Ford is trying to win over baby boomers in a big way with their 2019 Ford Transit Connect Wagon (one of Automoblog’s favorite vans). Their press materials from this year’s Chicago Auto Show are crammed with enough condescending references to the post-war generation to gag Grace Slick. But those egregious faux pas aside, the 2019 Ford Transit Connect Wagon has some pretty good stuff to offer.
Influential Generation
Why try to reinvent the van and sell it to boomers" Ford is direct and up front as to why: “Boomers … grew up driving vans, [and] at 111 million strong and holding 63 percent of American financial assets, the 50 plus demographic is the number one consumer demographic in the United States.” Or to be even more succinct: Boomers already know vans, there are a lot of them, and they have a lot of money. According to AARP, one in three Boomers plans to purchase a car in the next three years. So, besides the corny and insulting hippie references in the press release (i.e. Life?s Still a Trip, Today?s Magic Bus) what does the 2019 Transit have to offer"
2019 Transit Connect Wagon. Photo: Ford Motor Company.
Safety & Security
For starters, it has room for five to seven passengers and, since you can easily reconfigure the interior, cargo duty is just as easy as hauling people. American Transit buyers will also get their choice of a new gas or diesel engine, along with a collection of driver-assist technologies like Automatic Emerg...