According to a recent Ford Motor Company press release, R.L. Polk & Co. confirmed there are four times as many Ford E-Series full-size vans on the road with at least 250,000 miles than any competitor’s van. This includes a 1991 E-Series van operated by the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Kingsport, Tenn., which has approximately 950,000 miles and is still being used to transport wheelchair patients.
R.L. Polk & Co., one of the leading and most highly respected companies that collects and interprets automotive and marketing data it then provides to the auto industry. In addition to its findings on high mileage Ford E-Series vans, the company also confirmed that the Ford E-Series van is the leading choice for van pooling.
The press release says that Polk certified Ford’s 250,000-mile durability claim by tracing odometer readings recorded during maintenance stops of all operable vans. Ford initiated the research last year, believing there were more E-Series vans on the road with 250,000 miles or more than any other full-size van. But what they didn’t realize was that there are more than quadruple the number of these high-mileage E-Series than the next best van.
Ford claims there are even a few customers who have logged 1 million miles on their E-Series vans. The 1991 E-Series van operated by the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Kingsport, Tenn., is closing in on this milestone with about 950,000 miles. Robert Ley is the hospital’s director of marketing operations. “That’s a lot of miles. I personally have never heard of a vehicle with that many miles on it that’s still in a workable, safe condition,” he said. And that’s without replacing an engine or three.” The van logs about 60,000 miles a year, providing services in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. In its fleet, the hospital also has two other Ford vans, but they’re newer models. They only have 400,000 and 500,000 miles on them.
Cristi Brown is the Ford E-Series van marketing manager. She said, “We put E-Series vans through millions of rigorous ‘Built Ford Tough’ testing miles so customers can depend on them every day. The three most important things to an E-Series customer are versatility, capability and durability – the keys to the Built Ford Tough promise. Van customers depend on their vehicles to get the job done to serve their customers – their businesses depend on the Ford E-Series’ proven dependability.
Joe Castelli is the director of Ford Commercial Truck Marketing. The press release quotes Castelli: “Ford is building on 28 years of full-size van leadership by delivering more of what customers want – more style, more capability and even more durability. There are quadruple the number of Ford E-Series vans with 250,000 miles or more on the road than anyone else, giving our customers the confidence they need to run their business smoothly every day.
Ford E-Series vans are used for a variety of tasks, including transportation of large groups in passenger vans, cargo delivery in cargo vans, and specialized applications such as ambulances and small commuter busses. In each case, Ford customers depend on their van’s durability and reliability in getting the job done, and getting it done safely.
The press release says Ford E-Series sales are up 8 percent so far in 2007; this includes more than half of the full-size van market. In 2006, Ford was credited with 50 percent of the 350,000 vans sold.
Marketing of the 2008 Ford E-Series will begin in July, with sales beginning in August.
Press Release; R.L. Polk confirms Ford E-series vans are industry’s longest-lasting vans; http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=26264
