Featured this week at the Chicago Auto Show is a fantastic new sustainable vehicle made by Ford. Built for the small business owner, the latest Ford Transit Connect is an alternative vehicle which offers two choices for fuel - either compressed natural gas or electric. Along with a hundred or so other people, I was invited to attend the pre-show reveal at the Museum of Science and Industry's transportation gallery. Surrounded dramatically by hanging full sized airplanes, a train engine, and The Spirit of America (one of the fastest land vehicles on earth), the Ford Transit Connect was in good company. Notable attendees like City of Chicago Commissioner, Norma Reyes, were enthusiastic about the possibilities for both the fuel efficient taxi cabs and all electric fleet vehicles for the future of the City of Chicago. Transit Connect Electric is well-suited for commercial fleets that travel short-range and have a central location for daily recharging. The vehicle, which will accelerate at a similar rate as the gas-powered Transit Connect and will have a top speed of 75 mph, has a targeted range of up to 80 miles on a full charge. Owners will have the option of recharging the Transit Connect Electric with either a standard 120V outlet or preferably a 240V charge station installed at the user's base of operations for optimal recharging in six to eight hours. A transportable cord that works with both types of outlets will be available for recharging at both kinds of locations. Ford confirmed the zero-emissions small van will be in fleet operators' hands later this year. While the original Transit has been well tested, more than 600,000 Transits have been sold since 2003 to customers in 58 countries on three continents; it is the 2011 version which proves unique in its ability to reduce carbon emissions. For me, coming to the Ford Transit reveal was a personal experience. My husband, Luis Coronado, and I are both small business owners, and the Ford Transit is considered a fantastic sustainable tool for small businesses. As the CEO of a computer services company, I felt my husband was the perfect person to bring along to see the new vehicle and put the Ford Transit to the test. Indeed, we found the vehicles surprisingly roomy with some amazing options specifically for the small business owner. For example, the back of the Transit Connect Electric is decked out with a full range of shelving and storage areas for a small business owner to take his business on the road. It would be perfect for a computer services team, a florist, or any number of other businesses that have fleet requirements or require off-site delivery or services. Both the Transit Connect Electric and the compressed natural gas Transit Connect Taxi offer a lot of energy savings. Why go electric with a vehicle like The Transit Connect Electric? It is expected that these vehicles will offer lower cost of operation, because recharging with electricity is generally less expensive than refueling with gasoline. Users may also benefit from much lower maintenance costs over the life of the vehicle.Consider the following:
* The number of components typical in an internal combustion engine and transmission are
dramatically reduced in an electric vehicle to just a few moving parts in the electric motor and
transaxle, which results in much fewer parts to wear out or maintain
* Electric powertrains operate with solid state electronics, which have demonstrated low or no
maintenance over the life of the product
* Electric vehicles have completely sealed cooling systems that do not require refilling,
replacement or flushing
* Electric vehicles require no oil changes or tune-ups
* There are no belts to wear out or break and no spark plugs or injectors to clean or adjust
* There is no exhaust system to replace and no liquid fuel system to freeze or clog
* The use of regenerative braking reduces wear and tear on brake pads
In addition to the Transit Connect Electric, Ford plans to bring three more electrified vehicles to market by 2012 - the Focus Electric in 2011, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in 2012 and a next-generation hybrid in 2012.
transaxle, which results in much fewer parts to wear out or maintain
* Electric powertrains operate with solid state electronics, which have demonstrated low or no
maintenance over the life of the product
* Electric vehicles have completely sealed cooling systems that do not require refilling,
replacement or flushing
* Electric vehicles require no oil changes or tune-ups
* There are no belts to wear out or break and no spark plugs or injectors to clean or adjust
* There is no exhaust system to replace and no liquid fuel system to freeze or clog
* The use of regenerative braking reduces wear and tear on brake pads
In addition to the Transit Connect Electric, Ford plans to bring three more electrified vehicles to market by 2012 - the Focus Electric in 2011, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in 2012 and a next-generation hybrid in 2012.
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন