Ford-Utilimaster FFV
{{short description|American light transport truck model}}
{{Infobox automobile
| name = Ford-Utilimaster Flexible Fuel Vehicle
| image = Ford-Utilimaster FFV.jpg
| caption = A 2000 FFV of the United States Postal Service, seen in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in August 2020.
| manufacturer = Utilimaster
| aka = USPS Mail truck
| production = 1999–2001
| model_years =
| assembly = {{ubl|Hazelwood, Missouri (chassis)|Wakarusa, Indiana (body)}}
| predecessor = Grumman LLV
| successor = Oshkosh NGDV
| class = Mail truck
| body_style =
| layout =
| platform =
| engine = {{convert|245|cuin|L|1|disp=flip|abbr=on}} Cologne V6
| transmission = 5-speed Ford 5R55E automatic
| wheelbase =
| length =
| width =
| front_suspension =
| rear_suspension =
| height =
| weight =
| related = Ford Explorer
| designer =
| sp = us
}}
The Ford-Utilimaster Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV; originally designated the Carrier Route Vehicle) is an American light transport truck model, designed as a mail truck for the United States Postal Service (USPS), which is its primary user. It was built as a partnership between Ford Motor Company, which supplied a stripped-down, right-hand drive Ford Explorer chassis and drivetrain, and Utilimaster, which built the aluminum body and integrated it with the chassis. The FFV can operate on either unleaded gasoline or E85 ethanol-blended fuel using the Ford 4.0 L Cologne OHV V6 engine.
The FFV is similar in appearance to and has the same purpose as the earlier Grumman LLV; it can be distinguished from the LLV by the presence of a cargo-area window behind the street-side sliding door of the FFV.
History
File:LLV and FFV in Houston.JPG (left) and FFV (right)]]
The USPS solicited an offer to bid from Ford and Utilimaster in August 1998 for a fleet order of 10,000 vehicles to replace Jeep DJ-5 delivery vehicles.{{rp|121}} At the time, the phased implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 required that 75% of federal fleet acquisitions were alternative fuel vehicles in fiscal year 1999.{{rp|9}} The contract was awarded a month later in September 1998; the first batch of 12 prototypes was completed and delivered for inspection within six months, by March 1999, which required Ford to retool its St. Louis Assembly Plant and Utilimaster to design and build a new body assembly plant. The prototypes were tested between March and July, and the feedback provided was incorporated into the final inspection vehicle, delivered on August 30, less than a year after the initial contract award.{{cite thesis |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/88827/45408560-MIT.pdf |title=An Investigation of the Enablers and Inhibitors to Achieving a Shorter Cycle Product Development System |last=Pepin |first=Michael P. |date=December 1999 |degree=Master of Science |institution=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |chapter=8: Case Study Validation: 2000 USPS Explorer CRV Program |pages=121–133 |chapter-url=https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/88827/45408560-MIT.pdf#page=121}}{{rp|121;131}}
The first production FFV was completed as the "USPS Carrier Route Vehicle" on December 17, 1999. The initial contract for 10,000 FFVs was completed in September 2000.{{cite press release |url=https://www.fleetfinancials.com/48745/landmark-reached-in-production-of-new-postal-truck |title=Landmark Reached in Production of New Postal Truck |date=September 22, 2000 |publisher=Utilimaster Corporation |access-date=6 February 2023}} The per-unit cost of the FFV in 2001 was {{USD|20537|2001|round=-2}},{{rp|12}} and the final total order was for 21,275 FFVs, delivered in 2000 and 2001.{{cite web |url=https://industrytoday.com/delivering-the-goods/ |title=Delivering the Goods |volume=3 |issue=5 |date=August 26, 2000 |work=Industry Today |access-date=6 February 2023}} In 2010, the USPS owned 21,137 FFVs, compared to 141,319 LLVs.{{cite report |url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-11-386.pdf |title=United States Postal Service: Strategy Needed to Address Aging Delivery Fleet, GAO 11-386 |date=May 2011 |publisher=United States Government Accountability Office |access-date=6 February 2023}}{{rp|12}}
Technical
File:USPS (23143696341).jpg; note cargo area window]]
The right-hand drive Explorer chassis were built at Ford's St. Louis Assembly Plant, including an aluminum dash panel; the completed chassis were shipped to Utilimaster's Wakarusa, Indiana plant for final assembly.{{cite press release |url=https://www.theautochannel.com/news/press/date/19990722/press027087.html |title=Ford Motor Company and Utilimaster Deliver For the United States Postal Service |date=23 July 1999 |publisher=Ford Motor Company |access-date=6 February 2023}} The ladder frame chassis had a C-shaped cross section and six cross-members. At {{cvt|17|ft}} long, it is approximately {{cvt|2|ft}} longer than an LLV{{cite report |url=https://www.nalc.org/workplace-issues/resources/manuals/other/EL-804-June-2013-Safe-Driver-Program.pdf |chapter-url=https://www.nalc.org/workplace-issues/resources/manuals/other/EL-804-June-2013-Safe-Driver-Program.pdf#page=50 |chapter=Appendix A: Mirror Adjustment Station |title=Safe Driver Program, Handbook EL-804 |date=June 2013 |publisher=United States Postal Service |access-date=6 February 2023}} and has a larger cargo volume. Among the new safety features Utilimaster has added a window on the left hand side of the truck for better visibility in these right-hand-drive trucks. {{cite news |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=NAN19991222.1.7 |title=Debut USPS vehicle |date=December 22, 1999 |newspaper=Nappanee Advance-News |access-date=6 February 2023}}
The FFV was equipped with a 3:55:1 final drive limited-slip rear axle, powered by the 4.0L Cologne V6 through a 5-speed automatic transmission. The engine had a peak output of {{cvt|160|hp|PS kW|0}} at 4,000 RPM and {{cvt|225|lbft|Nm kgm|0}} at 2,750 RPM. It rides on {{cvt|15|in}} steel wheels and LT195/75R15C tires. Anecdotal evidence shows that some FFVs have four-wheel-drive.{{cite news |url=https://www.theautopian.com/those-slightly-curvier-postal-trucks-arent-what-you-think/ |title=Those Slightly Curvier Postal Trucks Aren't What You Think |first=Mercedes |last=Streeter |date=December 11, 2023 |work=The Autopian |access-date=12 December 2023}} The FFV has an average observed fuel consumption of {{cvt|6.9|mpgUS|L/100km mpgimp|1}}, worse than the {{cvt|8.2|mpgUS|L/100km mpgimp|1}} of the LLVs and slightly better than the {{cvt|6.3|mpgUS|L/100km mpgimp|1}} of the commercial off-the-shelf Mercedes Metris vans that have been used to supplement the fleet.{{cite report |url=https://uspsngdveis.com/documents/USPS+NGDV+FEIS_Dec+2021.pdf |title=Final Environmental Impact Statement: United States Postal Service Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions |page=G-2 |date=December 2021 |publisher=United States Postal Service |access-date=6 February 2023}}{{rp|Table G-1}}
At the time they were acquired, the only flexible fuel-capable engines were 6-cylinder types, which proved to be heavier and less fuel efficient than the 4-cylinder engines in the LLVs; in addition, E85 has less energy than gasoline, by volume, and it was estimated the USPS used {{cvt|587000|USgal|impgal L}} of E85 in fiscal year 2010 at a cost premium of {{USD|135700|2010|round=-2}} compared to using gasoline vehicles.{{rp|19}} In Fiscal Year 2005, it was estimated that only 1,000 of the FFVs were using E85 regularly, consuming {{cvt|582000|USgal|impgal L}} with a 26% decrease in fuel economy.{{cite report |url=https://www-f.nescaum.org/documents/improving-the-fuel-economy-of-heavy-duty-fleets/richardfraer-1.pdf/ |title=US Postal Service Alternative Fuels Program |author=Fraer, Richard |date=February 22, 2006 |publisher=Engineering Department, United States Postal Service |access-date=7 February 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}