ford-boy

OK. I will try that.

Just below the climate controls, there is a storage cubby that has a horizontally sliding door. There is a small light inside that seems to stay on as long as the sliding door is pushed open. Is this normal? If the door is open and you lock the vehicle, set the security, the light will NOT go out. If you are only using the vehicle during the day, you will NEVER know there is a light on inside the cubby. If the vehicle is left for 2 weeks or so, possible dead battery?

First the good...... body and chassis is first rate. Incredibly solid, no squeaks, no rattles. Cabin is a little noisier than I'd like but acceptable. Drives and rides very well even for me whose coming from a Grand Marquis. It's not too firm. The engine is a jewel. Fantastic power for a 4 cyl trying to move 4400 lbs. Amazing acceleration ability. What I don't like...... the 10 speed auto. Too many gears. No matter how gentle I accelerate, the trans will not go to second gear. It goes to 3rd and then some lock up stuff seems to be going on in STAGES where the RPM comes down alot and then a little more. RPMs will reach 2700 in 1st and then drop to 1800 in 3rd. It's not at all a natural progression like what occurs in my wife's 2014 Flex and what I'm used to all my life. The Flex shift pattern is completely good from 1st to 6th. No weirdness in between. The Ranger programming causes shifts very early and by 47-48 mph, it's in 10th gear and pulling a very low RPM. In certain situations, 7th-8th gear, RPMs drop to 1100-1200. Even if I use SPORT mode, the trans doesn't like to shift to 2nd until RPM's reach into the 2500 area. My thinking is that, when in SPORT mode, it should shift when i command it. Accelerating very modestly from 1st, I will push the button to advance to 2nd but it doesn't respond until 2400-2500 RPM. There is an uphill road from my house and going from 1st to 3rd in "drive mode" is so unnatural. 2600 -2700 and then RPMS drop severely going into 3rd. I'm wondering if Ford or elsewhere can change shift programming to be more natural.

Just curious.

C&D have always been anti Ford and if you ask me.... anti-American as well. Waaayyy back in the 70's or 80's, I was reading a road test of some Ford vehicle in C&D. The article kept referring to a 4.9 liter engine. I couldn't understand what engine they were talking about. I'm well versed in Ford numbers and it really baffled me. Then, a few months later, I come across a statement by a C&D staff writer and he is refusing to call Ford's 5.0 engine a 5.0. It's not really 5.0 liters, it's really 4.94 liters and hence, it SHOULD be named a 4.9. He refused to acknowledge Ford's CHOSEN name of 5.0 liters. Holy crap. You've got to be kidding! So, a 302 is really 301.584 cubic inches which translates to 4.942 liters and in his world that means a 4.9? So I got to thinking, if that 4.942 engine goes 100,000 miles and the cylinder bores increase .005 from normal wear, that engine THEN becomes a 5.0 in his opinion????? With the increased wear, the actual size of the engine would be 4.954 liters. So, would he deem to ALLOW THAT engine to be a 5.0 liter??? This stuff just boggles the mind. How could he/they be so self-centered and disrespectful? Unbelievable. That magazine should disappear.

First impressions: Like the way it drives, feels big, comfortable, quiet, rides better that my wife's FLEX....... don't like 10 speed, too many gears. It USUALLY skips 2nd and goes directly to 3rd. Selecting drive or reverse, it S-L-I-D-E-S into gear. Takes longer than I think it should. Although I haven't whacked the throttle yet, it feels very strong. Does anyone know how many Rangers were sold in March? For anyone here that contributed to the building of my Ranger, THANK YOU very much. Know that your hard work made me very happy.

Poor tires... yes. The '66 Fairlane 390 GTA that clocked a road test 15.6 at 92 mph wouldn't be more than a 15.0 ride with better tires. The '62 Galaxie 406 (fully prepped suspension and engine, open headers, 7 inch stocker tires) that won B/S at the '63 Winternationals did a 13.28 for the class win. That 5 Star tune was about a 13.8. I still say, very impressive from a 4 cyl. truck. All tires back then were pretty narrow.

Damn! That is impressive. The stock Ranger is as fast as any 60's muscle/street car.......or at least most. '62 Galaxie, 406, 4 speed, tri-power, '63 Chev, 409, dual quads, GTO's, 383 Mopars, '66 390 Fairlane. Then with a tune it's into street Hemi territory, 428 CJ Mustangs (13's in the quarter). What does the Ranger weigh? I'm sure it's more than a '68 428 Mustang. Wow! Very impressive. Can't wait to take delivery of my new Ranger.

I say 4000-4500 Rangers sold for Feb. That's about ONE per dealer across the US.

my Ranger has been assigned a serial number and was scheduled for build on March 18th. Considering the factory order was placed Feb. 2nd, that is quicker than I anticipated. They said it would probably be in my hands around April 7th. Happy about this as I was thinking this would all take place around June 1st.

Yup! Hats off to ALL you factory guys. During my 74 years on this planet, I have NEVER wanted or had a truck. Been a car guy forever. But....the Ranger has just put a burr under my a$$ and I have to have one. This is going to SHOCK all my friends when they see me towing in to the drag strip with a TRUCK and not my Mercury Grand Marquis!!!

Did a second shift begin? The hope was 1200 per day with the added shift. I was hoping I'd get my factory order before 2020!!! Also. is it just me or do you think the color choices are poor. The F-150 can be had in almost ANY color but the Ranger has such limited choice. The blue is way too electric for me. Just a regular blue would be fine. The HOT PEPPER RED is likewise too bright for this 74 year old. The wife hates the orange (saber). I finally chose Ingot out of that paltry group.

how long this will take to arrive at dealer. I told salesman that as of now, the factory was making under 400 per day. At that rate, it will be 2020 before it arrives. He agreed with me about the slow production now but said he had info that the pace will go to 1200 per day very shortly. My prediction will be very end of April or early May. I hope it doesn't stretch out 'til JUNE!!

You think it will take longer than 10-12 weeks?

To those that suggested I call the salesman....... I did. He said that it was the last day of the month and that it gets very busy. He was just swamped. We made another appointment for tomorrow, Friday. It WILL be ordered then. I've checked with two other dealers what their "dealer fee" is and in both cases it was $795. Sheesh. Years ago "dealer prep" was $150 or less. Is it possible for me to get an X-Plan? And if so, would it be better than what the dealer will offer? The dealer is cutting about $1900 off MSRP for Lariat so I'm guessing that a $35,000 MSRP XLT will lose about $1500, maybe $1600. Any advice? They are saying delivery will take 10-12 weeks. Thanks for your help.