Ford Bolsters Commercial Truck Lineup With Three New Offerings

Ford Motor Co.'s Commercial Truck arm officially added three van-based products to its sales-leading list of vehicles late Tuesday at the National Truck Equipment Association's Work Truck Show in Chicago.

All have gasoline engines and automatic transmissions, with executives making no mention of diesel power except that none will have diesels, at least initially.

Described and displayed in Ford's booth were:

* New-for-North America Transit Connect, a compact van derived from its European stable. It goes on sale this summer as a 2010 model, and will use a 2-liter inline-4 engine with a 4-speed automatics transmission with EPA economy estimates of 22 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. In Europe it's sold with a small diesel and a manual transmission, which executives said would not sell well here.

* A 2011 F-59 Super Duty commercial stripped chassis, covering Classes 4 and 5 and standard with Ford's 6.8-liter Triton V-10 gasoline engine and a TorqShift 5-speed automatic. A Triton V-8 might be available later, but executives wouldn't comment on any future diesel power, except that the current Power Stroke V-8, which Navistar will stop supplying to Ford in December, will not be available.

* A 2010 E-Series Super Duty Ambulance Preparation Package powered by a 6.8-liter gasoline V-10 gasoline engine, available in van or cut-away configurations. It weighs 550 pounds less and is priced thousands of dollars less than a similar chassis with the Power Stroke diesel.

Ford remains committed to the Blue Diamond collaboration with Navistar International, assuring a continued offering of Super Duty F-650 and F-750s in the medium-duty segment, according to Len Deluca, who heads sales for Ford Commercial Truck. In January, Navistar announced it was taking a majority share of the joint venture, which assembles the Class 6 and 7 conventionals using a Navistar chassis with Ford cabs and electrical systems and Cummins diesels, and other components.

With a current 40 percent market share in Classes 2 through 7, Ford is America's commercial truck leader and has been for 24 years, Deluca said. In cargo vans it has led the market for 30 years. The three new vehicles will help the company and its dealers maintain that sales lead.

Ford expanded its presence at this year's NTEA show, which opens today, with a significantly larger display and event luncheon, reinforcing its commitment across multiple product segments of the commercial vehicle industry and to the body builders and upfitters that tailor Ford products to specific applications, executives said. It aims to demonstrate the technologies that help customers work smarter while using NTEA as a forum for listening to customers' unmet needs and to help lower their cost of ownership and further improve productivity.

On Tuesday, Ford Commercial Truck also shared elements of its 2010 Federal Diesel Emissions strategy, with specific emphasis on "what the upfitters need to know." Stevens described Ford's Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) after treatment and system and the implications for body builders and the upfit industry. Ford Commercial Truck will meet or exceed all applicable emission standards, and will provide robust solutions to meet the new requirements in the 2010 calendar year.