PetrosA

Imagine my surprise and joy to find that the TC is equipped with an automatic system for removing snow from the windshield! The days of brushing off the white stuff are OVER!!! WOO HOO!!!

For instance: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=VancoWinterContact&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&partnum=065TR5VWCXL NOTE: I tried adding to cart to see shipping charges, and was notified that these have a higher rating than Ford recommends. It seems you can pick from the regular winter tires and be within the vehicle's rating.

Ford is going to have to deal with this issue better than it is with this CYA approach. We're driving the same Connect as they do in Europe and we have access to the same information as the European drivers do. U-Haul is even selling a hitch for the TC at this point. If Ford really is serious about the One Ford concept, then they need to get on the ball.

I got the Nokia BT with mine, so I'm thinking the speakers are upgraded already. I can't say the system sounds as bad as some of you are reporting. I threw my stuff in the back and headed off to my first customer straight from the dealer. It is less powerful than my 4.0l in the Jeep, but I knew that ahead of time. It handles great, brakes nicely and felt smooth up to 70 (all the faster I went tonight). I spent the first 15 miles or so in mixed driving and in daylight, so it was a surprise when I wanted to use cruise control on the way home after dark only to discover that the buttons aren't lit. The steering column control module seems sort of an afterthought and not very well integrated, as do the cruise control buttons. I tend to wrap my fingers through the steering wheel right where the cruise OFF button is and kept turning it off inadvertently on the way home. Visibility is WAY better than in the Jeep. Hopefully I'll have time this weekend to get the shelves and ladder racks in.

I stopped in today just to leave some documents, and lo and behold, the transport pulls up with my TC! We tried everything we could to finalize it today, but an insurance hold up is forcing me to wait till tomorrow. Here it was just before unloading. Hard to believe I ordered it so long ago but it sure was a pretty sight for sore eyes.

Regardless of what Ford says in North America, towing kits are available throughout Europe. Here is a link to one and a brief excerpt from the text. Navigate to PAGE 3 for the English guide and instructions. Towing hitch (without electrical set) Class: A50-X Cat. no. C46 Designed for: Manufacturer: FORD Model: TRANSIT CONNECT produced since 2002 Approval number according to Directive 94/20/EC: e20*94/20*0106*00 Technical data: D-value: 8,1 kN maximum trailer weight: 1200 kg maximum vertical cup load: 75 kg The document can be found here: http://www.kupplung.de/mall/1/files/samples/fo1012_v1.pdf

I should be able to give you an opinion by the end of this week. Mine arrived in Baltimore on the 23rd and should be in any day now... One other thought... I decided that instead of upgrading my GPS, I'm getting a PC version for my laptop. They range in price from about $40-$100 so cheaper than most portables. I'll like having a 10" screen for the map, too!

I've been looking into replacement speakers as well. In my case, there will be a solid bulkhead behind the seats, so rear speakers are not an option. I tried looking at the Crutchfield site where they give you fit/doesn't fit info, but according to them, the Alpines mentioned in the other thread shouldn't work. I want the best sound I can get with a budget of about $150 max. I'm not against satellite tweeters if that will boost the bass response a little. I've been looking at: Boston Acoustics SX50 (remote tweeters) Boston Acoustics SX55 (coaxial) Alpine SPS 500 (coaxial) Alpine SPR 13C (coaxial) as well as a full range Galaxy Audio S5C160-8 I've also seen some Nakamichis and other "hi end" types but it's hard to hear them over the internet It sounds like some of you have a lot more experience than I do with car audio, so I'm open to your suggestions. Thanks!

Interesting that you mention fuel economy as a reason. When we were shopping for a car, I checked into the MPG ratings for the manual and auto version of what we were looking at. Almost without fail, the automatic meets or exceeds the MPG rating of the manual version for various brands. The main reasons we wanted manual were 1) My wife is from Europe and is used to them and 2) I prefer manual in icy and snowy conditions so I can reduce torque. You're right though, they don't save you any money on fuel at this point.

I'm sure the manual gearbox will be available in time, but the reality is that this is the US market. I'm certain a large majority of drivers don't even know how to drive a manual anymore. They sure as heck don't know to turn off the rear fog lights in good weather A lot of drivers here tend to drive at low RPMs in a four cylinder which is probably why they think four cylinder engines are "underpowered". You have to get them up around 3k to 5k to reach the torque moment. I've done this by shifting to 3rd at 50 mph to pass and it freaks passengers out. Until they learn to drive manual, leave the manuals overseas

So do these require any kind of hard wiring, or are they just glued into place?

Update: I'm still waiting for the truck, but I got my shelving units from Ranger. I'm very impressed with the quality of them. They were relatively easy to assemble. I still need to drill some holes and get a rivet tool to finish, but other than that an impact driver and tips were all that were needed. I talked with the installer at Intercon Trucks about DOT regulations for upfit equipment and specifically the ladder rack (he's SAE certified). He claims that you can build you own or even import something, just be absolutely sure that it'll be safe and calculate on the side of caution when choosing materials. If anyone is ever injured or killed in an accident involving fabricated stuff DOT will be all over the case.

I can possibly see the Fiat doing better than the Ford among families, but not for work vans. The French have some nice trucks, as does VW, but I don't think we'll be seeing them here any time soon.

Nice to hear from the other side of the pond. Welcome!

This may be overkill for what you want, but here's a link to inverters for utility vehicles. This stuff looks like top of the line: http://store.versalifteast.com/store/c/25-Power-Inverters.html

I stopped in at the dealer on Thursday and explained exactly what I wanted. Finally one of the head managers came and punched in the order code and got the Visibility Report. Turns out that the floor guys and lower managers didn't even know the VR existed, nor do they have access to it. The VR confirmed the end of November ETA for my vehicle and showed that it was either at or had already left Ramp 9 en route to Baltimore. From there it should be a matter of removing the rear seat, installing the floor extension and shipping direct to PA since I'm doing the upfits. Thanks for that info. I would really be in a bind if I had to wait till January for a truck! One thing the head manager explained was that sales orders are pushed ahead of dealer stock orders. They showed me a number of TCs that had been ordered for dealer stock before mine that were scheduled for delivery later than mine. At least I get some priority

I can only speak from personal experience but... Most vehicles in Europe don't have front fog lights, yellow or otherwise. France is one of the exceptions (yellow headlights). Fog lights in almost every EU country are a bright red light mounted somewhere in the rear that you are only allow to use when visibility is less than 50 meters. You will get a ticket for using it any other time. The apertures are rather for DTRL which are standard on most vehicles nowadays since many (especially northern) EU countries mandate that you have your lights on for much, if not all, of the year. As a curious aside - many years ago before I left for Europe, I got some yellow gels and tacked them on to my headlights here in the US. There is no comparison to the visibility you have with yellow headlights in the fog. No add-on light even comes close.

I wouldn't consider a ladder rack banal. If I did import one and had an accident and something flew off the rack, I can only imagine the field day the insurance companies would have with me. As to the custom order, all I wanted was silver paint and Nokia bluetooth. The issue is that I was told delivery would be approximately end of October when I ordered it and gave them a down payment. It wasn't just the main-floor sales guy who took me on, but his floor manager and the guy from the commercial truck dept. all were standing there at the time and taking part in the discussion. No one knew...

I think you're going to have to calculate just how much power you need first since how well you can hide yours depends on how large an inverter you need. I'm going a two-inverter route with one 375 W in front for laptop and printer and a larger 1500 W in the rear for various battery chargers or for emergency power for tools. I know from past experience that I'll either need a second battery for the rear inverter (which disconnects from the main battery when the engine is off) or I'll have to keep the engine running when charging more than one battery.

Thanks Ed. I honestly don't remember what the sheet he showed me was called, I just assumed it was the visibility report that you're referring to. It was a list of every vehicle ordered by the dealership listing current status/location and ETA when available. If what you're saying is true, I shouldn't expect my vehicle till end of January or later. I'll have to talk to them about this, because I have certain aspects of my business scheduled or on hold based on the ETA they gave me. If the date will be that far in the future, I may have to rent another van in the meantime to make things work.

Thanks Ed. I noticed that after I posted my link. I hope you don't feel that I was treading on your feet.

That could be. I hadn't really looked at the catering setups they have. One thing I found out today about drop-shipping from Ranger - they charge a 20% surcharge to drop-ship to the final customer. Luckily the guy from Intercon called me to let me know that and I'll be picking them up myself from Intercon. I may have some contacts that could recommend catering specific shelving, I'll look into it and get back you if I find anything out. What kind of catering do you specialize in?

Maybe, but I don't think so. I saw the printout of the status reports (pages and pages of dot matrix printer babble). About mid Sept. order had been accepted under my surname at factory in Turkey. About two weeks ago another printout showed delivery for week of Nov. 27. The one frustrating thing has been the lack of dependable information from the dealer. I don't know whether they just don't have access to things like a ballpark lead time, but back in Sept. they were telling me "end of October." I understand that this is a new product and that it's coming from the EU etc, but if Ford really wants to implement One Ford they're going to need to tighten up the way they communicate internally. All these guessing games on the (my) dealer's part make the whole operation look very amateur.

Here in eastern Pennsylvania I spotted the first non-white TC just a few days ago on a dealer lot. I placed my order waaaaay back in September for a silver one with Nokia Bluetooth. That combination was not available to the dealer from any neighboring state with the CA emissions, so my order went in to the factory in Turkey. Delivery is scheduled for end of November. Whatever you do, don't look at all the options for the TCs available on www.ford.co.uk Aluminum rims, various engines, rears, gearboxes, lengths etc. - who needs all that?

I'm an electrician expecting delivery of my TC at the end of November. The nearly three month wait has given me a lot of time to seek out options for upfitting. I decided against the AdrianSteel/Legget&Platt/Sortimo upfits since the two US producers have awful options, and Sortimo doesn't seem to have their complete offer available in the US. I finally went with Ranger's C211 kit for the interior. The price is high, but I'm using my truck at least 5 days a week and need good organization. The thing I'm still working on is finding a decent ladder/roof rack. This one is available in the UK and seem extremely functional: Does anyone know if something like this is available in North America? I'd be afraid to order it from UK only to find out that USDOT won't accept it.