akirby

Why not? If these sales opportunities are just sitting there waiting for somebody to make a modern small truck then why hasn't Toyota already upgraded the Tacoma? Why hasn't Nissan updated the Frontier? Why did Ford let the Colorado die? Why didn't Dodge reinvent the Durango? Why not? Why not? Why not? Is every automaker incompetent for overlooking such an obviously easy opportunity to gain market share and make money? Why do you think you know more about the new truck market than all the people at all of the automakers who make their living and bet their careers on making the right product decisions?

How did Ford increase the fuel economy of the Fusion from 22/30 to 41/37 (almost a 50% increase in city fuel economy)? And how does the 2013 Fusion get 47/41 mpg?

Except it didn't happen 3 years ago. Facts trump common sense.

People that need full sized trucks need them regardless of fuel prices. Same for people that don't care about fuel prices. People that used to buy small trucks because they were cheap and/or got better fuel economy switched to small cars, hybrids and crossovers. There is a good chance that Ford will break the code on providing great fuel economy for the next F150 and that will be way more important to Ford's bottom line than a new Ranger. Not to mention a new Ranger would not be cheap. People rationalize things they want while ignoring the facts. I used to do it all the time. I still buy things I want but I understand it's a want and I don't allow myself to rationalize it into a need.

It adds complexity to the Focus assembly line (and pricing and dealer inventory, etc. etc.)

There is absolutely no evidence that supports higher gas prices driving increased small truck sales. It's nothing more than unsubstantiated wishful thinking. And you're ignoring the fact that Ford will have a new full sized pickup with significantly better fuel economy in a couple of years - and it sounds dramatic. So that would kill any sales due to fuel economy. Ford may also come out with a unibody small pickup that would also get better fuel economy than a new Ranger.

They're aiming at Audi, Lexus and Cadillac according to Wolf. They don't need to take on BMW and MB right away.

If you're only comparing hybrids then the Fusion wins hands down. But if you're only concerned with saving money then a non hybrid I4 Fusion is still the cheapest option.

That's gotta be the SEL model.

Who said Colorado was going to work for GM? I think this is just more of the same old GM strategy of throw 100 vehicles at the wall and some are bound to stick. They still want to be #1 in sales without much regard to profitability. Here is what I think will happen. Colorado will provide a slight fuel economy bump over the current 3.7L: F150. Then Ford will come out with a slightly smaller and lighter (but still full-sized) F150 that gets the same or better fuel economy as the competition's smaller trucks. And there will be similar improvement across the F series line. And if gas prices do go up all of those full sized truck buyers will flock to F series, not to Tacoma or Colorado. The good news is if that backfires then they can always bring T6 here as a backup plan.

It's not the Tacoma either. It's not small, ancient, cheap or god-awful. And if you think the new Colorado, Dakota or T6 is going to have significantly better fuel economy you're dreaming. You can gripe and speculate all you want but there are no objective numbers to support your position.

Done in Brazil and built primarily for the Thai market. U.S. version is an afterthought.

The TOTAL U.S. Market for small trucks is no more than 200K right now. In 2011 the Edge and Explorer combined sold 257K. The Escape by itself sold 254K. The crossover market has not declined sharply over the last few years - it may still be growing. And the total market is at least 10 times bigger than the small truck market.

Totally different market and vehicles. Not applicable to trucks. No, I don't know it. Prove it.

Huh? Where? That doesn't make any sense since the new vehicles will offer SELs.

I also heard at the time that Pepsi was simply more popular in the NorthEast than Coke so it made sense. Ever eat at "What's your beef?" in Rumson? My favorite steakhouse of all time. You don't order off the menu - you tell the guy at the grill what type of steak you want and he pulls out a hunk of meat and asks where you want it cut. Stings a little when you get the bill but man is it good. Not to mention the chocolate mousse pie.

Because people buy vehicles that they desire and the do not buy vehicles that they do not desire. The fact that the current larger F series pickups are the best selling vehicle in the country (and has been for a few decades) suggests to any reasonable person that people want the current larger vehicle because they're buying it more than anything else. Where is your proof that people are not buying F150 because of its size? The full sized truck market is at least 1.5M - probably closer to 2M and the smaller truck market is lucky to hit 200K. And I don't care if the smaller trucks are "outdated" - if size is really that important then they would be buying more smaller trucks.

Don't make me pull out the common sense link again....... Seriously - if you're going to argue about vehicle desirability you should probably pick one that ISN'T the best selling vehicle in the entire country for the last few decades.

This was in the early 90s so it had to have been around Middletown/Red Bank and Newark. I distinctly remember the soda machines in the hotels and airport being Pepsi only. Haven't been there much lately (thank goodness) so it's probably different now. Of course being in the South we grew up more on sweet tea than soda. But the store I worked at in high school and college had an old bottled soda coke machine where you pulled out the bottle. They were ice cold and soooooo good on a hot day. And they were only 25 cents (back in 1980).

My Ford Touch, Sony Radio at least.

You obviously don't understand insurance if you think the only factor is repair costs.

What makes you think that Chevy and Dodge will produce competitive mid-sizes just because they are new? Was the old Colorado competitive when it was brand new? And you're also assuming that Ford is doing NOTHING to cater to those customers who want a smaller more fuel efficient truck and that's a terrible assumption.

There is also a long history of Mustang GTs versus non GTs. There is no such history with the Focus ST vs. the regular Focus. I'm not saying it can't be higher, just that it's not a given.

It's entirely possible (even likely) that Ford is working on a smaller lighter version but that doesn't necessarily mean they need to get rid of the current F150 to do it. It would be a big gamble and your uneducated guess about how the market would respond is just that - an uneducated guess. Do you think Ford doesn't study this and all other options on a monthly basis - with a ton of facts and more educated opinions?

I've had trouble explaining bit-masking to a programmer that DID understand binary...............