Technobabble

Ford's Wicked Cool High MPG Minivan… America Need Not Apply

Posted by on Jul 19, 2007 | 8 Comments

Ford makes just what might be the coolest minivan in the entire world. It has innovative exterior styling, a roomy interior (for up to seven people – five of normal proportions and two chimps), handles well, and gets great gas mileage for a minivan. Overall, it’s a minivan for people that need a minivan but don’t want to be seen driving a minivan (and can even be had with a six-speed manual tranny). Did I mention that it gets incredible gas mileage? Take a look at some of the gas guzzling tin cans out in your parking lot and you can nearly double the mileage of worst of them. Sounds great, right? Alas, there’s a bump in the road. Ford hasn’t brought its high MPG minivan to America and likely won’t.

Europeans love their S-Max MPVs (as minivans are known on the other side of the pond). But American families have gotten the cold shoulder from the good folks behind the blue oval. Cash-crunched families here in the States are crying for a 40 MPG minivan.

A year and a half ago, Autoweek called the Ford S-Max “a shrunken Mercedes R-Class,” and sent this missive: “Urgent memo to Dearborn: We like what we see in the Focus-based S-Max so much, we wonder why such a significant car can’t make its way here?” Jeremy Clarkson, “the UK’s favourite car journalist” wrote: “This, then, is the holy grail. It’s an MPV you buy because you like it. Not because you need it. And because it appears to be small and has no four-wheel-drive system, you’ll be able to park it outside church, knowing the vicar won’t come along and chop it up with his special nine-bladed eco-sword.” Autoblog named the S-Max its 2007 Car of the Year.

Ford needs to make some seriously Bold Moves and bring the diesel-powered S-Max to these shores, pronto. They can start with my driveway… and that’s saying a lot, since my last and only Ford was a rather short-lived Pinto…

[tags]minivans[/tags]

  • NoneRequired

    Don’t hold your breath. And, while you are not holding your breath, don’t look at Ford as to why you can’t have that vehicle in the states. Don’t look at Chrysler for why you can’t buy the diesel 6 speed Jeep Patriot that gets 42mpg here either. No, for those answers, write your elected representatives that bought into the eco-terrorists demands for higher diesel emissions standards in the US, that went into effect at just about the same time that Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuel was becoming available here. Though the new cleaner diesels are welcomed by the liberals in Europe, we have higher standards. Think about the irony in those decisions a bit….

  • Dennis Mahoney

    Sure this is stupidity but the additional factor you failed to mention is that domestic US car companies are getting out of minivans. Minivans are losing the populariry race because they are ugly and uneconomical. Ford is dropping the Windstar and Freestar. Just because I don’t like a Windstar at 19 mpg highway doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like an S-Max at 40 mpg. Don’t count on the cretins at Ford to do anything innovative. We had two Windstars and swore not to buy the second one until it had sliding doors on both sides – about 3-5 years after the Chrysler T&C.
    If no one truly wants a minivan even with great looks and mileage then the S-Max’s drivetrain and platform could be made into a small SUV just as well. Do we really need an Edge with poor mileage when we could have this?

  • Ed

    Want it here? Get the EPA to allow the euro spec diesels to be legal in the US and you might be able to get one. Have the car makers retool their diesels to run on the new US-spec fuel. Oh, and have gas stations carry diesel fuel so we don’t have to worry about where to fill the tank. At least where I am many stations don’t. UK prices translate to $34962 to $45245, so I’ll need help paying for the van as well.

    Don’t even start with the myth of bio-diesel. From it’s higher NOX emissions to the broken economics that say it helps (Want the calculations on what soy based bio-diesel would require?) it just isn’t the magic solution.

    E.

  • Ron

    The S-max is based on the mondeo, not the focus. The C-max is smaller and based on a focus.
    I have to agree, this car is a great car and should be sold in the US. I am amazed how big the inside is. With the optional 3rd row you can haul quite a few people around. We used it for 6 people and quite a bit of luggage and it wasn’t a problem at all. If you keep the 3rdrow folded up (it folds into the floor) then the 2nd row seats have a HUGE amount of legroom. Also, you sit pretty high in the car , very nice. Quality seems great as well and the 2.0 liter runs well. The diesel is the fuelmiser and would be welcome in the us as well, as well as the ST model with 220 hp turbo engine .

  • Jeffery Haas

    Just heard on the news this morning that the Ford CEO is still screaming that “high MPG cars are not the answer”…can we get this guy’s head on a pole or something? If you want to know where the opposition is coming from, get it straight from the horse’s mouth..the car makers themselves.
    It ain’t the “eco-terrorists”, folks.

  • Sean

    While Toyota products are selling hand over fist in the US, Ford stupidly keeps a Super Matrix (personally the S-MAX looks like the results of the mating of a Prius and a Matrix with a little extra room) out of the very market where it would sell. Good going Ford, you lost me as a customer anyway because a 1.8 liter Corolla with 5 people in it out performed a 2.0 liter Focus which is what my sister really wanted until she found out how rough it felt at normal highway speeds. You guys have turned into IBM, you just cannot market yourselves out of a wet paper bag, nor can you even sense what the market needs (completely different from wants).

    Can we beat Ford’s CEO for going for short term SUV profits instead of the car the rest of us wanted and what the market really needed? While we’re at it, maybe I can interest him in buying out the McMansionville forclosurefest up the street from me, he could own a whole two subdivisions of driveways to park his unwanted SUV’s in.

  • Vote Democrat

    This occurs because American oil companies are in cahoots and aligned with American auto industries and companies. It’s a sad shame, really, that American’s are not allowed by these greedy special interest groups to enjoy more environmentally friendly technology. This is the way of the Republican.

  • Clean Up America

    Don’t fool yourself that its only one political party causing this mess. I blame BOTH sides. Merely complaining and finger pointing is fruitless. Its true that we’re victims of an oil cartel supported by greedy business and government bedfellows. If Congress would MANDATE that all new US autos accept ALL forms of fuel (giving us a choice), the cost would be minor and we could break free from this greed.

    Get involved! Watch the video. Write your representative!

    http://www.energyvictory.net/energy_victory_links.htm