Accessible vehicle puts dignity first
Canadian MV-1 is built with user in mind
As a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, I occasionally require the service of an accessible cab.
Here in Calgary, the majority of those cabs are converted minivans with rear-entry ramps. To make a conversion, the back of a regular passenger minivan has been cut apart, a new lower floor welded in place, and a folding ramp installed.
When bundled into the back of one of these converted vans, there’s really not much dignity involved — you’re basically cargo, carried where the luggage usually goes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always happy to get to my destination, but the converted minivan just doesn’t seem ideal.
There are side entry converted vans, too, but regardless of the configuration, the ramp and passenger accommodations are always an afterthought. That’s the nature of a conversion: Taking something and adapting it to do something it wasn’t meant to do.
Enter Nick Grande and his company, MV-1 Canada. Grande has more than 20 years of experience in automotive sales, management and leasing. In 2003, the Toronto Transit Commission approached his leasing company.
“The TTC was talking to various stakeholders about accessible vehicles,” Grande said during a recent telephone interview from his office in Concord, Ont.
“Apart from converted vans, which have a high failure rate because they were never designed for the purpose, the TTC asked if there was anything else on the market that we knew about.”
At his computer, Grande typed ‘accessible vehicle’ into his Google search bar. Somehow, he found a site that featured the famous black London taxicab, which in turn brought him to North America. At the time, Marc Klein and his partner Pat Corrigan operated London Fleet Companies, and they had the U.S. distribution, sales and advertising rights for the left-hand drive London taxi models.
“(Klein) asked me to get on a plane and visit him in Connecticut,” Grande said.
Klein and his company, the Vehicle Production Group, were working on creating a dedicated and accessible cab called the Standard Taxi. According to Grande, they were engineering a vehicle from the ground up.
Grande got involved and helped provide the team with some design principles for a universal vehicle that would accept any size scooter, wheelchair and user, whether short or tall.
What they arrived at was the MV-1, short for Mobility Vehicle-1. It was purpose-built from the ground up, with the ramp and wheelchair user being the forethought for design, instead of the afterthought.
American company Roush Engineering designed the chassis. It’s a fully boxed steel frame with lower side rails. This allows the right-side manual or powerdeployed ramp to extend from within the vehicle — it’s not attached underneath. Furthermore, the floor in the vehicle is the same height, whether in the middle, front passenger side or driver side of the MV-1. The MV-1 was also engineered to employ the industry-standard Q’Straint wheelchair tie-down system.
“One of the main design parameters we wanted to meet was having the wheelchair passenger up front, riding shotgun, if that’s where they wanted to be,” Grande said. “We call it the dignity position.”
Roush tested numerous components to find the best for the MV-1, from the rear brakes to front tie rods. Ford/Lincoln supplies the engine and transmission package. The company’s tried and true 4.6-litre V8 that hauls the front-engined, rear-wheeldrive 5,000-lb. vehicle, which, if you look closely, slightly resembles the iconic London Taxi.
“It’s a London Taxi on steroids,” Grande joked. “But seriously, we had to change the style, because no family would want to buy a car that looked like the London cab.”
In Grande’s office there’s a crayon-drawing made by his daughter, who was four years old at the time the MV-1 was being designed. She was trying to draw a vehicle that, in her mind, her Dad was trying to build. When all is said and done, some of the lines in the MV-1 look similar to the crayon drawing.
“Because I leased all kinds of different vehicles, she said to me, ‘Stop selling cars people want and start selling a vehicle that people need’,” Grande said. “That’s a pretty profound statement.”
Ultimately, Grande saw the MV-1 being purchased by a variety of end users, including individuals who drive with aids, such as hand controls, either directly from their wheelchair or by transferring to the driver’s seat.
He also thought the MV-1 would be ideal for a family with a wheelchair-dependent member — it seats up to six. But it doesn’t end there. He figures the MV-1 will fill a role in rental fleets, and will be used by limousine and cab companies, as well.
While the MV-1 isn’t inexpensive, it’s at least within reach. Three models are available: The base SE is $46,900, the middleof-the-road DX is $53,900 and the fully loaded luxury LX is $64,900.
Grande’s company is the Canadian distributor of the MV-1, which is now produced by AM General in 675,000 square foot of the Mishawaka, Indiana facility where the Hummer H2 and H3 were once built.
Grande said there are about 300 MV-1s on the road in Canada, and there are 23 franchise retail outlets across the country. The MV-1 comes with a seemingly ironclad warranty, and the company has partnered with Napa Autopro for all repair work.
“This is an unequalled service network,” Grande said. “There are 650 locations across Canada.”
The MV-1 is the first and only vehicle to be recognized by the International da Vinci Awards for Universal Design. In 2010 the vehicle was selected in recognition for being “the only purposebuilt vehicle designed from the ground up for wheelchair accessibility,” the awards website states.