The Compact Van Is Dead in America

[kach22i]

I was lamenting at work with a couple of the guys in the office that I no longer see Ford Focus based vans on the road, and asked what happened to them.

Neither one seemed to know what I was talking about until I printed out an image of one - then the lights went on and they both claimed to seem them all the time (quite the 180 degree turn around).

Not only don't I see a lot of the smaller Ford vans, many of the others have vanished from the streets, perhaps more of a change in my driving route over the past two years?

Then I found the below today, sure enough sales have dwindled, and production has ceased. If I tell the guys at work this it will be yea, we know all about it where have you been - not kidding a real pair of idiots.

09/09/2022
The Compact Van Is Dead in America
https://www.kbb.com/car-news/the-com...ad-in-america/

.......the decisions mean the quiet death of an entire segment of vehicles.

No more smaller - just big enough for the job fuel efficient compact cargo vans.

Now if you live in Europe, and if there wasn't that big earthquake in Turkey, you might be getting something interesting to drive.

May 09, 2022
2023 Ford E-Transit Custom Revealed With Up To 236 Miles Of Range
https://www.motor1.com/news/584597/2...custom-reveal/

Although it's being revealed today, production of the E-Transit Custom won't commence until 2023. Assembly will take place at the Ford Otosan facility in Kocaeli, Turkey where an all-electric next-gen Volkswagen Transporter will also be built. This is the second out of a total of five EVs from Ford Pro to go on sale in Europe by 2024.

If anyone has more current information on this segment of the market please post it.

I got into this topic initially because the pickup trucks are so huge, and the 5 to 6-foot beds are beyond useless, heck my old S10 has a 7-foot bed, maybe I should just fix the transmission.

I figure with the passenger seat out I can get much more utility out of a compact van than a compact pickup, and full weather protection too.

[redpoint5]

They should make a "truck" where the entire thing is a minivan inside, and the "bed" is a bunch of cupholders. The ultimate tailgate vehicle!

That's my complaint of so-called pickups these days; that they are minivans with a cargo compartment exposed to the elements.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Ford replaced the in-house designed Transit Connect, which had been sourced from Spain for the American market, for a rebadged Volkswagen Caddy made in Poland for the European market. Odd enough, the Caddy is available in Mexico, either in gasser or Diesel-powered versions, and it's noteworthy the gasser has the naturally-aspirated 1.6L port-injection engine instead of a 1.0 or 1.4 TSI, as most of its Mexican customer base seems to take turbocharging with a grain of salt. But anyway, for 7-seating capacity, nowadays it's mostly SUVs anywhere.

When it comes to an end of compact vans, this happened in Brazil too, and now it's either the Fiat Fiorino only in a cargo version, the Chevrolet Spin which had only been available as either 5 or 7-seater and no dedicated cargo version, and some random Chinese copies of some old Suzuki minivan targetting mostly the commercial operators. And as the local coupé-utilities become more and more focused on recreational users, turned into some sort of open-deck SUV, there is a reasonable amount of those Chinese trucklets too.

[freebeard]

It's all been downhill since the Vanagon and Previa.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

It's all been downhill since the Vanagon and Previa.

When it comes to the forward-control ones such as the Vanagon, and also the Previa's predecessor and the Mitsubishi L300 which AFAIK had some US-spec versions too, their demise is one of the most pointless deals ever. OK, stringent crashworthiness directives may have their value saving uncountable lives of so many idiots who drive like a psycho exposing themselves and everyone else to a risk, but let's just remember folks are still allowed to kill themselves riding a motorcycle which is even worse when it comes to crashworthiness.

[freebeard]

The latest news I find from xBus is that they aquired a bankrupt Isetta clone manufacturer: evspias.com/the-creators-of-the-xbus-will-also-have-their-particular-electric-bmw-isetta/





Let's hope Germany can keep the lights on.

[redpoint5]

I'll take this opportunity to yet again highlight minimalist design

[Isaac Zachary]

The future is bleak. All of us minivan, stationwagon and if-you're-going-to-add-6ft-to-a-vehicle-make-it-a-boat-tail enthusiasts are in dire straits. I have to try to psych myself up that my next vehicle will probably have to be some bloated sport utility vehicle that I couldn't see my wife if she were standing in front of it, because, well, that's all that'll be available in a few years. Get a sedan while you still can!

[freebeard]

It's still a free country. [void where prohibited]

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by freebeard

It's still a free country. [void where prohibited]

Where's my 4 cylinder plug-in hybrid station wagon with a "coupé" rear that tapers down into effectively a boat tail?