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Topic: New Ford Econoline (Read 4 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: New Ford Econoline
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 135622
Quote
What are our friends at LD going to do with this?
--- Probably nothing; the Ford E450 (and E350) cutaway chassis most commonly used as platforms for class C motorhomes is/are still in production. The "Transit" van will replace the discontinued Econoline (E150, E250, E350) *vans*, not the cutaway chassis.

Joan
2003 TK has a new home
Re: New Ford Econoline
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 135641
Probably nothing.  IMHO the chassis does not fit Lazy Daze manufacturing techniques or their "target" market.  However, I am sure that other motorhome manufacturers will "cut it away" and do something with it.  There are a number of motorhome companies that build on a "non-cutaway" chassis, like the Freight Liner, Ford F-Series, etc.  I would guess that anything built on this chassis will be in the same class as motorhomes built on the Sprinter chassis.

Doug

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Re: New Ford Econoline
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 135642
The new Econoline will undoubtedly be available in a cutaway for the aftermarket custom body manufacturers.
Ford announced over a year ago that it would continue producing the E450 for an unspecified amount of years. The E450 is a mature chassis with no additional development needed other than cosmetic changes and the addition of more electronic gizmos.
There isn't a 'world' chassis that is compatible with today's Class C requirements. You don't see many Class C owners downsizing to Sprinters, check a few out at the next RV show, you will see why. Claustrophobic comes to mind. America's roads are wider than the most of the rest of the world, our wide-body RVs fit fine so there is little pressure or market for a redesigned, narrower chassis. Ford understandably does not want to build nation-specific vehicles anymore but the US is different and the market is large so they may need to make an exception for the E450 and other light trucks.
 So what will Ford do in the long run? Most likely the new cutaway will be similar to the existing model but with aero sheet metal, turbo-diesels engines and automatic transmissions with many more gears. Other than the engine and transmission, there really isn't too much more that can be done to improve mileage while retaining the load carrying capacity needed for RVs and delivery trucks. Ford could put a decent turbo-diesel and 6 or 8-speed transmission in the existing E450 and leave it alone or add even more GVW.
Pound for pound, the E450's mileage isn't bad when compared to modern, gasoline-powered cars.
I expect to see something similar to today's E450 for a long time.

Larry
2001 MB
* Not to be confused with Larry W (3000 of my posts are actually from expert Larry W due to Yahoo transition mis-step)
 
Re: New Ford Econoline
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 135647
I doubt the current cutaway chassis is going away any time soon.  Many mfg. are using it for many vehicle types.  Ambulances, motorhomes, box trucks, all kinds of specialty vehicles.  It's costly for smaller company to retool for a different cutaway chassis.
 I suspect there may be a gradual shift to the new chassis where appropriate as new products come online.  The inertia of so many vehicular products will keep the old one alive for a long time.
 As Larry said, the current chassis could undergo some updates - new engines and transmissions.
 The current E van is one of the longest production runs of any vehicle.  It should continue with that honor for some time to come.