GTwannabe

F-150 is seeing a temporary sales spike because it was just redesigned and received 4 hot, all new motors. That will peter out after everyone who was holding out for the Ecoboost gets their truck. Another problem is that Ford now has no "starter truck" in their lineup. If you want a "family compatible" (aka, 4 door) pickup from Ford, you're looking at trucks priced well over $30k with high step-up (short women, children, elderly) and so huge they don't fit in the garage.

Vehicles are geared to cruise most efficiently at 65mph. Also, optimal cruise RPM depends on where the motor makes its torque. My B3000's sweet spot is 2300rpm. A big torquey V8 can do just fine below 1500rpm. A small motorcycle engine does best between 3-4k RPM.

Current compacts and mid-sizes use obsolete technology and get the same or lower MPG's as full-sizes. You don't downsize from a 20mpg F-150 to an 18mpg Frontier/Tacoma if you're trying to save gas. The fact that buyers are currently gobbling up small/mid-size 25mpg SUV's/CUV's means there's definitely a market for 25mpg personal use (quad cab) pickups.

I've been checking out dealerships to plan my next purchase. I looked at a crew cab PRO-4X Frontier. Liked it quite a bit, but the rear seat legroom was pitiful. I'm 6' and my knees were jammed into the back of the driver's seat. Also no real usable space under the rear seat for my tools, air compressor, etc. I'd have to factor in the cost of a Bakflip-type bed cover or cap and further reduce the already limited bed space. I stopped by the Honda dealer to check out a Ridgeline. They had no new or used Ridgelines; a few trucks on order, but they weren't built yet and they had no estimate when they'd arrive. The salesman even tried contacting another employee who owned one so I'd have something to look at. I think Honda may have poached the "talent" that was running Ford's Ranger program. On the plus side, my B3000 has been returning excellent fuel economy (23mpg). I think it knows the end is near and it's trying to appease me.

It's like a Viper humped a Tiburon...

Ridgelines are very popular up here. New, used, doesn't matter, they don't spend any time sitting on the lot. Last time a checked out a large Honda dealer, they had no RL's and had no idea when the RL's they had on order would arrive. They could order one with deposit and no guarantee when it would be built/delivered

Hopefully Ford has something in the works... maybe a pickup based off the new Explorer. Dakota and Colorado will be all-new. Tacoma, Frontier, and Ridgeline are all overdue for a redesign. 25mpg and seating for 4 should be achievable with modern powertrains. Full-size truck sales are declining and will accelerate once smaller trucks show MPG benefits.

Umm... the Juke is fighting Juke sales just fine.

Ford never had a dog in that fight. The Ranger was too small and cheap to do double duty as a family car. The SportTrac was so expensive (30k+) that it overlapped with the much more modern and capable F-150. Meanwhile, Toyota has been raking in profits on $20-30k Tacomas despite their old technology and lackluster fuel economy. The full-size personal use pickup market is also shrinking, but Ford has put all their eggs in the F-150 basket. GM and Chrysler are revamping their mid-size offerings and it will be interesting to watch what happens to that market when buyers are no longer forced to either live with an 18mpg mid-size pickup or settle for a 25mpg CUV.

Ford doesn't need another niche SUV in their lineup. Fill the gaping hole left by the Ranger and Exploder SportTrac first.

Trucks don't fit with Mazda USA's "Zoom Zoom" image; not sporty enough. There's also the problem of the Chicken Tax.

I don't like Mazda's current "smiling" design language. Still significantly better than Ford NA's sub-F150 offering... Also, "Freestyle" sounds like a line of Maxi pads.

Problem with the XL is that by the time you add all the options the competition includes as standard equipment (power windows, limited slip, spray-in bedliner, hitch), it becomes a very expensive base trim truck.

VW severely cheapened the Jetta (dropping IRS for twistbeam, I think they went back to rear drums, etc) I'm not surprised Toyota and Honda sales are slipping. Toyota is still recovering from the safety/recall fiasco, their vehicle lineup is quite stale, and they don't have any best-in-class fuel economy offerings. Honda hunkered down too much during the recession and failed to invest in platform improvements and engineering. Their engine technology is a generation or two behind the competition (still using timing belts, no direct injection, no hybrids capable of electric-only propulsion, still using 5spd slushboxes)

Sweet... especially if Ford can shave a few hundred pounds off the next Mustang. 3400lb Mustang vs. 4000lb+ hogs (Camaro, Charger, etc) Real world mileage should be a good deal better with the turbo 4. You really have to baby the 3.7L to get the claimed 31mpg highway; normal driving will leave you much closer to 20mpg.

I'm surprised Ford hasn't killed off the Escape and told buyers to "just buy an Expedition, they get the same MPG's..."

Sony audio equipment (car audio, home theater equipment) tends to be utter garbage.

Yeah, but it's not as ugly as this:

Sales of small pickups didn't increase (neither Frontier and Tacoma are gas sippers), but you didn't see Toyota offering $3-5000 incentives on Tacoma to keep sales from dropping off a cliff... they were still making good money on each truck sold. Ford could have improved Ranger sales easily with off-the-shelf parts; at least as a stopgap solution until they figure out what they're doing about the sub-F-150 market. I would buy a new (obsolete) Ranger if I could get the Mexican quad-cab and a diesel/EcoBoost 4cyl that returned 25mpg.

According to Ford brass, your next Ford truck should be a Transit Connect Your best bet would probably be a Ridgeline. Starts at $27k, plenty of room for 4, has "4WD" (well, AWD), can get upwards of 24mpg highway, hauls 1100lbs in the bed, and tows 5000lbs.

Remember that Ford focus groups gave us gleaming sales turds such as the ovoid fish bowl Taurus, Thunderbird "boulevard cruiser", Lincoln Blackwood, Excursion Super Behemoth, etc. If you ask a group of people what their next vehicle purchase will be, they will cheerfully scream "Escalade!"... until they see what their payments would be and leave the dealership with a RAV4 instead.

Probably works for Ford...

Yeah, nothing like a 12-14mpg daily driver when gas is $4.25/gal

Hopefully... the GT sold extremely well, and people were willing to pay significant sums over sticker to get their hands on one. Maybe a direct injected, twin turbo Coyote?

The Nissan is upgradeable to the Leaf's electric drivetrain. NYC taxis spend a ton of time idling in traffic, so electric drive makes more sense.