49 MPG Ford MiniVan ... On Sale NOW in Europe...Why the *BLEEP* can't I buy this HERE & NOW!!

[masmdu]

So this model Ford MiniVan has been available in Europe since 2007!! (Price ~25,000)

Granted it's a Ford but it gets ~50MPG!!

http://www.carsplusplus.com/specs2007/ford_c-max_16_tdci_ambiente.php

Can anybody give me a serious answer as to why I can't buy the thing HERE!

[hobbit709]

1. The oil barons are in charge here.

Next silly question?

[Lerkfish]

2. are those imperial or american gallons?

1 US Gallon = 0.8327 Imperial Gallons

so, that would be:

1.2 imperial gallons to an american gallon (roughly)
still, unless my math sucks, that's about 40 or so miles to the american gallon.

that's still better than us, but not quite as huge a difference as before.

[masmdu]

3. American Gallons

[Lerkfish]

5. well, then, I'm right there with you.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Would be an interesting business idea to import (literally) European

vehicles like those, and sell them here. Are they banned from being sold here or just financially prohibitive?

[AZ Criminal JD]

25. They are banned

Don't meet American safety regulations because of inferior bumpers.

[yellowdogintexas]

6. gas has been so high there for so long, there has always been guaranteed demand

for high mileage vehicles.

GM built them in Spain 25 years ago, cars which at that time did not meet American emission standards, which were much lower then than now. I do not know how the emission standards rate NOW. I just know that my uncle was Comptroller of GM's big new (in 1982) factory in Zaragosa and when I asked him if their car was being built for sale here that is what he told me; those cars were meant only for Europe.

Anybody remember when Opel was a high mileage car available here? Then they weren't exported over here any more? They still build them over there. I remember lots of of them in Cambridge back in 1970 along with Renaults, and of course original VW bugs and basic Fiats. After Datsun and Toyota and Honda started selling their products, European cars became much less popular over here.

I enjoy the comfort and quiet interior of my reasonably good mileage car but there are truly times that I miss my 1965 Beetle!

[n2doc]

7. Silly American- Ford KNOWs you really want an Expedition!

They are Professionals! :rofl:

Just like that 65 mpg car they won't bring here- "No One would buy it, we are certain of that"

[gollygee]

8. I would so buy that

25,000 USD? That's cheap for a minivan.

[Romulox]

19. It's about the size of a focus (which it is based on.) It's a stretch to call it a "minivan"...nt

[cobalt1999]

9. If you were the Ford CEO, would you rather have Euros or Dollars right now?

That's why they are on sale only in Europe.

[Jane Austin]

10. I'd buy one of those today!

I really need a minivan - and good mileage.

[fascisthunter]

11. Because the American Fascists Won't Let You

they want you to buy a gas guzzler instead! And to prove my point, this government under Republican control promoted the biggest gas guzzler out there by giving consumers a tax break for buying a Hummer.

[nc4bo]

12. Of all the responses, I like this one best because it just fits. nt

[AZ Criminal JD]

27. It is the stupidest response.

[digidigido]

13. It's Diesel.

And Diesel is more expensive then gasoline, and used to be a higher polluting fuel, just remember
the awful smell of buses and trucks

[reggie the dog]

21. new diesel engines

and newly reformulated diesel have solved that problem

[SteelPenguin]

30. the reason is Diesel, but not the pollution aspect which they've solved

The new Diesels are cleaner than your Gas burning engine.

The problem is those cars are manufactured in Europe, and the cost to import them would be prohibitively high. The cost to build a plant capable of building the engines alone in this country or in mexico even, would cost over $350 milllion dollars and require Ford to sell on the order of 600,000 of the cars in order to not take a loss.

Ford doesn't believe that the risk is worth it, and that American's won't buy these diesel cars.

[DCKit]

31. Not all U.S. diesel is "cleaned-up" yet and won't be until 2010.

Sulfur in the fuel will ruin the European engines.

It's the same reason Yurpeens have been able to by direct injection gasoline engines for the past decade and while have none here.

[Auggie]

14. Might be less profitable to make too

Just a guess

[TheWraith]

15. You can buy vehicles like that in the US already.

It's a diesel vehicle, not gasoline. There's a number of diesel-fueled cars on the roads, some of which get around that 50 MPG mark. Catch is, they're rare, and diesel is a lot more expensive even than gasoline. When it comes down to it, you're only paying about 3.3 cents more per mile running an efficient gas car at 30 MPG than you are with a 50 MPG diesel.

Sorry to undermine the conspiracy theory.

[kysrsoze]

17. Agree, and BTW - Ford IS considering bringing over a small delivery van...

as well as re-developing the F100 (not F150), which isn't overbuilt and has a maximum of a V6 engine. It's all coming, but they're just slow to respond. We thought we'd never get the European Ford Focus and Mondeo, but they are both on their way too. They may FINALLY be "getting it."

[ForeignSpectator]

16. Probably the same reason why you won't be able to buy most these cars here :

http://www.ford.de/ns7/pkw_uebersicht


Ford on our side of the Atlantic ( based in Cologne ) is pretty independent from the American holding, I think. They have to build for the European market.

But their cars suck, too ;) and it's more Diesel over here which result in extremely polluting emissions and are VERY healthy to breathe in! ( dust of the size of nano-particles that reach into your alveoli, not good )

[Romulox]

18. It's an extended Ford Focus with a small diesel engine. No magic involved.

There is no conspiracy to deprive US drivers of Foci; Americans, by and large, do not like diesel fuel. This may well change in the future.

[reggie the dog]

22. here in the EU

diesel is less expensive than gasoline

[Romulox]

23. Here in the US, it is almost $1 more expensive per (US!) gallon, and few stations supply it.

Again, this is not a conspiracy from Ford; the OP has been free to buy a VW diesel for generations, but I would guess he has not.

[reggie the dog]

20. comparable to my dacia logan

with its 1.5 liter diesel engine I am in the 50 to 55 mpg. Why can't we buy them in the USA????? hmmmmm

[Romulox]

26. The Geo Metro got almost 50 miles per (US!) gallons in 1990. Nobody wanted one.

The Geo Metro is now most famous for being the butt of the joke in the "FreeCreditReport.com" commercials.

"Too bad I didn't know
My credit was wack
Now I'm rolling off the lot
in a used sub-compact!"

[AZ Criminal JD]

24. Safety considerations are why you can't buy it here.

Regulations in the U.S. impose far stricter safety regulations on cars sold in the U.S. than in Europe. The bumpers have to be made much stronger and with steel supports. Europe has no such regulations. The added weight also decreases the miles per gallon. Sorry to bring reality into the "fascists won't let you buy it" postings.

[Romulox]

28. OMG!!1!!!11! FORD WON'T GIVE US THE MPG MAGIC!

:rofl:

[bighart]

29. DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER

Issue is not meeting US safety requirements.