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Sometimes a meaningful product improvement begins with something that disappears.
When Ford discontinued the factory power seat on its E-Series cutaway chassis, the impact wasn’t limited to one ambulance manufacturer. Across the industry, paramedics began receiving vehicles without a feature many had relied on to adjust their driving position.
For paramedics, that matters. Ambulances are shared work environments, and the person behind the wheel can change throughout the day. Drivers of different heights and body types need an appropriate driving position, and crews may spend many hours in the front cab during a shift.
As ambulances built without the power driver seat began reaching the field in 2025, customers and paramedics asked for the adjustability they had before — particularly seat height, fore-and-aft position and lumbar support. Recognizing the cab as an integral part of their work environment, our teams quickly set out to address the issue.
Shared by Crestline and Demers customers, this need created an opportunity to put the expertise of both brands to work. Led by the Demers team, development focused on restoring power adjustability while retaining the original Ford driver’s seat — a solution that can now support Crestline customers as well.
That first assessment guides the request toward the solution that will best limit the operational impact.
“When you consider how much time paramedics spend in the front cab, ergonomics is not a minor detail. Ford’s decision to discontinue the power seat had a real impact on their work environment. Our customers told us what they needed, and we took on the challenge. That’s what it means to be a partner of choice.”
Finding the right solution without starting from scratch
The team first evaluated an alternative power seat that restored adjustability but required removing and discarding the original Ford seat. Because it involved compromises and was not naturally suited to the ambulance environment, the team continued searching for a better approach.
The objective was to retain the original Ford seat while making sustainability a key development criterion.
The result is a solution that combines the existing Ford seat with a new powered base and adapters designed for the ambulance application.
The driver can once again electrically adjust seat height, fore-and-aft position, and lumbar support, while retaining the original Ford seat. This approach also helps maintain continuity across a fleet: the same Ford seat, with the same adjustment options.
Simple once installed, the solution required significant precision behind the scenes.
What our team checks before shipping
Because the seat and its installation form part of a system certified to applicable safety standards, the team validated the new power base’s range of positions against Ford’s limits and recommendations. The solution also had to integrate seamlessly without compromising access to controls, driver ergonomics or safety-system performance.
The final solution was also tested and validated in accordance with applicable CMVSS/FMVSS requirements.
According to James Blakely, who worked on the certification of the solution, this was an essential part of the process:
“We wanted all of the vehicle’s systems to work together with the seat so that, in the event of an impact, the occupant would be controlled in the same way as with the original Ford seat and base.”
As Zoé Laxague summarizes:
“The goal wasn’t simply to bring the power seat back. It was to do it the right way: with a safe, sustainable solution that keeps the original Ford seat, restores the full range of adjustability customers expect, and can also be offered as a retrofit for vehicles already in service.”
This validation confirms the correct reference, whether it is an original ambulance part or an integrated component. It helps preserve the vehicle’s safety, performance, and durability.
Once the checks are complete, the order moves to the warehouse. Parts are picked, packed, weighed, and prepared for shipment. If everything is in stock and the request arrives before mid-afternoon, it can often ship the same day.
Shared expertise, brought to Crestline
Developed at Demers, the solution addresses a customer need shared by both brands. Crestline can now build on the engineering, testing, and lessons already completed rather than developing a second solution independently — a practical example of how expertise can be shared within the same ambulance organization.
The next step is integrating the solution into the Crestline application. Crestline-specific availability, ordering, and retrofit details will be communicated once that work is complete.
Interested in the new driver power seat option for your Crestline fleet?
Let us know you’re interested and how many units may be involved.
