Bryan1 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 As posted on PUTC and written by Tim Esterdahl, editor of Tundraheadquarters and TacomaHQ, Toyota truck fan sites: The reveal of a new 2016 Ford Ranger in Bangkok meant for only overseas markets once again raises questions about why Ford doesn't bring the Ranger to the U.S. Ford usually offers explanations that include the midsize pickup segment's decreased sales and the need to focus on more popular pickup trucks and commercial options. While this reasoning makes sense, here are five reasons why Ford should reconsider. link: http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2015/04/five-reasons-ford-should-bring-ranger-back-to-us.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) wagons, diesels, stickshifts, aluminum, curb weights, eco boost fuel economy...oh, and did I forget........... Edited April 17, 2015 by Deanh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 insider joke Bryan...refer to the last few posts on the Focus ST Diesel wagon thread...Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Who would buy it? Old Ranger fans would have tons of excuses for how much they hate it. "Furrin", "not BOF", "too big", "ugly", "not at 1990 pricing". Toyota Tacoma buyers will never switch, and the GM twins are not setting fire. It looks almost as big as a full size p/u. Come up with a business case and present it to Ford HQ, and see if they hire you, if one wants one so bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) Edited April 17, 2015 by akirby 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 So a guy writes for a Tundra blog and he's an expert on midsize trucks? 1 - 100k Canyonados is not even one shift of output from one plant. 2 - The NA Colorado is almost nothing like the global Colorado, which the writer dismisses with a hand-wave, missing the fact that the Colorado started out as a single product and diverged, not two separate products that will someday converge. 3 - No they're not. People are still people. 4 - 'Buyers don't care about FE' is a reason to bring in a midsize truck? 5 - No they haven't. Prices have moved up at the top end, the bottom end has kept pace with inflation, meaning there's no more room under the low & medium level trims than there was six years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) honest question, has Chevy even released the mid size with the diesel yet?...I know there was a delay.... Edited April 17, 2015 by Deanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 honest question, has Chevy even released the mid size with the diesel yet?...I know there was a delay.... IIRC it was delayed until MY2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Fuzzy...I am SINCERELY interested in how that will effect their sales numbers and what exactly the take rate will be...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-S Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 The only good reason to bring back the Ranger is it may fit into some garages whereas the F150 won't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Dave...there it is, SIZE....I sure as heck don't need a truck as big as the f-150, the again, if they are the same price...then the capabilities and capacity advantages could outweigh size convenience... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Fuzzy...I am SINCERELY interested in how that will effect their sales numbers and what exactly the take rate will be...... I think it will depend on the cost. I also wonder how many sales it will take away from the Ram EcoDiesel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) honest question, has Chevy even released the mid size with the diesel yet?...I know there was a delay.... GM originally planned to introduce the Chevy Colorado with 2.8L Duramax diesel engine for MY 2016. That corresponds to a release date in Fall 2015, which was confirmed at the Work Truck Show last month in Indianapolis: Edited April 17, 2015 by aneekr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 We sometimes hear comments regarding the Edge being an extra utility in the Ford line up... Could it simply be that Ford has chosen Edge plus other existing products over the Ranger? It's worth thinking about.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 As much as it pains me to say this, but an I3 Diesel Transit Connect is a much better use of ford's money. In EU and other places, a small truck can be a status symbol (go look around Sweden, Germany, UK). In US the status symbol is the large truck. Because of that the small truck is more of a niche market. It ill not deliver measurably better mileage. It will not be measurably cheaper. It will not .... So the markets that are left is fleet and some urban dwelling truck lovers. The fleets are much better served by Transit Connect and Transit. There is nothing a Ranger could do that one of those two cannot (ok currently 4WD, but that can change easily). Further, the two transit are much more efficient, meaning they can get better mileage, haul more, and be more compact on the outside. All good things, especially for fleet buyers. So we'r left with the urban-dwelling, small-truck-loving buyer. I think ford figures that market is too small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevensecondsuv Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 (edited) I'm a rural truck lover. And I love Rangers. I have an F250 and Excursion but I drive a 4 cyl ranger daily. It uses so much less gas but still handles everyday throwing stuff in the bed and commuting tasks easily. Plus the 5-spd is just so much fun to drive. Obviously I'm not going to pull a tractor around with it but I have other trucks for that. If you ask me, the F150 is the goofy needless size. All the footprint and heft of a 250 but without the payload and towing capacity. Rangers are like cockroaches and my newest one is a 2011. I figure I'm good as long as Ford gets around to making another one in the next 30 years. Edited April 18, 2015 by Sevensecondsuv 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I'm a rural truck lover. And I love Rangers. I have an F250 and Excursion but I drive a 4 cyl ranger daily. It uses so much less gas but still handles everyday throwing stuff in the bed and commuting tasks easily. Plus the 5-spd is just so much fun to drive. Obviously I'm not going to pull a tractor around with it but I have other trucks for that. If you ask me, the F150 is the goofy needless size. All the footprint and heft of a 250 but without the payload and towing capacity. Rangers are like cockroaches and my newest one is a 2011. I figure I'm good as long as Ford gets around to making another one in the next 30 years. I agree with you on so many levels .... I "married" into a 99 Mazda truck 2.5I4, stick. I love that thing. It's currently our only car and it handles everything well (except for passengers). However if we were to replace it, we would likely go for a transit connect than another ranger. I have hard time finding a reason to buy a Colorado (gas or diesel) over a Transit Connect. And I think that is the problem with small trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevensecondsuv Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I have no use for a transit connect. I doubt it would survive my abuse like a ranger due to the lack of a robust chassis and drivetrain like the ranger has. If I need space for the family we drive the Excursion. Gas mileage doesn't matter much when you need the space. People ask me how I can afford 10 mpg in a family vehicle but the truth is that just doesn't see that many miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Just out of curiosity, how much would you be prepared to pay for a new Ranger? I assume it would be 8' bed single cab.... Would you accept a 2.0-2.3 Ecoboost in lieu of a diesel option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I have no use for a transit connect. I doubt it would survive my abuse like a ranger due to the lack of a robust chassis and drivetrain like the ranger has. If I need space for the family we drive the Excursion. Gas mileage doesn't matter much when you need the space. People ask me how I can afford 10 mpg in a family vehicle but the truth is that just doesn't see that many miles. interesting. Everyone has different needs. I love small trucks, but for what I do with them, the TC would likely be just as good, if not better car for my needs (more usable locked space, load bearing roof, seats 5, shorter and tighter turning radius ... better mileage)... but again .. to each their own, for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevensecondsuv Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Just out of curiosity, how much would you be prepared to pay for a new Ranger? I assume it would be 8' bed single cab.... Would you accept a 2.0-2.3 Ecoboost in lieu of a diesel option? It'd be a supercab (I'm tall) 2wd. don't need EB or diesel. Simple old cheap efficient 4 banger is perfect. Manual trtransmission is non negotiable. I assume price would be about $2k more than I paid for the same truck 4 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Here's the problem - the current ROW Ranger is a lot bigger and heavier than the old U.S. Ranger which is why a small NA 4 cylinder won't work and you won't get the great fuel economy of the old one. There isn't enough volume for a smaller bespoke platform, which is why the TC platform seems like the logical choice for a true small pickup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 It'd be a supercab (I'm tall) 2wd. don't need EB or diesel. Simple old cheap efficient 4 banger is perfect. Manual trtransmission is non negotiable. I assume price would be about $2k more than I paid for the same truck 4 years ago. And there's the rub, I doubt that you would get an extra cab Ranger 2.5 manual for that price and it's probably an area that all the current mid sized truck manufacturers are struggling with, instead choosing to sell more expensive models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevensecondsuv Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 (edited) Why not? Ford seems to have no trouble making an Escape 2.5n/a for that price. It's like not we're asking for a sub-$20k truck here, except in maybe the no options XL fleet special at $17-18k. If anything, the Ranger would take a little less assembly line labor than an escape due to fewer doors and less interior. As for the transmission, fire up the M5OD line again. That was paid for long ago. Sure it's only 5 gears but that's never ever been a complaint among Ranger buyers. Its not like it lacks overdrive or something. Obviously there would be higher price models with EB, 4x4, automatic transmissions, etc to spread the basic cost of the platform. Add the rumored "Wrangler fighter" model to the platform to further amortized the cost. I think there's definitely a profitable business model to be had. Maybe not as profitable as other ventures but profitable none the less. Edited April 18, 2015 by Sevensecondsuv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.