madlock

Hey! Great idea. Rather than posting your own set of seats for sale, why not just just wait and jump on responses to anybody else's advertisements instead? Thanks a lot.

I do. PM forthcoming.

Complete 2nd Row Seat Set from 2010-2013 TC Wagon including seatbelt hardware and headrests. $500. Pulled out from a new TC wagon and stored wrapped in plastic. The ideal way to gain maximum flexibility from your TC Cargo Van. Simple bolt-in installation. 15 minutes. Located in North Dallas. Delivery within 20 miles possible. Otherwise local pickup or actual shipping cost surcharge within the 48 continental states.

I am offering a complete set of Transit Connect XLT rear seats compatible with all vehicles through 2013. The seats were removed upon purchase and have been cellophane-wrapped in storage since. Core side seatbelt mechanisms avaialble - individual fasteners may require dealer ordering. Local pickup witihn NJ. Freight Shipping within the 48 CONUS at actual cost.

Believe me, I gave it some thought. Unfortunately, Ford not only announced the Transit will have the 3.5 L EcoBoost engine, but so will the Explorer Sport, either of which I could've made work for towing. :( On the flip-side, the E-Series is about as bulletproof as a Crown Vic, and nobody REALLY knows what the Transit's full potential will be. So, apart from maybe needing to live with a somewhat archaic engine, all I risk is a little depreciation if I wind-up trading up to the full-sized Transit if the new global version turns out to be everything I hope. Walking away would've been just plain wrong. The dealer ordered it for me at my request and used an allocation to get it, and I had already received a VIN when Ford made the other announcements. It also has SYNC and navigation, something very few cargo van buyers want, which is why literally none exist on dealer lots that way. I'm sure I could've bought my way out of the deal, but I'm sure the dealer would've rather had the sale. I do lots of business with these folks and didn't even need to place a deposit, so I'm going to enjoy my E-350... and maybe I'll get to enjoy a Transit too in the next couple of years if I'm lucky.

Thanks for the kind words. It was exciting times also to have been an early adopter and one of Transit Connect's first owners - even when the experience wasn't quite so smooth and I had to trade-in a weeks-old Wagon for lack of replacement parts after being rear-ended during the first week of ownership. It's good to see Transit Connect gaining such strong acceptance among both fleet and retail buyers and Ford ahead of the curve in terms of product positioning - even if we don't get to enjoy all the additional choices available to Europe. But if I'm going to start gripe about North American product availability, I'll keep my powder dry for the battle to bring Falcon and the FPV Australia vehicles stateside. I wish I could keep my TC and am hopeful that circumstances may someday soon allow me to justify adding one rather than replacing something else. Hopefully, by then, both Ford and the aftermarket will have collaborated to bring to market some truly terrific upfit solutions and Transit Connect can begin sharing more of the feature options and consistency "One Ford" had brought about. I'm both glad and fortunate to be able to support a business that's worked so hard to earn it at a time when the US otherwise seems to have little it can rightfully be proud about. I'm not sure about the fellow over at Autonews you mentioned but it sounds like his head seems to be screwed on straight...

After two-plus years of absolutely satisfied ownership, it's with no small amount of wistfulness that I'll be saying farewell to my 2010 XLT Cargo Van tomorrow when I trade it toward a new 2012 E-350 SD XL. As convenient and useful as my Transit Connect continues to be, it simply doesn't meet my present needs which now include the ability to tow a trailered vehicle. I wish I could keep both, but even if I had a place to park it among my 4 other vehicles, the trade offer was simply too compelling to ignore. It's proof positive of both Transit Connect's intrinsic value and Ford's strategy of keeping itself on the right side of the demand curve to help reduce its dependence upon incentives and preserve residual values. It's also a reason why Ford, which was basically operating at an $85B handicap to GM at the end of 2009 has not only managed to achieve substantially higher gross margins despite the sector's highest labor costs but today received an investment grade credit rating before GM has even come close. I can certainly state I've done MY fair share to support the Blue Oval's reinvention and resurgence from "worst to first". Given the present cost of gas and what the current administration seems intent upon pursuing, I'm sure I'll be remembering fondly how much better Transit Connect's fuel economy has been versus the E-350's 5.4 L V8. Of course, it only took MY particular luck for Ford to announce the upcoming full-sized Transit will not only be available with AWD, but with the phenomenal 3.5 L EcoBoost V6 to boot about 2 days after my E-350 was assigned a VIN and scheduled to be built. C'est la vie, I suppose. It at least gives me good reason to trade-up again in a couple of years - albeit far more expensively than owning my Transit Connect has been. One particular aspect about the E-350 I will be enjoying is the traditional Ford factory navigation/infotainment system and SYNC - which is now common among EACH of my vehicles. In fact, I hope I have at least one more opportunity to refresh my fleet before Ford forces my hand into "MyFord Touch" across the board. Also, despite always finding a way to "make do" with Transit Connect's compactness, the E-350's sheer capaciousness opens-up an entirely new world of possibilities whether using it for its primary function or as a trailer puller/support vehicle. Meanwhile, I'll have to re-learn how to drive a van, especially with an additional 7' of vehicle behind me - and another 27' when I happen to be towing. I wish everybody the best of luck and similar success with their Transit Connects and look forward to reconnecting with many who are sure to embrace the full-sized Transit when it arrives late next year.

Okay, I suppose it may be useful to some - but even if it happens to dovetail perfectly with somebody's work needs, I found it to be terribly ham-fisted in terms of vehicle integration, highly unstable, and woefully underpowered from a computing perspective even when it managed to not crash. I certainly wish Ford would have made available a SYNC-based navigation option for Transit Connect - as they have for the rest of E-Series. I realize they're targeting Transit Connect to the commercial workplace - but for as much as they're also going after the passenger market, it's a terrible shame people are left with FWS or none for integrated navigation and entertainment - not to mention it robs one of Ford's most unique vehicles of one of the features most commonly identified with the brand - SYNC. I own a Flex, MKS, and GT500 - and one of the best parts of all three are that all use a common navigation, entertainment, environment, and audio system. There's nothing to "learn" or "remember" going from one vehicle to another - except that for the extra $15K I spent for the GT500, I have the privilege of forgoing the option of heated seats and a back-up camera. I really hope there's room for SYNC in Transit Connect's future - and in the full-sized Transit thereafter, once today's E-Series is put to pasture.

I've got a terrific one fer ya. I'd been bitching about this dumbed-down orange juicer fog lamp issue since becoming a TC owner. And I've been looking for solutions - up to and including trying to figure-out which parts I could obtain in a cost effective manner from Ford EU to give back whatever I could of what had been taken away to create the North American TC. I was delighted to see the news about the switch from the 2011 model being available, and after looking through the fordparts.com online catalog for 2011 TC, I managed to find SOME but not all of the foglamp parts and components (about half seem to be missing from the online database, but so was the dual fog lamp control switch). But that left me with the same dilemma as most people - do I haul out my Dremel and perhaps do something that both can't be undone and ultimately won't fit the makeshift parts I'd otherwise cobble together to shine a light through each newly-made hole, or do I pop the $460.00 to buy a front bumper fascia for a 2011 TC and have at it? I'd be looking at almost $1,000 for a factory-like retrofit? Well, a neighbor may have helped me along the way. I have real peckerhead of a neighbor who, rather than having to do his own driveway do-si-do to rearrange his cars, had made a habit of parking along the curb directly in front of my home instead - and rather than using other curb space only a few yards farther that wouldn't inconvenience anyone. I'd have sent him and his piece of crap Buick packing were it not for my wife's incessant pleading and aversion to confrontation. I've managed to keep him honest by parking my own car in front of my house rather than always in the driveway or garage - and I have to confess the notion of having an additional car I could leave parked - just to keep claim on the space in front of my own damned house was no small side benefit to adding another car when I bought my TC. Before going away for a week's vacation, I had parked my Shelby in my garage and my daily drivers in the driveway, leaving the Transit Connect curbside. When we arrived home, atop the mail my in-laws collected was a handwritten note from my favorite neighbor on which he scrawled, "Scratched the front driver's side bumper of your truck." When I woke-up from sleeping-off the jet lag and could see the van in daylight, lo' and behold, there it was.... a series of scuffs and gouges. Now, don't ask me how the hell he managed to do this. He not only lives across the street, but his driveway is a good 75 feet away from mine. I'm still scratching my head over HOW he did it, but I'm not going to let it stand in the way of the fact that, presuming there's no underlying structural damage, my "favorite" neighbor and bane of my neighborhood existence is going to be paying for the fascia. They say God watches out over children and fools. In this case, I'm pretty happy to be in my forties.

That's terrific. You really must have found a terrific Ford Europe dealer to work with. You MAY be better-off simply waiting until the 2011 units arrive and lower fascias and the fog lamps themselves can be ordered as parts.

Well, as a shareholder, I suppose I should tip my cap to Ford for having the moxy to ream TC owners for $470 for a simple backup camera (that's mounted in one of the corner indents on the rear license plate compartment. Nothing like making a simple backup camera cost about 2% of the vehicle's overall price. Believe me, nobody's drunk more Ford Kool-Aid than I, but I want to speak to whomever is in charge of their fleet-wide backup camera decision making. I just bought a $60K GT500. And for my extra money, along with the Supercharged 550HP V8, I get front seats that aren't heated, a manual passenger seat, and - because Mustang's backup camera is spoiler-mounted - no backup camera option with the Shelby spoiler (you know, the one that's actually meant to affect aerodynamics). Oh, and no reverse sensors either. Combine this with the fact that Taurus went almost an entire year with no backup camera available in any non-SHO vehicle because it too was spoiler-mounted. Fortunately, I've already bought the goodies to wire an aftermarket camera into the Navigation system, and I found a slick sensor product that uses electromagnetic sensors (rather than radar) to save my Shelby's backside when reversing, but the point is I shouldn't HAVE to. And in a vehicle like Transit Connect that can be SO fraught with blind spots, the company that brought us BLIS and so many other safety technologies shouldn't be commanding the same price for a backup camera as they do for ESC. Unless people are willing to pay it, I suppose.

Man, I feel your pain. NOBODY is as "OEM-ish" when it comes to improving a vehicle than me. BUT.... The FWS Computer is basically a Windows Mobile/CE PC. To accept video input, it would both need to either be provided in data form (i.e. over USB) or as an analog signal with a peripheral converter - but you'd THEN need software on the system to flip to it when it detect a signal. Adapting most navigation head units is simpler because they're made to work that way (or they at least have the hardware and require a re-flash to activate). You're going to be FAR happier, I think, using an in-mirror display and just wiring it independent of the FWS PC. Even the 2011 Transit Connect that DOES include a backup camera uses an in-mirror display.

I just logged on to FLMowner.com and was alerted of a recall to my VIN for a "HEADLINER PUSHPIN REPLACEMENT". Am heading to the dealer over the weekend to see what this is all about. I've otherwise noticed nothing of consequence.

Just tie 'em together.

Yeah, the half-million or so already sold in Europe must've been bought by real suckers. And shame on Ford for not just blowing into North America by importing every variant before even knowing whether or not it's something North America has a taste for. It must be all those dummies at Ford who aren't surfing the 'net making those decisions, because after all, the Internet is where all cars and trucks are bought anyway. As for an 75-mile electric range, it's nearly ideal for a huge swath of fleet operators that will require a charging infrastructure to operate and maintain them. The vast majority of fleet service vehicles in North America (specifically those Ford is targeting) happen to drive much less than 75 miles per day, and very few companies that operate them want their field staff to spend even more time driving rather than doing their work than that. Sure, Ford should have contacted you first, but they've got SO much going on at the moment. I'm sure they'll send you a card or something later. Just out of curiosity, what would your "ideal" range be, and how much more development cost (or other compromises) would be required to achieve it? (No fair running to Google AFTER the fact). With Transit Connect presently selling only about 2,500 units per month, Ford may be doing very well by itself to focus upon lower volume, but higher margin derivatives as they seem to be doing. With very few businesses running to make huge new capital expenditures at the moment, one of the quickest way to go out of business is to spend billions more to develop a vehicle everybody would love, but only a few would be able or willing to buy. Yeah "some dum chump" is exactly what Ford lacks.

I know Hollidaysburg well. The good folks at Kopp Drug are former clients. An Altoona-to-Ohio swap isn't unheard of. Secondary market dealers like those in Blair County tend to be well versed in getting product ad and how they need it. No, I'm not willing to name the dealer, but it doesn't rhyme with pay.

I don't, but you can use the online window sticker facility to view the final assembly date.

Nope. Not since I backed-off my mother-in-law anyway....

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/pubs/content/~WOATRC/~MUS~LEN/40/10frdmg2e.pdf I know the TC Owner's Manual and Service Guide recommends 5,000 miles miles and using Motorcraft Oil (which is a synthetic blend), I impose a 3,000-mile regimen with Mobil 1 (Always) on EVERY vehicle I own, and I've NEVER regretted it. It also goes one hell of a long way to bolster value if selling to a private party.

Damn. I'm still wanting to get my hands on a new Crown Vic LX before they go away for good. :( Of COURSE the ultimate cop cruiser would have a cupholder perfectly-sized to a large Dunkin Donuts cup.

Here's the column headings and meanings. First Column = Unit Inventory (number of vehicles) Second Column = Days' supply on 4/1/10 Third Column = Days' supply on 3/1/10 They came from the same place as all the other reliable information, the wall of the 2nd stall of the Men's john at the BP station in downtown Dearborn (just to the left of the toilet paper dispenser, and just below the number to call Rita for "a good time"), or I just could have been toad licking again. It's either one of those two sources or from the latest monthly sales figures. I never quite seem to be able to keep these damn things straight when I'm hallucinating.

You wouldn't be affiliated with the folks, now would you?

Perhaps it's just me; and I could be COMPLETELY wrong, but I suspect we may be likely to see some pretty aggressive rebates coming-up.... Car and Light Truck Inventories on April 1, 2010 Model Units Supply (Days) 4/1 3/1 Crown Victoria .......... 5,000 40 50 Focus ........................ 34,700 46 77 Fusion ........................ 36,100 41 56 Mustang .................... 17,700 79 97 Taurus ........................ 13,800 51 45 Total Ford div. car .... 107,300 48 65 E-series/Club Wagon.. 2,600 21 33 E-series van .............. 14,400 52 54 Edge .......................... 23,900 61 60 Escape........................ 29,800 40 43 Expedition .................. 6,300 63 49 Explorer...................... 9,300 41 61 F series ...................... 126,600 77 96 Flex ............................ 9,700 73 81 Ranger ...................... 12,700 74 84 Transit Connect (I) .... 16,200 229 285 Ford div. trk. (D) ...... 235,300 62 72 Ford div. trk. (I) ........ 16,200 229 285 Total Ford div. trk. .... 251,500 65 76 Ford div. (D) ............ 342,600 57 70 Ford div. (I) ............ 16,200 229 285 Total Ford division ...... 358,800 59 72 285 is one HELL of long position no matter how you slice it. My advice? If you were planning on trading-in toward a 2011 or something else, do so now before the incentives kick in more broadly.... or drive the damn thing into the ground.

Personally, I find the cupholder as a concept to be a poor one, period. I would've MUCH preferred the European-spec interior that doesn't have to accommodate such things. Those who get thirsty while driving should use their crotches and thighs like God intended!

Thanks, Hal. If you'd care to share your "eurosources", I'd love to throw some extra bidness their way!