shredded and the material is used as land fill cover. No word on what happens to the glass. Long story short, take that chicken tax!

If the seats are "designed" to become land fill cover, they must be very basic (2 pieces of foam glued together) and unsalable to the general public.

I guess the seat belts and the glass can be reused on something else.

[rrocket]

The rear windows are removed and replaced by a sheet of metal that's quick cured in place. The rear seats and seat belts are then removed and a new floorboard is screwed into place. Voila – five minutes after they start as five-passenger wagons, Ford has a bunch of two-seater panel vans. The seats are then shredded and the material is used as land fill cover. No word on what happens to the glass. Long story short, take that chicken tax!

If the seats are "designed" to become land fill cover, they must be very basic (2 pieces of foam glued together) and unsalable to the general public.

I guess the seat belts and the glass can be reused on something else.

Not necessarily true.  As you know (or don't?) one of the top products made by recycled plastic water bottles is.......fleece clothing.  There are plenty of new tech ways to make things now making them more "green".

[Honda Owner]

As usual, we Canadians are being Royally Ripped Off, the Transit Connect bases at a cool $6k less in the USA than Canada.

[Rupert]

A $960 flat panel TV in the US costs about $1600 here. This is even worse.

[Ontariodriver]

They selling like hot cakes. 

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090901/AUTO01/909010384

Ford Transit Connect sales top 2,000 in August

Associated Press

Dearborn -- Ford Motor Co. said Monday it sold more than 2,000 of its new Transit Connect commercial vans in the vehicle's first month of sales.

Ford said small businesses and fleet customers snapped up the van in August, with some vehicles selling in fewer than 10 days after arriving at dealerships.

Ford is planning on introducing an all-electric version of the Transit Connect in the U.S. next year. The automaker also hopes to have a passenger version of the vehicle geared toward families on the road soon.

Advertisement
 

The existing commercial version gets 22 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg on highways.

Shares of Ford fell 23 cents, or 3 percent, to $7.50 in afternoon trading as the broader market slumped.

[Mitlov]

They selling like hot cakes. 

If I was, say, a florist (want tons of interior room but don't need a ton of power), a Transit Connect would replace the Mazda5 as the most useful vehicle on the North American market.  Great vehicle for small businesses.  I'm still not sure how well it would do with private buyers, but its value to business owners is undeniable.