kyle Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 i came across 3 new Ranger's in West Palm Beach last week and managed to take a few pictures and chat with the driver. He said they were picked up in Savannah, GA and being shipped on another vessel in south Florida to an unknown destination. I've always had a sweet spot for the Ranger and these looked awesome! Wish Ford would reconsider bringing this vehicle to the US market because I feel there is a pretty large base of loyal Ranger customer's Ford is missing out on. I know the argument that they will bump up to the F150 and it is valid-but so is offering customer's what they want. Kind of like the small car market which did not really exist a few years ago. Either way wanted to share these photos I managed to snap on my Iphone on a crappy day in South Florida:) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Awesome pics....a little surprised that Ford is hauling them around without some form of cover...unless their intent WAS to be "accidentally" discovered.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Awesome pics....a little surprised that Ford is hauling them around without some form of cover...unless their intent WAS to be "accidentally" discovered.... You know, some shipping manager is probably sitting there saying, "now where did these damned tarps come from?!?" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Looks like production vehicles headed for a test session. They do a lot of testing in the U.S. for ROW vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron W. Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I look and think Explorer Sport Trac, don't think Ford sold to many of those in the U.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Awesome pics....a little surprised that Ford is hauling them around without some form of cover...unless their intent WAS to be "accidentally" discovered.... If they are current production models (even if not sold here), what would be the reasoning to cover them? People have posted pictures here of S-Max's driving around Michigan with no camo either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traxiii Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I know lots of people that have gone over to the dark side since they discontinued the Ranger, rather than buying an F150. I think there is way less crossover between midsize and full size pickups, and Ford is totally missing out. That and we are missing the ability to buy an awesome midsize truck. It would be interesting to do some polling to see how many former Ranger owners have bought competitor's midsize vs. moving up to an F-series. I think Ford has lost way more customers than they added to F-series sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I think Ford has lost way more customers than they added to F-series sales. But is that loss (if it exists) enough justification for building and selling the Ranger here? Do you add another vehicle to your line just to add a small increase in total customer base? Remember that chicken taxes would prevent them from importing it duty-free from anywhere it is currently assembled (as far as I know). I'm guessing Ford has crunched these numbers repeatedly. If the new GM midsize trucks take off, I'd bet Ford has a contingency in place to address it. At this point though there's no real basis to suggest the midsize market is worth chasing here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 It would be interesting to do some polling to see how many former Ranger owners have bought competitor's midsize vs. moving up to an F-series. I think Ford has lost way more customers than they added to F-series sales. And it would have been interesting to see that poll while the Ranger was still being produced. By the time it was discontinued, the Ranger was not competitive other than for cheap, low cost transportation. For the trucks that Ford could actually make money on (you know, the ones that are nicer, loaded-up models), the Ranger was a has-been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 It would be interesting to do some polling to see how many former Ranger owners have bought competitor's midsize vs. moving up to an F-series. I only count 2 competitors. Both of which market an uncompetitive full size truck. If anything, those competitors are cannibalizing themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Both of which market an uncompetitive full size truck. If anything, those competitors are cannibalizing themselves. Maybe it's a market for Tonka to consider? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I know lots of people that have gone over to the dark side since they discontinued the Ranger, rather than buying an F150. I think there is way less crossover between midsize and full size pickups, and Ford is totally missing out. That and we are missing the ability to buy an awesome midsize truck. It would be interesting to do some polling to see how many former Ranger owners have bought competitor's midsize vs. moving up to an F-series. I think Ford has lost way more customers than they added to F-series sales. The point was never that Ford could recover the lost Ranger sales to F150. Ford knew darn well they would lose a good portion of Ranger sales to the competition. The problem was the cost involved in maintaining and updating the old Ranger and keeping the plant open just to make that one model far outweighed any future profits. Ford actually saved money by closing the Ranger plant. Now you have to look at the new Ranger which is considerably bigger and more expensive than the old Ranger - making it much closer to the F150 - along with the shrinkage that occurred in that market over the last 6-8 years and the lack of an existing factory or other vehicles to share the platform and it should be obvious why Ford has chosen not to bring the Ranger here - yet. I see the potential to do that down the road with a couple of additional global vehicles to share the platform and some really efficient small EB engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 And it would have been interesting to see that poll while the Ranger was still being produced. By the time it was discontinued, the Ranger was not competitive other than for cheap, low cost transportation. For the trucks that Ford could actually make money on (you know, the ones that are nicer, loaded-up models), the Ranger was a has-been. Ranger was always cheap transportation. That's why I bought 2 of them. My first one was $7995 back in 1989. Couldn't beat it for value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 What's been rumored on at least one other Ford board is that the Ranger is being evaluated and possibly prepped for US consumption, but the new F-150's debut is going to happen first. The Ranger might follow after a short while, as the second half of a "1-2 punch".In any case, don't be surprised to see them around...but don't expect to hear anything even semi-official until the new F-series is rolling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Ranger was always cheap transportation. That's why I bought 2 of them. My first one was $7995 back in 1989. Couldn't beat it for value. True dat! But up until the last half of the last generation, they were really great trucks that could hold their own with the rest of the small truck crowd. By the end, they were outclassed by nearly all of the small trucks out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 What's been rumored on at least one other Ford board is that the Ranger is being evaluated and possibly prepped for US consumption, but the new F-150's debut is going to happen first. The Ranger might follow after a short while, as the second half of a "1-2 punch". In any case, don't be surprised to see them around...but don't expect to hear anything even semi-official until the new F-series is rolling. I have no problem with them evaluating them. Like I said in my previous post, I'm sure Ford will have a contingency in place should the new GM midsizers take the market by surprise. Either way, I don't think it will be too damaging to Ford in this case if they don't have a vehicle ready right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 ..... By the end, they were outclassed by nearly all of the small trucks out there. All two of them...... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Ranger sales started to fall at the same time that buyers switched from standard cabs and extended cabs to 4 doors pickups. That wasn't the main reason but I think it helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Ranger sales started to fall at the same time that buyers switched from standard cabs and extended cabs to 4 doors pickups. That wasn't the main reason but I think it helped. I think a lot of them went to small CUVs as well which had similarly lower prices and more utility than cars while still having available 4WD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 All two of them...... I said nearly all because the Canyonado was still a POS compared to the Ranger. Ranger sales started to fall at the same time that buyers switched from standard cabs and extended cabs to 4 doors pickups. That wasn't the main reason but I think it helped. Yep, and the Ranger didn't have 4 doors, and the SportTrac was too expensive for Ranger buyers. I think a lot of them went to small CUVs as well which had similarly lower prices and more utility than cars while still having available 4WD. And a lot more creature comforts than the Ranger. A lot went to smaller cars as well, because many were buying Rangers due to the fact that they were cheap, reliable transportation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I think a lot of them went to small CUVs as well which had similarly lower prices and more utility than cars while still having available 4WD. I've made that argument many times. Just look at the rise of CUV sales and the decline of small trucks and it's pretty obvious there was some correlation. I believe a lot of small truck owners also switched to small cars/hybrids when gas prices shot up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 IMHO, Ford is much more likely to produce a pickup version of the Transit Connect, if a market for a smaller foot-print vehicle appears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I think Ford has lost way more customers than they added to F-series sales. The F-Series increased their sales by nearly 120K units in 2013 (over the 2012 numbers). For the same time period, the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma increased their sales by a bit under 26K units. For 2013, the F-Series's sales increase was more than half of the total market for mid-size pickups in the US (118K vs. 222K), and it is significantly more than the Ranger's annual sales for any year since 2005. For some of those years, it's more than the combined total of two consecutive years. I don't see how those numbers could possibly be construed as supporting the contention that Ford lost more former Ranger customers than the F-Series gained. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 (edited) I still contend that a "light duty" sub F150 can be constructed using even lighter weight components than the new 2015 aluminum bodied F150 has....push for a lighter duty frame with open "C" channel sections aft of the cab...should be able to shave an additional 100-120 lbs off the weight. Composite bumpers, rear springs and box sides, lighter duty chassis components, lighter duty rear axle could all trim another 200-300 lbs off the unit. Re-label it F100 and return Ranger as the opening trim level to replace XL. Would only add to overall F-series sales. BOOM! Edited June 18, 2014 by twintornados 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSFan00 Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 It's all cafe regulations related in the US. It's not about whether there are customers for a smaller truck. Eventually some subaru brat type of gamesmanship will happen and tiny pickup bed fanatics will rejoice for a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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