To me, this is great news. I love the Sprinter, but the M-B sources bits scare the heck out of me. A similar design made by Ford is pretty much exactly what I want.

M-B will continue sales of the Sprinter through selected dealers. This was annouced sometime last year and really comes as no surprise, given the success of the van.

I would say the success of the Sprinter is why Ford would bring over the F/S Transit - which is one of their best sellers in Europe.

If a current model is due for replacement... and your company already has a newer, updated version of a similar vehicle elsewhere... why not bring it over? Especially when US-makers are trying to cut costs whereever possible?

Hopefully, while the design will be from the European van... and initial sales would likely be of Euro-built versions, manufacturing will be in the US.

Dodge sold the old B-series (probably leftovers) along side the Sprinter for a couple of years.

 

They better not drop Econoline or I try figure how to get them make them.

I love Ford E350 full passenger very much that i want drive everyday but 12 mpg is kind tough for me. It 96 E350 with 351W. I got 16.5 mpg.

They can drop them but they better keep E250 cargo van or E350 full passengers.

 

fiat will bring in the ducato for chrysler. there will be a separate truck div for the ram p-u and the ducato.

you can get a diesel in a chev van. it just does not come with the nice allison trans afaik. it is also very loud in the truck with the d-max clanking away.

i wonder when gm and ford will actually produce a quiet diesel? i slept the other nite next to an idling hino and that was quieter than any cummins, ps or dmax i have heard.

hey mkw guy, you want my 4.6 e-250?

 

Over head cam diesels are on their way I was told, but the clack is the spark knock, the firing of the fuel under extreme pressure.

 

Will 2nd that.

Have liked European vans such as MB Sprinter, FORD Transit & Fiat 242 for years. Even once tried, unsucessfully, to import a Fiat 242. Really liked the FWD layout & radically low floor height. They handle surprisingly good & have extraordinary traction. Sprinter cargo volume is cavernous & it's MPG in upper 20's range really adds up in fuel savings over Econoline!

In a way, FORD technically already retired Econoline, the name seems to have disappeared from advertising & off the trucks a few years ago, even before the new front? Since the end of the Econoline name Ford Truck Enthusiasts wanting a fullsize van have been buying E-Series to drive.

 

We've had transits, sprinters and what nots over here in Norway for years. One thing they have in common; They all suck

Lack of power, no AC, no cruise control, no leather seats, no automatic, hard small seats, only diesel engines, PLENTY of RUST and leaking oils from all over.

Sprinter is the one that rusts the most. Transit holds together a little longer, but not by much.

Of course my '94 Ford E-350 van rusts, but only in the wheel arches and not dangerous rust like the undercarriage and suspension of these european vans.

And one more thing, nothing beats the rough sound of 7.3 Diesel thundering down the highway

 

Don't see Transits in the US to compare to what they "have in common", but '06 American Sprinters all came with AC & 5 speed automatic standard & cruise control was optional.

Many tradesmen are willing to sacrifice options like leather seats & 7.3 liter diesels for Sprinter's huge cargo volumes between 247 & 473 cu ft and outstanding fuel economy in the 25-30 MPG range. The vast majority of vans are used commercially, where the "rough sound" they make may be secondary to the volume of cargo they can carry. Sprinter seats might not be served up in leather, but over here its not accurate to call them "hard small seats". In particular the "luxury driver bucket" seat in the optional Comfort Seating Group is very nice. The 2.7 turbo diesel wasn't meant for "thundering down the highway" & has no trouble keeping up w/traffic around here. Its designed for fuel efficiency & over it's lifetime could conceivably pay for the vehicle thru fuel savings compared to E350. Sprinter cargo volume & MPG definitely do not "suck". My impression of the modern Transit was that it competed head to head w/Sprinter.

 

that 25-30 mpg applies to the older i5 series 1 vans. the larger v-6 sprinters are lucky to make 23 hwy. lots of expediters using them and some have of the series 1 have 350k-500k miles on them. some no work some big$$. buddy of mine did 8900$ on his 08 for egr, dpf and swirl valve repl. he had 180k when that was done and he drives heavy footed when empty. dealer said it was a combination of low cetane fuel and oil deposits that killed the dpf so young.

my 4.6 has 350k on it and the cats need changing.

 

25 mpg is impressive, but I need to tow 6,000 lbs while carrying passengers. So far, I haven't seen a Sprinter do that.