Carrina / Auto Consept

Ford dropped at the nitty gritty details on the new Transit Connect commercial van, but the folks at the Blue Oval still had a surprise up their sleeve at the presentation today. Ford gave away five Transit Connects to small business owners who'd won a contest, and each van was custom outfitted for each business.

After the Transit Connect Concept was unveiled at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show, Ford held a contest asking small business owners across the U.S. to write in a proposal detailing how they would use such a van. Ford sifted through nearly 1000 entries and chose five businesses from across the country to receive the first U.S.-spec vans.


That wasn't all, though. Ford flew the business owners out to Chicago to present them with their new vans at Ford's press conference at the show. Then, with all five waiting expectantly on stage, Ford announced that not only would it give them the vans free, but that it had customized each van for the individual businesses. The businesses included a mobile maid service , a mobile baby-proofing service, a mobile CPR training service, a guide-dog training center, and a kayak outfitter.