Taking a page from its European division, Ford Motor Co. is bringing its small commercial van, Transit Connect, to the U.S. market.
The boxy cargo vans, will be the first of Ford’s European vehicles to cross the Atlantic, available in showrooms this summer, and Ford will show the car this week at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show.
The cargo capacity is 143 cubic feet, which can handle loads up to 6.5 feet long and 4.7 feet wide. Ford tried to make the cargo space more accessible with sliding doors on both sides.
A similar vehicle has been available in Europe since 2003, with Ford selling about 110,000 of them in 2007, Stevens said. The Transit Connect is manufactured in Turkey.
Ford is bringing several other of its European vehicles to the U.S., including the Ford Fiesta, a subcompact and the European version of the Focus.
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