Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles
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U.S. Commerce Associations Award Plaque Honors the Achievement
WASHINGTON D.C., June 8, 2009 -- Amcar Motor Corporation has been selected for the 2009 Best of Kissimmee Award in the Wheelchair Lifts category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).
The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2009 USCA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.
About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)
U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.
The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.
SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association
CONTACT:
U.S. Commerce Association
Email: PublicRelations@us-ca.org
URL: http://www.us-ca.org
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We got the van late yesterday, have not tried to install the plate for the locking system yet, I may have questions later, My wife and I and the kids were able to go out to dinner, for the first time in along time. The tie downs and everything else seems to be working great, thanks so much since this will provide my wife just what it now says across the back of the van..freedom! This is especially sweet since so many others had told us our van (a kia sedona) could not be converted.
The ride was very smooth and my wife had plenty of head room and she is very happy.
James, January 2010
In March 2009 we shifted from our farm into a courtyard house in the suburbs of Adelaide. We had been using a Subaru 4wd for farm work and a 1991 Toyota Microbus with a hoist for transporting Ashley, who is totally disabled. We wanted to reduce to one vehicle and as our joints do not move as freely as they used to we wanted to reduce the bending during loading and unloading.
I located Freedom Motors when browsing on the web. I could not find anything in Adelaide that matched their “Freedom Dock” which seemed to suit our needs perfectly, and so with some reluctance I entered into discussion over the internet and by telephone with Freedom Motors. I found it hard to believe loading and unloading could be so simple! Sandra answered all my questions and seemed very friendly, but it was a bit daunting spending such a large amount of money sight unseen. My son was in Sydney almost every week and so I asked if they could show him a converted vehicle. Sandra took one out to his office, and he was very impressed with the quality of the product, and so we went ahead. We bought our Kia here from Stillwell Kia, but it was delivered to Freedom in Sydney for the conversion to be done by them.
The conversion took about three or four weeks and our nerves were calmed by good communication with Greg and Sandra. To fit the centre drive wheelchair to the freedom dock we had to fly the wheelchair up to Sydney as the chair had extra low ground clearance. Qantas transported it to and fro and although there were a few problems when the wheelchair packaging disintegrated and the chair was slightly damaged, the Freedom staff helped sort it out with Invacare in Sydney, who checked it out and fixed some minor damage. Freedom then fitted the docking mechanism to the chair and sent it back home where it arrived in better condition than when it left. A week or so later we flew up to Sydney and picked up our car and drove it home with an unregistered vehicle permit. Stillwell Kia handled the approvals with the South Australian authorities and we finally got our vehicle.
I can only say the conversion is brilliant. The Kia is good, economical and a pleasure to drive. But the conversion with a Freedom Dock is the best investment we have ever made. No more tedious tying the chair down, bending and twisting backs etc. Just drive it in, the lock goes clunk, shut the tailgate and off we go – wonderful. After almost twenty years of loading and unloading wheelchairs, this is the best thing ever. The vehicle looks so smart most people don’t even notice the conversion, and it comes as a real surprise when we open the back, flick the switch and lower the ramp and wheel out the chair.
Ashley just loves it, as he is secure, comfortable and able to get around a lot more as it is easier for us to take him. The Kia has good air-conditioning which he needs, he has his own speakers and is close to all the other people in the car. The location of the chair means we can still carry three other passengers when we have Ashley and an additional two if he is not with us.
We have now done over 10,000kms, some of it on very rough roads, the suspension works well and there are no rattles or leaks. The wheelchair compartment means the vehicle has fairly low ground clearance but this has not caused us any problems. The reversing sensors and reversing camera make manoeuvrability very safe and easy. The side plates were well worth the extra as they protect the side of the car. The diesel motor uses about 10 litres per 100km around town and down to 8.5 in the country. It has plenty of power, and although it feels a bit lumbering when taking off from the lights, it is surprising how other vehicles rarely shoot ahead of us. The vehicle looks fantastic as you can see from the picture.
We had to make a few minor adjustments to the “Freedom Dock” when we got the vehicle back to Adelaide due to the length of the wheelchair but we talked them through with Greg Pretty on the phone and it was as easy as anything. I would recommend anyone to use Freedom Motors for their conversions. Obviously we are very well known in the disability field in Adelaide, and our vehicle is eyed with great envy.
Thank you all at Freedom for such a
professional job. We will probably be in
Sydney next month and hope to get to see you to check it over after the initial
usage period.
Yours sincerely,
RIchard Grace
October 28th, 2009
Dear Sir,
What a wonderful idea when I saw a vehicle with a ramp a the rear, but unfortunately altered the vehcile's appearance. Later I head of Freedom. Contacting Freedom they interested me with their conversion; which did not alter the vehicle's appearance. They suggested various vehicles that lead me to the Renault Kangoo
When the Kangoo arrived it was delivered to Freedom Motors for conversion. They went through the details of the conversion, giving me the confidence on their workmanship. On completetion, they advised me of the after sales service & if any additions I thought would be handy. They placed 2 bars for my wife to hang on to.
Now I don't have to dismantle the scooter place in the boot, take out & reassemble. Being 90 years this becomes more difficult.
My wife now sites on the scooter at the hous, into the Kangoo, strap up, out to do the shpoping, or whatever, back into the Kangoo &home. Still feeling fresh with so little effort, it's me who gets tired no keeping up with her. She now claims she is "the fastest shopper in the West"
I have shown the vehicle to many who asked who does the conversion. Recommending Freedom Motors the conversion, sales service, before, during & after. Telling them how pelased we are with the quality of the work & the very pleasant men at Freedom Motors.
Yours sincerely
T.R.Wood
Dear Mr Van Mullekom,
We purchased a family conversion for our 2006 Chrysler Voyage and delivered our car to Freedom at the end of July 2008
After some initial delays we were delighted to take delivery of our vehicle on 11 November 2008. We had added to optional fold down rear seat, electric wheelchair restraints and reversing camera.
The sales staff were helpful in assisting us with our initial enquiries on the type of vehicle that would best suit our purpose.
The quality of the conversion is good and has certainly made transporting Callum very easy. It is great to have him sitting up close behind the driver and front passenger. With the additional fold down seat in the rear we are still able to transport our other son and his friends as well.
We are happy with our conversion and Callum enjoys travelling in the car with us.
Regards
Kay & Rowan Saunders
We are enjoying our Renault Kangoo with the conversion from Freedom Motors. This is our second Freedom Van, and we couldn't be happier. We recommend them to anyone needing their vehicle to accommodate a wheelchair
We especially love the Freedom Dock that allows me to enter the vehicle and lock the chair into pace without having to tie it down, and without any assistance from anyhone else. There is a wonderful sensation of freedom that I enjoy very much, not having to get out of my chair to get into the vehicle. Gone are the days when I had to transfer into the front seat o our station wagon, and my wife had to haul the wheelchair into the back. We love this freedom that we now enjoy. Even rainy days are no problem - it's so wuick to get up the ramp and into the back.
We love this wonderingful system, to get in ad out of our vehicle, and we know that anyone wanting wheelchar access to your vehicle will love it too
Jeff & Denise Barton - (owners of a Renault Kangoo with a wheelchar conversion from Freedom Motors).
To whom it may concern
I decided after reading your brochure to purchase a Tarago + have you convert it for wheelchair access. I had been informed of your work and I was advised by Freedom that the Tarago would be the suitable vehicle for my use. I am very pleased with the end results, enclosed are a few photo€s my family are pleased with. Thank you for all the help & cooperation of you Freedom Staff. I would certainly recommend your work to anyone
With sincere Thanks,
Colin A. Blatch
I bought a 2005 KIA CARNIVAL LS AUTO WAGON which was converted by Freedom Motors in December 2006, to enable easy access for my Electric-Tilt Wheelchair. The conversion was a family type 2 seater plus wheelchair with a folddown bench seat with Electric Wheelchair restraints. The quality of the work done was excellent. The salesperson explained everything fully and answered all my questions. I am very happy with the end result and have not needed after sales service.
I have had several people stop and ask me about my conversion, so I definitely would recommend Freedom Van Conversions to other people It has definitely made my daily travels more comfortable.
Thanks!!
Kristy, Newcastle
Happy Customer
We had problems transferring our daughter from her wheelchair into our station wagon, so we purchased a Kia Carnival and had a Freedom Motors passenger conversion completed in October 2005.
We found the conversion to be of high quality and the customer service was excellent. Easy rear access is great for parallel parking. We strongly recommend this type of Freedom Motors conversion.
With thanks
The Costa family
Hi Garry,
A quick email to let you know the car arrived safe and sound - a couple of pics of Shane trying it out and looking pretty pleased with himself - he thinks the car is awesome! I will distribute your brouchers around Shenton Park Rehab.
Thankyou you for all your help, your service was impeccable.
Cheers
Sue Agnew
After extensive research into wheelchair accessible vehicles, Peninsula Access Support & Training in November 2006 purchased a Toyota Tarago for a wheelchair conversion from Freedom Motors. Freedom Motors was chosen for several reasons; experience, value for money, and availability. After receiving the brochures and seeing a demonstration model the decision was very easy. Freedom provided us with excellent customer service from the beginning through to the date we received the vehicle. Having gone through a local dealer for the vehicle itself, the whole transaction was very simple and seamless.
The quality of the conversion is first rate and we would have no hesitation in strongly recommending Freedom Motors to other potential customers.
Terri Carroll
Chief Executive Officer
Peninsula Access Support and Training Inc.
Our conversion was completed on July 2007 after purchasing a Kangoo van through a Renault dealership. The van was delayed in shipment from France, but the conversion was completed little earlier than expected which was a bonus.
We are very pleased with the conversion. The fold-down ramp is easy to use and carpeted as is the inside of the van. My daughter€s wheelchair is securely held in place with tie-downs, the front ones being electric. The van has sliding doors on both sides, which is very convenient.
Previously I would lift my daughter into the front seat of my wagon and then lift the wheelchair into the boot. It is so much easier to push her up the ramp, tie the chair down, and fold the ramp back up which fits snugly at the back doors. There is still vision out the back and I can see her in the rear-vision mirror.
Freedom Motors was recommended to me by a friend who had a conversion done last year. I phoned Gary Dale, the sales manager, and he was very helpful in answering all my questions. This significantly helped me choose which company to deal with. I have since been able to show people my conversion and they have been impressed.
Kathy Bree and daughter Sarah
To Freedom Motors
The conversion for our car was purchased in January 2007 and was completed on a Kia Grand Carnival 2006 model. The type of conversion was passenger. We needed to purchase a freedom van as my husband is confined to a wheelchair and we need the height of the seat to be able to maneuver him in and out easily. In my previous vehicle I had to constantly lift the wheelchair in and out and fold it up every time. Having the ramp enabled us to leave the wheelchair up and be able to push it into the back of the vehicle.
Our Sales consultant was Gary and I found him to be very helpful and informative all the way through the process. The quality of the conversion was excellent. After sales service has not been required at this stage. I would most definitely recommend the conversion to other potential customers. I have had a lot of interested people looking at my car.
Les & Carol Smith
WA
About a month ago, we were thrilled to be able to test-drive the much-anticipated €Family Design€ modification to our Kia Grand Carnival.
The quality of the modification work is outstanding. The Freedom Motors service was great and the after-sales service has been very good.
We highly recommend the Freedom Motors Kia Grand modification.
We particularly appreciate the light-weight ramp operation and the quality of the internal and external finish.
The modifications have given our whole family a new-found €freedom€.
Cheers,
The Hills Family
(Garry, Tamara, Christopher and Catherine)
To any potential customer of Freedom Motors,
My name is Tony [38] and a few months ago I decided to buy a Kia Carnival and have it modified by Freedom Motors for a self drive conversion. I work shift work so a vehicle is very important to my life style plus its also great for my social life.As soon as I met up with Gary who came to me with a demo vehicle I felt that I was dealing with a professional company, he answered all my questions right then and there. From the girls that answer your calls in the office to all of the rest staff, I was treated with lots of care all the way.
While my car was having the conversion, I was invited to visit the guys at the work shop, met up with [pommy] John. John talked me through the work that had taken place to that stage, very concise and felt that nothing was to hard for them to do for me or explain.
The quality of the final produced that was delivered by the due date to me was high on workmen ship. Its only when you see the final product that you appreciate how much work goes into the conversion.
I had reason to need a small after sales services, nothing was a problem, fantastic.
I really believe that the work these guys do is remarkable and life changing for the individual or for a family. I highly recommend any one to this fantastic company Freedom Motors.
Cheers
Tony Riccio
Dear Robert,
A: Vehicle conversion purchased in July 2007.
B: Toyota Tarago
C: Freedom Van conversion:
D. We purchased a Freedom Van after much research. We previously had a lot of problems with a car modified by another company and so were very careful this time. Our investigations showed us that Freedom could offer the best solution for our 19 year old son, Greig, who uses a wheelchair. The sales representative was very helpful, listened carefully and understood our needs. We were convinced after being given the opportunity to try out a demonstration vehicle.
E. Obviously when buying a conversion like this, there are many functional and technical questions. The sales person with whom we dealt was very responsive and went out of his way to answer our questions promptly. For example, one concern that we had was that the vehicle might be too low to get up our steep driveway without scraping the concrete. This issue was quickly resolved through a demonstration.
F: The quality of our conversion was excellent and has exceeded our expectations. The workmanship is great. We have had no issues after more than a year. The changes have not impacted the way that the car handles and it is a please to drive. The rear entry ramp is very safe and easy to use. The car has attracted interest and compliments from many people.
G: The service and after sales services was very good. Transportation of the car from Melbourne to Sydney and back was well organised, we were kept up to date with progress and hand over was trouble free. The sales person was diligent in following up with explanation and training on the car's features.
H: We definitely recommend Freedom Van Conversion to other potential customers. It has made our lives a lot easier.
Regards,
Geoff and Gloria Bearne
We recently purchased a KIA Grand Carnival with a view to having it converted to enable wheelchair access.
After obtaining information about the various companies that do the conversion we visited Freedom Motors at St Marys.
The staff there were of great assistance and after inspecting the premises and some of their completed vehicles we decided to have the work done there.
The conversion took about six weeks and during that time we were kept informed about the progress and were more than happy with the finished product.
Since we have been using the vehicle we have found it to be easily accessible and it has provided us with many hours of comfortable travel. In addition the family type conversion that we settled on has proven to be suitable for transporting our grandchildren to various outings.
The fact that the whole extended family can travel together has opened up a world of experiences for the whole family. We are able to attend the grand children€s sporting events, we are all able to travel to have a heap of fun family experiences.
Not only has it enabled us to travel around with the little kids, the big kids (us adults) are able to venture off to places that were not accessable to myself for the last few months. Recently we attended the Mudgee Cup with a group of friends (all transported in the converted Kia) something that we would not have been able to do previously.
My wife and I know the conversion and ease of use of the vehicle has definitely improved our quality of life and we look forward to many more adventures in the future.
We would recommend Freedom Motors as a reliable company for these type of conversions.
Kind Regards,
Mark & Sue Gooley
For many years I drove a Kia Sportage. At the time it was the most appropriate vehicle that could fit my wheelchair in. This meant I had to stand up with my limited capacity to weight bear , fold my wheelchair up and lift it into the rear of the vehicle with the fitted hoist and then walk precariously around to the driver€s door and literally drag my body into the driver€s seat .
After many years of doing this my shoulders and wrists suffered with the repeated strain on my body and it inflamed both my arthritis and my muscles which gave me great pain. This constant pain limited my independence and the choices of where I wanted to go and also the lifestyle that I wanted to live and it also impacted on my physiological wellbeing.
FREEDOM , this is the word that really captures the experience I have been in for the last few months since taking delivery of my newly modified FREEDOMVAN (now called FREEDOM) from Freedom Motors Australia. Now at the press of a button on my remote , the rear door opens and the ramp descends down so I can then drive my electric wheelchair up the slight gradient ramp and across the floor of the vehicle and into the drivers position where it locks into place automatically into the FREEDOMDOCK ( automatic wheelchair locking device).
I then press the remote again and the rear ramp and the rear door closes automatically behind me so I can then drive off.
Not only has the modified vehicle assisted me with attending my place of employment and going out shopping but it has also allowed me to socialise with my friends over dinner and recently I have also entered a weekly song writing competition at the local club. My new car has allowed me to participate and be involved with my local community in ways that I never thought of with my old vehicle.
In my dealings with Freedom Motors Australia I have felt like I was dealing with family or friends and from our first meeting with Garry Dale and subsequent meetings with Freedom staff ,they listened to my specific needs and wants in a modified vehicle and we worked together to come up with the right package for me.
Even after I took delivery they have come to my rescue and gone beyond the call of duty to fix the minor initial electrical problems which occurred in the early stages, and they had to travel to suburbs as far away as Chatswood on the north Shore to get me going again. These initial problems have now been fixed under their warranty and I have no problems at all with making any recommendation for anybody looking to purchase a modified vehicle form Freedom Motors Australia.
I was even very touched recently when they asked about one of my family who had been very ill and I feel that they are all a very compassionate company towards their many clientele.
Thank you Freedom Motors Australia for your ongoing commitment to your valued customer Athena Pavlis-Goard & my van called FREEDOM
