Ford Mobility Motoring
The Ford Motor Co Has An Online Showroom of Shiny Adapted Vehicles.
Ford Motor's Mobility Motoring program offers cash assistance, a range of adaptive equipment, dealerships qualified to install it, and other support for accessibility.
National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association February 2007 Conference
At the February 2007 annual conference of the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA), four OEM (original equipment manufacturers) companies gave presentations about their vehicles. The Ford presentation is listed first on the NMEDA website, with a link to the slides from the presentation.
Presentation by Ford Mobility Motoring
Ford's slides show that the company has a far-reaching mobility program within the USA.
Some of the elements of the mobility program are:
- up to $1,000 rebate on a new Ford vehicle to pay for adaptations related to mobility
- selection of available adaptive equipment
- qualified dealership network
- resources for upfitters (businesses which modify vehicles to make them accessible)
- educational and promotional speakers
- trade show participation
- department dedicated to mobility.
Most Popular Ford Vehicles for Mobility
In 2006, presumably in the USA only, the Ford Econoline van was by far the most popular vehicle sold in the mobility program. There were 11,667 Ford Econolines sold. The next closest vehicle was the Ford Freestar van with 687 sold. In the Lincoln Mercury car range, the Monterey, Grand Marquis and Town Car each sold between 100 and 200 for the year.
More Commercial than Retail Mobility Claims
Ford provides mobility rebates to assist customers with paying for adaptive equipment. There is a graph of the number of claims for assistance made each year from 1992 to 2006. Up until 2000, almost all of the claims came from retail customers. Since 2000, the number of commercial claims has been growing rapidly. Since 2003, commercial claims have been greater than retail.
Since 2002, the number of retail claims made has been dropping annually.
How to find out more about Ford's Mobility Motoring Program
The Ford presentation slides are a good reference, even though they are not 100 percent relevant to the individual looking for a vehicle, because they show some of the things Ford has to offer, and give website URLs for more information.
The Mobility Motoring website has information on financial assistance, types of adaptive equipment, and more. Ford Mobility Motoring attends trade shows, some of which are open to the public.
A little harder to find, the Ford Fleet websitehas a list of mobility motoring modifiers. These businesses are listed as resources for fleet operators, but may also work for individual retail customers.
For the Canadian Mobility Plus program, which is similar to the US program, Ford's Canadian website has information. Use the search function and the keyword "mobility" to find it. The program in Canada is called Mobility Plus.
Time limits for making a claim
In order to claim the mobility assistance program payment, you must be qualified for it, and you have to apply to Ford when you purchase a new vehicle. The details are set out on the Ford website.
At the time of this article, the customer had 12 months to make a mobility assistance claim in the USA, but only six months in Canada.
Please check with Ford directly to make sure the terms of the mobility program have not changed.
On-line showroom and list of adaptations
If you enjoy looking at new cars and trucks, the online showroom on the Mobility Motoring website will stir your interest. There are pictures of different models all decked out with the latest and greatest in wheelchair ramps, scooter and wheelchair lifts, hand controls (inside the car, you can't really see them in the picture), and so on.
There is also a chart showing which vehicles can be equipped with each of the modifications Ford offers, including:
- carriers
- door openers
- hand controls
- lifts (wheelchair lifts)
- lowered floors
- parking brake
- raised roof
- ramps
- steering devices
- wheelchair restraints.
If you are interested in renting before you buy, Wheelchair Accessible Van Rentals has some leads.
