Video: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max shows off its magic middle seat

Jeff Glucker — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 19:57:00 EST

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Etc., Videos, Crossover, Ford, Design/Style

2012 Ford Grand C-Max: Disappearing middle seat - Click above to watch video after the jump

We recently spent some time with the 2012 Ford Grand C-Max and came away with mixed feelings about it. It's an excellent compact minivan, but that's a low-volume segment and we're unsure of how well the Grand C-Max will sell here. One particular feature we do know people will be impressed by is the disappearing middle seat found in the second row.

Ford engineers designed the Grand C-Max so that the second-row middle seat folds out of sight into a compartment under the adjacent seat cushion. Doing so opens up a clear passageway to the third row seating. Also, both rear seating rows fold flat to accommodate sizable cargo loads. To see it all in action, check out the video after the jump.

Gallery: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max: First Drive

Photos copyright (C)2010 Chris Paukert / AOL

[Source: Ford via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max shows off its magic middle seat

Video: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max shows off its magic middle seat originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 09 Oct 2010 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max

Chris Paukert — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Europe, Ford, First Drives

The Blue Oval Boys Bet Big By Going Small

2012 Ford Grand C-Max - Click above for high-res image gallery

Historically speaking, the Ford Motor Company has been successful at a great many things, but building minivans hasn't been one of them. Perpetually mired in the shadow of offerings from Chrysler and Japan's automakers, the Blue Oval folded up its sliding-door tent and went home years ago, killing off its undersized Mercury Villager in 2002 and then extinguishing the Windstar-turned-Freestar (and its short-lived Mercury Monterey counterpart) in 2007. Brand supporters will doubtlessly note that the family-ferrying segment was in decline for some years before Dearborn walked away from it, but the truth is that Ford never managed to crack the market's top ranks despite more than 15 years of trying.

So why, then, is red-hot Ford risking a return to the segment in 2012 with the Grand C-Max shown here - a vehicle that's conspicuously smaller and less powerful than the segment norm? Do they know something that we don't? We hopped a puddle jumper to Nice, France after covering last week's Paris Motor Show in an attempt to find out.

Gallery: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max: First Drive

Continue reading First Drive: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max

First Drive: 2012 Ford Grand C-Max originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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