NEW FORD RANGER SPOTTED

[akirby]

The few I've seen around here tend to be youngsters. They are sporty and of course are the cheapest versions.

 

Supply doesn't limit the market - dealers will stock what people are willing to buy. If they're not stocking them it's because nobody is buying them.

[jpd80]

 

That was me. And it's not base pickups - it was specifically regular cab short bed models. And that's not geographic at all - almost nobody buys those any more anywhere. XL/STX supercabs and four doors yes and a few reg cab long wheelbase work trucks but hardly any reg cab SWB - which was pretty much the standard version back in the 70s and 80s.

Regular cabs make up only a tiny fraction of F150's total sales,

I remember reading last year that either 90 or 95% of F150s were super cabs and Crew cabs.

It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to learn of similar trends with other brands or even mid sized trucks.

Edited June 18, 2014 by jpd80

[akirby]

And I would bet regular cabs with short beds are < 1%.

[SoonerLS]

I was just trying to throw a bone to they guy who doesn't see base pickups in his area.

In case anybody missed it, the red STX RCSB is sitting in my driveway. I actually see quite a few STX RCSB trucks around here, but I see a LOT of trucks in general--my dealer's new vehicle inventory is usually well over 50% F-Series--and the vast majority are SuperCabs, SuperCrews, and CrewCabs. The regular cab trucks are, relatively speaking, few and far between.

Edited June 18, 2014 by SoonerLS

[NLPRacing]

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.

The Ranger seemed to always sell best when it was one of the cheapest vehicles available. Most every non-Ford person I knew that had a Ranger had it because it was cheap and most hated it. And they said they would never own a Ford again because their Ranger, which they would not care of and would beat the crap out of, was a POS. I don't think Ford lost too many profitable sales from canceling the Ranger. The problem with bringing it back is that people would expect it to be cheap.

[NickF1011]

They still sell F150s with regular cabs, AM/FM radios, and rubber floors, at least in the XL and STX trim lines...

 

Kinda my point. An F150 fitted that way likely wouldn't cost much more than the point of entry for how they'd likely configure the base Ranger. Ford can equip stripper F150s and still make money based on their volume. They probably wouldn't make any money on a stripped out Ranger today and likely wouldn't have the higher end volume to justify selling them with no options.

Edited June 19, 2014 by NickF1011

[twintornados]

It depends on what year you mean--the Ranger trim level predated the Lariat trim level by over a decade.

Ranger, I believe, was first used at a trim level for the Edsel line...along with Corsair, Citation, Villager, Pacer and Bermuda.....

[Edstock]

and Bermuda.....

 

So that's where the Edsel went.

[Hemiman]

Maybe a post for another thread, but why not base a small pick up on something along the lines Jeep Wrangler.

 

In Ford's stable, that would be a Troller T4. Offer it in long and short wheel base with different cab/door/bed configs. Something like Toyota does with the J Series Land Cruisers (Not the FJ Cruiser POS). They could be offered as bare-bones Military/Work truck, or optioned up like the MB G-Wagon.

 

Call it what ever you want: Bronco for the SUV types, F-1 for the Pick-ups.

Edited June 20, 2014 by Hemiman

[TBirdStangSkyliner]

I got 200K trouble free miles with my 87 2.9 V6 with 4WD (well, the last 20K was without using fifth gear). It wasn't nearly as nice as the SuperCrew Lariat that replaced it. But, it did get me through grad school, starting my career, and buying my first house. I hauled Elk out of the forest in it, moved a few times in it, towed rafts, and drove it to my wedding. It got good mileage and I saved wear and tear on a couple of Ford classics while doing so. That was all pretty nice for about 12 grand.

Edited June 20, 2014 by TBirdStangSkyliner

[J-150]

Maybe a post for another thread, but why not base a small pick up on something along the lines Jeep Wrangler.

 

In Ford's stable, that would be a Troller T4. Offer it in long and short wheel base with different cab/door/bed configs. Something like Toyota does with the J Series Land Cruisers (Not the FJ Cruiser POS). They could be offered as bare-bones Military/Work truck, or optioned up like the MB G-Wagon.

 

Call it what ever you want: Bronco for the SUV types, F-1 for the Pick-ups.

It remains to be seen if the Troller is a decent vehicle, or another 3rd world POS.

 

Last thing Ford needs is a POS to tarnish the brand.

[Hemiman]

Troller's been around for a long time & has a good reputation. The question is, whether of not it can be brought up to US safety standards. Something Ford found impossible to do with the Land Rover, Defender series.