Goodbye, beloved Econoline, hello Ford Transit. Dearborn's new line of workhorse vans is debuting today... in Europe, but will be on these shores soon. No more being confused by European Transits, these are Built Ford Tough for the North American market.
When they do arrive, the large, rear-wheel-drive Transit vans will be offered with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 and some sort of diesel engine, so they'll get better fuel economy than the old Econoline. We're not exactly sure what the fuel economy numbers will be, but in the F-150, Ford says the 365 hp EcoBoost gets 16 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway.
To reiterate, Ford has taken to calling all of its van-like creations Transit somethingorother, but the U.S. market will be getting the large, RWD Transit and the little Transit Connect you may have seen sneaking in and out of tight urban lanes to deliver food and other supplies. Ford told us that the U.S. Transit will begin production in their Kansas City plant next year.
But before the brand new Transit and front-wheel-drive Transit Connect (not to be confused with the plush Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom the Euros are getting) come to the shores of freedom, they will debut in Amsterdam, a city which loves the kind of freedom that isn't available in the U.S market.
You can watch the European unveiling live here.
Photo credit: Ford Motor Company