his week at the Chicago Auto Show, Ford announced plans to import the Transit Connect commercial van to North America. Ford's Mark Fields, President of the Americas, says that the compact van will be available "next summer," meaning summer of 2009.

The Transit Connect, on sale in Europe since 2003, is designed to create a new commercial vehicle niche for North America, where large, fuel-thirsty vans like the Ford E-Series have reigned supreme for decades.

The Transit Connect features a 2.0 liter Duratec four cylinder engine and an automatic transmission, although the European-specification vehicles on display in Chicago featured diesel engines and five-speed manual transmissions. The four cylinder/automatic combination is estimated to return 19 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway, a 40 percent increase over full size vans.

Two sliding side doors, vertical 180-degree-opening "barn door" cargo doors, a low floor and a high ceiling differentiate the Transit Connect from its rivals. The XLT model will be available with a 270 degree hinge. Ford claims the vehicles offer 155 cubic feet of cargo space behind the front seats. The load space can accomadate items up to 6.5 feet long and 5 feet wide.