As we prepare to leave for the Long’s Park Arts Festival this evening, I’d like to share with you something that is making my life a whole lot easier on the art fair circuit. No, not, Phil, but that’s a good guess. If you’re going to do art fairs, I strongly suggest you get yourself a Phil, and make yourself an agreement with him that only one of you is allowed to go crazy at a time. Trust me on this. And no, it’s not tequila, though that helps too. The hero here is the Fo-Bo-Mo-Bile version 2.0. Since January we’ve been joyriding in a new Ford Transit Connect, and loving it. At the risk of sounding like a paid commercial endorsement, here’s why.
The Honda Element, though cute as a bug, wasn’t ever really supposed to hold as much weight as we were putting in it. On the trip to St. Louis last year, that cute little back end was drooping so low that I was seriously concerned, even measuring it’s distance from the ground. Funny story–as we were leaving St. Louis, Phil measured again and remarked that we’d sold an inch and a half of robots! Add to that the new (and really heavy) display units, and a larger vehicle was called for. We tried renting a cargo van but found it to be too big, too noisy, and without the amenities one needs on a long road trip, like CD player, power everything, and cruise control. And the gas mileage…more like gallons per mile.
Fortunately for us, Ford finally introduced the Transit Connect to this country. It’s been a popular work and family vehicle in Europe for several years, aiming to provide a more energy efficient alternative to the cargo van. Enough leg and head room for Phil, tons of capacity and cargo space, Bluetooth (so cool that we can’t even figure out how to use it), quiet, comfortable, and a joy to drive. Best of all–the looks and questions we get from all the other artists when we pull into the fair. Nobody can believe we get so much stuff into such a tiny van. Well, tiny compared to the Sprinters and Econolines. Honestly, it’s like a clown car, the way all of our stuff fits in.
So sorry if I’ve bored you with an unpaid endorsement for this vehicle–we just love it so much. Of course, if Ford wants to make this a PAID endorsement, they’re welcome to send another van or even a little cash our way. I won’t mind.
Amy Flynn Designs 
MAndrew and I were just talking about this idea -I shudder to embrace this kind of activity honestly. Alas…
Why not a time elapsed video (think stop motion) of you guys Philling the Faux-mo-beel? 😀 I’m full of good ideas, ain’t I?
@ecstewart
That, my friend, is an excellent idea, and one that I would hop on in a second. If only I knew how to actually do more with a camera than take single pictures. And sometimes not even that.
Then I shall teach you.
It does have a major cute factor going for it that’s for sure! I think you need to attach another cool Fobots sign or signs to this cute vehicle. Good luck at the fair!
Ya know, I had thought about putting a sign on it–there’s that big space on each side that’s just screaming to have a giant Fobo-Logo put on it. But then I thought, do I really want to alert the public that there may be tens of thousands of dollars worth of robots inside? Best to be anonymous…