igor Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 The Ranger is Dead – Long Live the RangerThe Ford Ranger will take a short holiday By Igor Holas | 04.17.2008 | www.autosavant.net Much has been written about the stupidity of letting the venerable Ranger wither on the vine and lose its sales crown to Toyota’s Tacoma. Many writers, editors, and bloggers took it upon themselves to come up with new and innovative ways to call Ford shortsighted and use the Ranger’s demise as a case in point that Ford is in the fast lane to bankruptcy. However, behind the scenes, Ford is readying a duo of new trucks to be released in the wake of the Ranger’s demise, and is also planning an ultimate return of the Ranger to the US market. Internal sources have recently confirmed that the Ranger will be discontinued after the St. Paul assembly plant is shut down next year. We also had it confirmed that, at least for several months, Ford will not be producing any truck smaller than F-150 in North America, and will be just selling down inventory of already-built Rangers. However, Ford is not to be absent for long in the mid-size segment. MUCH MORE HERE Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 It will be built alongside its bigger brother in the Michigan Truck Plant. Are you saying that the F-150 will be built at Michigan Truck, or did you mean Dearborn Truck Plant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 The underpinnings of this truck are familiar – a shortened and lightened F¬-150 frame with numerous shared components. I said this over a year ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 (edited) Now it makes sense, FNA wants the Ranger to be a variation of F150 namely, F100 and Bronco - smart move but not acceptable for global use. T6 is the long term platform that started out as a Rest of World replacemernt for Mazda BT50 /Thai Ranger. Courier/Ranger has grown to almost US Ranger size and grows wider with T6 which will then go head to head with Toyota/Nissan. Global production of T6 Ranger starts mid 2011 for Thailand, South Africa and two other locations not named. I did think the F100 plan had been scrapped as part of Mulally's drive to end duplication......... Edited April 17, 2008 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 why would they bother makng a smaller F150. with the whole world downsizing we are going to make a bigger than everyone truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 Are you saying that the F-150 will be built at Michigan Truck, or did you mean Dearborn Truck Plant? ah rats - now I'll have to figure that out .... I believe MTP though (so alongside Expy and Navi). but it might be DTP .... oh well my "outsidedness comes out every so often Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 why would they bother makng a smaller F150. with the whole world downsizing we are going to make a bigger than everyone truck. did you see the size of the Frontier, Tacoma, and Colorado? The F100 will be a hair larger, but not by much at all - Ford will basically finally catch up to them... the Taco IS the best selling truck, and while people like boasting about the I4 mileage, it is the V6 models that take the bulk of the market in each of these models. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 (edited) did you see the size of the Frontier, Tacoma, and Colorado? The F100 will be a hair larger, but not by much at all - Ford will basically finally catch up to them... the Taco IS the best selling truck, and while people like boasting about the I4 mileage, it is the V6 models that take the bulk of the market in each of these models. Igor T6 is wider than Thai Ranger, will come with 4 cylinder turbo diesels, corporate V6 and possibly Ecoboost I-4. Ford are predicting up to 400,000 world annual sales. When Fields spoke of T6 last year, he Said FoA were doing the T6 Light Truck project on behalf of Dearborn for South America Work that one out - FTA with the USA? Edited April 17, 2008 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 ^^^ Do you have a link for that? I never heard that being said. My recent sources did, however indicate that the T6 was to slot under the F100 in US as well - :"unless market conditions changed dramatically" Please let me know more details - I always like learning. igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 about the size of an old F-150 How old, exactly? The 97-03? The 92-96/86-91? Any of those are MUCH larger than a present-generation Tacoma. I have no desire or need for a "midsize" truck that will end up being larger than my Expedition (my '94 Ranger is actually as long as my Expy, although it's about 8" narrower). I was hoping for something a lot smarter than this. Guess I'm now stuck looking for a used 4x4 Ranger (I was holding out to see what they'd come up with in a redesign). Good job killing off another icon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 (edited) ^^^ Do you have a link for that? I never heard that being said. My recent sources did, however indicate that the T6 was to slot under the F100 in US as well - :"unless market conditions changed dramatically" Please let me know more details - I always like learning. igor There was an article where Fields was saying Ford were looking at new RWd in 3-4 years, FoA was doing T6 work for them for South America - 2007 article Leaks from T6 project reports it will be wider and more car like - a la Nissan Navara. Promising future ahead for Ford Australia as Fields, Mays talk it up "I’ve been down (to Melbourne) a lot, and I am familiar with the facilities, and there are a lot of people going back and forth, and we are doing a lot of work with Broadmeadows right now for South America, which involves the compact pick-up truck (T6, due to replace the Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50)." Meanwhile, Mr Mays said that he had given Ford of Europe’s design director Martin Smith "the reign to bring in a lot of the next-generation of designs from Ford Australia and Asia-Pacific, so there will be influences there". While Mr Mays said Ford’s Melbourne-based design team was working closely with the Blue Oval’s European design centre in Cologne, Germany, shaping the next-generation of vehicles worldwide, Mr Fields revealed that rear-wheel drive architecture could be returning to American Fords within the next five years. "I’d say that we are looking at that very, very closely," Mr Fields said, adding that Australia could also be involved in engineering larger, crossover-style SUVs (such as the next-generation Territory) for North America. Edited April 17, 2008 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Something doesn't seem right here, they are going to cannibalize the vaunted F-series sales with this many truck alternatives. The strength in this segment was so low to begin with that I don't understand the business case for this number of smaller than F-150 trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 How old, exactly? The 97-03? The 92-96/86-91? Any of those are MUCH larger than a present-generation Tacoma. I have no desire or need for a "midsize" truck that will end up being larger than my Expedition (my '94 Ranger is actually as long as my Expy, although it's about 8" narrower). I was hoping for something a lot smarter than this. Guess I'm now stuck looking for a used 4x4 Ranger (I was holding out to see what they'd come up with in a redesign). Good job killing off another icon. I wouldn't get too concerned just yet...my old man has a 98 Ranger Exendend cab and its the same size as my mom's 02 Explorer they had, the new 08 Sable they have is bigger then both. The biggest problem with the Ranger is this: The standard cab is way too fucking small! I can't even fit into it at 6'2. I can fit into a standard cab F-150 (pre-2004) model without any issues. The F-100 won't be that much larger then a Ranger Supercab... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Something doesn't seem right here, they are going to cannibalize the vaunted F-series sales with this many truck alternatives. The strength in this segment was so low to begin with that I don't understand the business case for this number of smaller than F-150 trucks. Not really, a F-100 is still as much an F-series as the 250 and 350 are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 With rising fuel costs, there should be a propensity to consider smaller trucks that didn't exist previously. If gas really zooms, having 2 smaller-than-F-150 trucks makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 (edited) F100/Ranger would be for people wanting emphasis on pick up rather than a towing. And the really help CAFE numbers too! Edited April 17, 2008 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I'm hoping Ford waited for the right moment to consider its position in this segment and is tailoring the correct product(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Something doesn't seem right here, they are going to cannibalize the vaunted F-series sales with this many truck alternatives. The strength in this segment was so low to begin with that I don't understand the business case for this number of smaller than F-150 trucks. You thought the Edge would cannibalize Escape sales too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Diversification. It's happening with cars so why not trucks and anyways,Ford knows trucks better than cars........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 You thought the Edge would cannibalize Escape sales too. Nah, that was before I knew how big and pricey it was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManFord Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 (edited) I think the F100 idea is good. With gas prices rising, a smaller but not to small truck is good to have in the lineup. Besides I'm sure Ford will count F100 sales under F-Series. So sales are under one banner, and if cannabalizing occurs, so be it. It will keep more people in the Ford family who think the F-150 is a huge gas guzzler. A Ranger possibly smaller than the current Ranger?......suck it in dudes. Bronco! Back to original form, oh yes, me buy, yes Edited April 17, 2008 by ManFord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wescoent Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 With rising fuel costs, there should be a propensity to consider smaller trucks that didn't exist previously. If gas really zooms, having 2 smaller-than-F-150 trucks makes sense. Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 (edited) Could this then be the F-100 under development or are we still looking at the mystery standard cab F-150 which hasn't been seen yet? Edited April 17, 2008 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Here's another shot...looks like the lower fascia was spliced in half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Nah, that was before I knew how big and pricey it was And, of course, the difference this time around is you don't know how small and cheap the F100 is going to be. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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