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New Ford B-Max: Backpacker RV?

New Ford B-Max: Backpacker RV?

Old May 6, 2011, 8:53 am
  #1  
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New Ford B-Max: Backpacker RV?

I've been looking for a vehicle that makes 35 mpg and allows me to sleep inside for "backpacker" thrift in a secure vehicle.

The Ford B-max may be it. The 3-cyl/1-liter ecoboost engine provides 100 hp. High strength steel negates the need for a B-pillar allowing an innovative door configuration. It is built on a Fiesta platform.

ford: b-max at geneva motor show 2011 - designboom


You-Tube: 2m+ flat interior configuration
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Old May 6, 2011, 9:58 am
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Exclamation Spam alert!!!

Moderator, at least on of the links in the above post lead to a dubious SPAM site. Please remove.
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Old May 6, 2011, 10:19 am
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Look fine to me. Please clarify.
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Old May 6, 2011, 11:23 am
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Originally Posted by DisneyDude
Moderator, at least on of the links in the above post lead to a dubious SPAM site. Please remove.
Checked both sites, and nothing odd popped up here.
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Old May 8, 2011, 10:57 am
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Nissan had something like those doors in a microvan sold in US/Canada about 25 yrs ago called "Multi".
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Old May 8, 2011, 11:10 am
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Not sure how you could sleep in there without removing the back seats.

At least with the fugly Pontiac Aztek, the cargo area was advertised as doubling as sleeping quarters.
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Old May 8, 2011, 11:12 am
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Looks like a Mazda 5. I like the 5, and I like the new Fiesta, so this interests me.
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Old May 8, 2011, 3:33 pm
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Originally Posted by pseudoswede
Not sure how you could sleep in there without removing the back seats.
The rear and right-front seats fold down for a 2+ meter flat surface. Seems with a little after-market decking, a prone sleeping position could be possible, albeit minimal.

----------------

ETA: When it hits European showrooms next year, the B-Max will be fitted with Ford's latest EcoBoost engine, a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder direct-injection gasoline unit that returns nearly 60 mpg and emits less than 100 g/km of CO2. The engine is fitted with an auto stop-start system to help boost mileage and lower emissions, and drives the front wheels through a six-speed twin-clutch Powershift gearbox.

Last edited by pierre mclopez; May 8, 2011 at 4:34 pm
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Old May 9, 2011, 10:54 am
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OP, Judging by your UA, DL, and AA status... you're likely in the US. Which makes me wonder, is this vehicle even destined for the US market?
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Old May 9, 2011, 12:31 pm
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Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

Originally Posted by mkt
OP, Judging by your UA, DL, and AA status... you're likely in the US. Which makes me wonder, is this vehicle even destined for the US market?
I'm not a huge car guy, but I read that the Fiesta is Ford's first crack at a "universal" platform.

If this thing takes off in Europe, they should be able to move production to other continents with a minimum of retooling...
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Old May 9, 2011, 12:59 pm
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Originally Posted by mkt
OP, Judging by your UA, DL, and AA status... you're likely in the US. Which makes me wonder, is this vehicle even destined for the US market?
The B-Max is a concept car which will soon make production. Assembled in Romania and not slated for the US, but some chatter that fuel prices may accelerate its appearance here.

[Edmund's] Inside Line says: Don't be surprised to see Ford reverse itself and bring the B-Max to the States once gas tops $5 a gallon here. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
I started this thread because it's a imaginative concept and would be great car-camping in British Columbia bear country and elsewhere.
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