Fomhoire

I think the 4 cylinder is decent for what it is. Ford should ditch the 3.0L and 4.0L V6 engines and replace both with the 3.5L V6 The 3.0L V6 is pointless when the 2.3L 4-cylinder has almost as much power. The 3.5L V6 will have more power than the 4.0L V6 with a very reasonable improvement on fuel economy. I think having an optional diesel wouldn't hurt, but I really don't think it will bring a whole lot of sales. A V8 is a bit much for a truck that size. I know people put them in the Rangers, but do realize that this option would appeal to a very small niche of people. The niche market theory applies to diesels as well, but really, I could see a company buying a fleet of diesel Rangers. Keep the current size. People that want compact trucks want compact trucks, not a midsize truck built over a powertrain intended for a light weight truck.

It isn't much better with the Mazdas. I've been looking for one with an SE5 package. So for the only ones available have been white and gold metallic. One dealer found a black one, but the other dealership didn't want to do a trade because a Ford dealership inquired about it. I went to a local Mazda dealership and the person handling trades at the dealership with the black truck remembered it and had still wouldn't trade based on some principle. Really, does Ford want to sell vehicles or not? One way around this would be to warehouse vehicles regionally to get around stupid stuff like this.

Part of it is gas prices and part of it is due to Ford's insistence of selling what they want to sell, not what consumers want. There is nothing wrong with a fully-loaded compact pickup, however, the compact pickups appealed to people with simple needs. A light-duty work truck with good fuel economy (most of us don't need or want a 4.0L V6 to carry tools around), better ability to drive on unpaved roads (cars don't cut it and we really don't need a 4X4), and general overall usefulness for almost everything short of hauling kids around. The overwhelming majority of people buying compact trucks in the early 90's did so because they were reliable, simple, and inexpensive to own. Probably the most common option people wanted was air conditioning and carpeting. I've been considering a new Ranger/Mazda B-series. If you go on a dealership's lot and tell them you want a 2.3L, manual transmission, air conditioning and carpeting, and really don't want to pay for anything more, half of the sales people will walk away. A good percentage of the rest of them direct you toward the 4.0L V6, then try to make you feel like an idiot if you tell them you don't want or need a V6, and they are a waste of gas respective to your needs. Then there is that problem of trying to get the rest of them to understand that you don't want an F-150 in any shape, form, or for any price. I almost bought a ranger last summer, or so I thought. When we sat down the salesman got some other clown to come in and sit down with me. The first thing this clown said was, "before you make the final decision, we can get you into an F-150..., F-150 this, F-150 that, you don't need a Ranger, and F-150 is what you need, F-150, F-150, F-150 . . . " After I finally got him to shut up about the F-150 he said I was there to waste his time, and refused to talk about the Ranger. So, one less Ranger was sold for 2006. If Ford makes more money per widget selling fully-loaded Rangers of 2.3L Standard Cabs, or selling F-150's over selling Rangers, hey, that is great. However, they are leaving behind a large number of people that aren't interested in their upselling. They either don't buy, or they go buy a Tacoma. There is money to be made in selling volume. The simple inexpensive nature of compact trucks is what made them so popular in the 90's. And this thing they have with continuing to insist people buy larger gas-guzzling engines SEVEN years into escalating gas prices is insane. It is hurting their sales, so why do they continue to do it? They have also discourage people from buying base model Rangers by restricting availability. I checked local availability earlier this month for a 2.3L manual transmission XLT. XLT is hard to come by with those specs. 44 2.3L/manual transmission Rangers were available locally at that time. All of them were Oxford White, one of them had air conditioning in an area that gets quite warm in the summer. They use the excuse that white is their most popular color due to fleet sales. I don't want a truck that looks like a fleet vehicle. I hate white and I will not buy a vehicle that is white or does not have air conditioning. Mysteriously, you can find any color you want if you are interested in a 4.0L V6.