Ford shows Transit Connect Electric, Edge

The newest version of the compact Transit Connect unveiled in advance of the 102nd Chicago Auto Show, is powered by a high-voltage, 55-kilowatt electric motor and 28-kilowatt, lithium-ion battery that can be recharged by plugging into a household 120-volt outlet for 12 hours -- or a 240-volt outlet for six hours. The commercial van can travel 80 miles on a single charge and hit a top speed of 75 miles per hour.

Azure Dynamics Inc. of Oak Park, Mich., will supply the electric motor and the vehicle will be assembled in Wayne, Mich. Johnson Controls-Saft of Holland, Mich., produces the lithium-ion battery pack.

Nearly 655,000 gasoline models of the built-in-Turkey Transit Connect have been sold since in 2003, Derrick Zuzak, Ford's head of global product development said at the Chicago Auto Show. Ford sold 8,834 gasoline models in the United States last year.

Transit Connect Electric is the first of at least four zero-emission vehicles Ford hopes to produce by 2013. A conversion model of the Transit Connect designed for use as a taxi cab can run on compressed natural gas or liquefied propane, delivering about same acceleration as a gasoline model. The Transit Connect Taxi has a rear seat credit payment scanner and an 8.4-inch video screen that shows news, sports, stock market information and weather.

The Transit Connect Electric is to be followed by the Ford Focus Electric, a plug-in hybrid built off the Focus platform, The Detroit News reported. Transit connect was the 2009 North American Truck of the Year.

The refreshed midsize Ford Edge crossover is the first Ford vehicle to get the new 2.0-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged EcoBoost engine, along with a new interior featuring the MyFord Touch control system. A sports model powered by a 3.7-liter V6 engine delivering 305 horsepower gets 22-inch alloy wheels. The base 3.5-liter V6 produces 285 horsepower.

More than 1 million people are expected to attend the car show, which is open to the public Feb. 12-21.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).