Ford Model U

{{Short description|2003 concept car designed and manufactured by Ford}}

The Ford Model U was a concept car created by Ford. This vehicle was first introduced at the 2003 North American International Auto Show. Ford designed this vehicle to be a modern 21st century interpretation to the original Ford Model T.

Engine

The Model U used a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder supercharged, intercooled hydrogen internal combustion I4 engine which also used a hybrid electric transmission.{{Cite news |date=8 August 2012 |title=A Look Back at Ford's Truck and SUV Concepts |url=https://www.motortrend.com/news/163-1208-a-look-back-at-past-ford-concepts/ |work=MotorTrend}} With this type of engine and transmission, this engine lived up to PZEV standards.

Design

The Model U's exterior was soy-based{{Cite news |date=19 July 2004 |title=Soy-Based Products Show Potential Under The Hood |url=https://www.aftermarketnews.com/soy-based-products-show-potential-under-the-hood/ |work=aftermarketNews}} and the interior was highly automated. It had a power-retractable canvas roof and could go from an SUV to a pickup truck with its automatic retractable behind. The interior featured a slot system{{clarify|date=November 2021}} to reduce clutter. The car was ~95% recyclable and never meant for production.

References

[http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z6655/Ford_Model%20U/default.aspx Ford Model U Information @ ConceptCarz.com]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060424090154/http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=14047 Model U Concept: A Model for Change] Detailed article on Ford site
[http://evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=481 Ford's Model U For Change: An exclusive EV World interview with Ford Model U project engineers]

Model U