Politics of Van Manufacturing

Several times a month, Transit Connect vans from a Ford Motor Co. factory in Turkey roll off a ship here shiny and new, rear side windows gleaming, back seats firmly bolted to the floor.

Their first stop in America is a low-slung, brick warehouse where those same windows, never squeegeed at a gas station, and seats, never touched by human backsides, are promptly ripped out.

The fabric is shredded, the steel parts are broken down, and everything is sent off along with the glass to be recycled.

Why would any business have such a wasteful production process? It's not a result of economic efficiency, but instead the consequences of political policy. Ford does this to redefine the van as a "wagon" to avoid a 50 year old trade tariff. Read the article for the details.