Compact people mover first reveal of new small car family.
09-15-09: We reported last week that Ford was set to debut the new Euro model Ford C-Max, which is a people mover version based on the next generation Ford Focus. Today at the reveal of this new model at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Ford has also announced officially that the C-Max is coming to America for 2011. Also announced is that the next-generation Ford Focus will debut at the North American International Auto Show in January.
The new C-Max is one of what will be as many as 10 models based off the next generation global “C Platform “ architecture. "Under our One Ford philosophy, we have been able to harness the talents of our Global Product Development team in designing and developing vehicles for all markets," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president of Global Product Development.
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What this means to American buyers is that we will finally see the same great products in our showrooms the Europeans have had for decades. "Ford's new C-sized family will be the strongest demonstration yet of how we're harnessing the company's global resources to deliver real customer benefits," Kuzak said.
Think of the C-Max as a tall and stretched version of the Ford Focus as it shares the same styling and chassis. It will be available in 5-seat and 7-seat versions, the larger of the two being offered in America for 2011. The physical layout of the C-Max provides a three row people hauler in a market where few like it exist. Like the Mazda 5 which is virtually alone in the class, the C-max has sliding rear doors. There is an innovative second row seat in which the center section can fold away, giving a passable center aisle to the third row seat. So you can have second row captain’s chairs or a 3-wide bench.
All rear seats also fold flat into the floor independently giving the C-Max a pretty cavernous hauling capacity for its size. So is it an SUV? No. Is it a crossover? Nope. Is it a minivan? Not really. Like many of the "whitespace" products that Ford has been hatching in the past few years, it defies all those old classifications. But in Europe, they call these a "multi-activity-vehicle" or MAV. Whatever it gets called in America, it surely wont have any of the baggage people have associated with all the other labels.
While the styling speaks for itself the next generation Focus and C-Max will be the first small car line to make full use of Ford’s Eco-Boost 4-cylinders engines. EcoBoost combines direct gasoline injection, turbocharging and dual variable valve timing to maximize efficiency, resulting in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions reduced by up to 20 percent compared with conventional gasoline engines with a similar power output.
The initial Ford EcoBoost four-cylinder lineup will comprise 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter engines. The engines will be available globally, with versions launching in Europe and North America in 2010. Ford has not said exactly which products the 2.0 liter EcoBoost turbo fours will be introduced in next year, but they have said that it makes a great replacement for a 3.0 V6. That makes one look toward models like the Escape/Mariner, Fusion/Milan, Ranger, and perhaps even a high-performance Focus.
