SoonerLS Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Bench seats wouldn't cut it with safety regulations/airbags I think it has more to do with the general preference for buckets. The F-150 has three-passenger seating in the form of a split bench (two buckets with a fixed seat to bridge the gap), which is close enough to a bench for most folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 bench seats wouldn't cut it ?....huh, theres 40/20/40s in Fords lineup now....do you mean just a solid Bench? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Solid, yes. Think 1977 F100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 ahhh, flashbacks....gal sliding to sit beside you, no seatbelts, no airbag ( if that ) column shifter, no ABS, vinyl with contrasting piping, metal dash same as exterior color, no carpet...how did we survive with simplicity.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 What would be the difference in safety of a bench seat vs. a 40/20/40? As long as the seat belts are there, I don't see a difference. Don't the XL trucks come with a bench seat or are they 40/20/40 too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 fuzzy, I think its to do with the fact if the bench is one piece, if the driver is a Midget, everyone else is 6 inches from the dash................theres only so much a telescoping wheel and adjustable pedals can compensate for....Im speculating though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 fuzzy, I think its to do with the fact if the bench is one piece, if the driver is a Midget, everyone else is 6 inches from the dash................theres only so much a telescoping wheel and adjustable pedals can compensate for....Im speculating though Eh? Did I miss something or were you talking to someone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 sorry fuzzy, was for fordmantpw, for some reason I have been unable to post a response to someone directly, thus me putting peoples names up first... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 More anchor points potentially for a 40/20/40 compared to one seat but that's not to say you couldn't build a new bench seat that was just as strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 if the driver is a Midget, everyone else is 6 inches from the dash................ Short people got no reason... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donaldo Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 By 'wherewithal', I mean the cash to invest in the program. I do not believe that Nissan/Renault are in position to invest in a 'white-space' product for them. And MB is just like LR: I do not believe they have the ability, and they certainly do not have the desire to build to an entry-level price point. Mitsu certainly doesn't have the wherewithal to launch a brand new platform/vehicle in the US. Nissan's sales in the US were quite strong, at 1.3 million in the US last year and 8.4% market share, no reason they wouldn't want to build on that. Will wait and see on Mitsubishi, they keep promising more is on the way but haven't seen it yet. Mercedes sells brand new smarts for $12K at the low end in the USA. They also sell things like CLA cars and GLA SUVs to compete directly in the meat of the market in the low $30K range. As 'luxury' brands the Germans dominate in sales because they have a very wide range of products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 Nissan's sales in the US were quite strong, at 1.3 million in the US last year and 8.4% market share, no reason they wouldn't want to build on that. Will wait and see on Mitsubishi, they keep promising more is on the way but haven't seen it yet. Mercedes sells brand new smarts for $12K at the low end in the USA. They also sell things like CLA cars and GLA SUVs to compete directly in the meat of the market in the low $30K range. As 'luxury' brands the Germans dominate in sales because they have a very wide range of products. It's not a question of "want" it's a question of money. And, again, a $30k subcompact sedan is *not* an entry-level product. An entry level product is a < $20k subcompact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 (edited) Nissan's sales in the US were quite strong, at 1.3 million in the US last year and 8.4% market share, no reason they wouldn't want to build on that. Will wait and see on Mitsubishi, they keep promising more is on the way but haven't seen it yet. Timely mention of Nissan as media reports says Nissan has notified its suppliers that 2015 is the final year for Xterra. So no, they are unable to figure out how to make the business case work for a new one. Edited February 24, 2015 by bzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Had another thought pop into my head...could it be possible that Ford could be working on a modified ROW Ranger (or a unibody) platform that could replace the Toller and a truly compact pickup truck? Have to figure that a Wrangler/Compact pickup would be good for at least 150K units in North America at least. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpvbs Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 How about the Nissan Patrol? I have a buddy in UAE and he said he heard something about a new 3 door Patrol coming sometime. Drop the Xterra and bring over the real deal for those that want a hard core off roader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 How about the Nissan Patrol? I have a buddy in UAE and he said he heard something about a new 3 door Patrol coming sometime. Drop the Xterra and bring over the real deal for those that want a hard core off roader. I believe the current one is just a rebadged Infiniti QX80... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpvbs Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I was talking about the short wheelbase 2 door one. It hasn't been updated in years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 What's the footprint on that thing? A square? Wonder how it would score on the NHTSA rollover test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpvbs Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 They have a self-righting feature in case of roll-overs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) Rich, depends on the rules...if its he who rolls the most ( and no that's NOT referring to Washington or Colorado )...we have a winner...... Edited February 27, 2015 by Deanh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 2 door SUV has no market viability in the US. Too small of a market, too much drag on CAFE due to SWB, and too much liability (rollover risks, difficulty with side impact crash test etc). It's miracle that Jeep Wrangler is still available with 2 doors. If Wrangler was a clean-sheet idea and not a heritage product, I feel 100% confident in saying that it would be 4 doors only and no 2 door version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Rich, depends on the rules...if its he who rolls the most ( and no that's NOT referring to Washington or Colorado )...we have a winner...... And pass on the left-hand side. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevensecondsuv Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Was looking at used Broncos the other day. clean 180,000 mile 20 year olds are selling for $10K+. I'd say there's some sort of market for a new one. A few collectors couldn't drive the market to that level. I dare say there's a business case to be made as long as it can share an assembly line and parts with a pickup (be it F150, or a new F100 or Ranger). Think about it. If it shares 90% of its parts with an F150 (like the last generation), all it can do is add volume to the F150 business. From a CAFE standpoint it would be the same as selling more F150s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Was looking at used Broncos the other day. clean 180,000 mile 20 year olds are selling for $10K+. I'd say there's some sort of market for a new one. A few collectors couldn't drive the market to that level. I dare say there's a business case to be made as long as it can share an assembly line and parts with a pickup (be it F150, or a new F100 or Ranger). Think about it. If it shares 90% of its parts with an F150 (like the last generation), all it can do is add volume to the F150 business. From a CAFE standpoint it would be the same as selling more F150s. Sold for $10k or $10k asking price? There is a big difference, and my research doesn't show them bringing $10k with that many miles. And you cannot possibly equate a $10k used vehicle sale with a $30k new vehicle sale. They just are not comparable at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) Think about it. If it shares 90% of its parts with an F150 (like the last generation), all it can do is add volume to the F150 business. From a CAFE standpoint it would be the same as selling more F150s. No, from a CAFE standpoint, a Bronco based on shortened F-150 platform is a lot worse than F-150 due to the footprint multiplier rule. That's why 2 door SUVs doesn't exist anymore. And regular cab pickup trucks are going extinct. CAFE is a made up number using EPA MPG of eact model x multiplier and averaged across the fleet (based on sales volume). The multiple is determined based on "footprint" of the truck. The longer/wider the truck, the bigger bonus it gets. However, if a truck is significantly shorter/narrower than the average truck, the multiplier is effectively negative. So a 2 door Bronco is basically CAFE poison pill... it will lower Ford's CAFE relative to just the F-150. Edited February 27, 2015 by bzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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