jpd80

Thanks for the link, looks like production is still restricted for now “According to The Blue Oval's December sales report, Ford F-150 production at the Dearborn Truck plant totaled 24,416 units last month - 14,636 or around 150 percent more than November's total of 9,780 units. At the Kansas City Assembly plant, Ford F-150 production actually decreased by 4,357 units or nearly 39 percent month-over-month, from 11,289 units to 6,932, however. Total F-150 output still increased from 30,308 units in November to 31,348 in December, which is a difference of 1,040 units, or 3.4 percent.”

Ford chooses to run the minimum number of plants so that decision makes sense…. was interesting that for a time CD4 products were built at FRAP both an overflow plant and then the Continental Not saying they should be doing that but it’s interesting how Ford’s decision making flipped in just a few short years.

With all the mucking around that Ford did over the years, it makes me wonder if they had just kept the 385 Lima and upgraded that. The big Ford’s would have 370, 429 and 460 which happens to be 6.1, 7.0 and 7.5 litres.

It’s going in the new Crown Victoria and Town Car……..

Surprising that CV never received 5.4 3V and ZF 6-speed auto, would have been an easy get from F150 On second thoughts, perhaps a bullet dodged with regards spark plug issue?

And Ford didn’t do that because it is set up to sell as many V6 diesels as it can. For 2026, the biturbo 2.0 diesel is replaced by a Lopo single turbo and V6 diesel across the range. That is not the actions of a company looking to replace diesel anytime soon. V6 diesel adds a refinement to global Rangerand Everest that virtually none of its competitors can match.

Could never understand America trying to develop a compact like Pinto when Ford Europe already had Cortinas and Capris that could have served as a better basis for a North American specific vehicle. I don’t know of any situation of a cortina or Capri being hit up the back so hard that they would set fire to themselves…. Truly shows how incompetent Detroit engineers were at the time….

The Ranger PHEV is a hard sell in Australia because it’s more expensive than the V6 diesel Ranger sales in Australia are about 4,500/month, PHEV is like 200 of them so far.. Correct, time moves on and haven’t been watching this segment closely but clear that Maverick is a product Ford US has wanted for quite a while, it completes and complements Ranger better than a 2WD BOF T6 could.

That’s the problem with companies saving money by doing evolution design, they keep a lot of overall shape and do styling fiddles and tech under the skin. Or, you could be like Chevrolet, change the entire platform yet Camaro looked the same, now that was a waste.

Moon roof is becoming an option on Ranger in other markets like Australia so it’s more a flow on of already developed option and suppliers. You’ll probably find that Ranger stays but only in the trims and pricing that Ford wants to produce, lower price customers are already being directed to Maverick.

It’s probably pointless to add a third shift and increase volume if the plant has limited supply to those software assisted modules that have been plaguing Ford in recent times. Either a supply limitation or Ford has hit the production sweet spot for best profit with resources used?

Quite correct and as an example, Ecosport was last sold in 2022 with price range of $22K to $28K…… Today that would probably be $26K to $32K which is Compact prices.

I have heard nothing about a Bronco Pickup on T6 or on RSD so I can understand your situation but perhaps in a crew cab situation, the extra capacity means that when going on a trip, the bed can be loaded up and still be able to tow a reasonable amount. Ranger Super Duty is built like a horse, so if that was transferred to a Bronco Pickup, I think the Gladiator would have a real problem matching certain features…..best part is Bronco could have premium pricing to cover such a vehicle. Ads to my suspicions that Ford sees Ranger as internal competition, it would sooner push premium prices on Broncos than lower priced Ranger alternative (eg, big price difference between Raptors) Americans and Aussies generally prefer squarer truckster lines while Euros and Asian/Chinese buyers prefer sleeker designs..

Maverick is exactly what Ford USA wanted the global Ranger to be way back in 2006 at the kick off to T6 project. That impasse is why Ford US dropped all interest in T6 Ranger as a 2011 replacement. Maverick works because it addresses that buyer below a mid sized BOF pickup, it still has enough room to satisfy compact buyers but also superior fuel economy. Just remember that Ranger global sales are around 386K (2024) so as the international vehicle, it and Everest are hitting profit targets. Whatever Ford US is doing with Ranger, it’s clear that Tacoma is running away with sales.

Im sure that at least some people buy Gladiator for the look but rarely if ever need the capacity or toughness of a BOF truck. Those are the people a BS pickup could target. along with people who want a BS with a bit more load carrying Hope tat makes sense