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US Ranger Testing Down Under?


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Considering that the "world" Ranger was engineered in Australia, it makes perfect sense that the Aussies would be doing most of the legwork to get the U.S. version ready for market. And it's not unusual to benchmark the competition. Everybody does.

Just remember, when EU got the nod to do the "world" Transit redesign, they lost a whole year because they could not meet US crash standards. US engineers had to be brought in to "tweak" the design. I have low confidence that the Aussies can complete the design changes without US assistance, Most of the worldwide powertrain calibration/emission has been done in Dearborn since about 2008.

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Just remember, when EU got the nod to do the "world" Transit redesign, they lost a whole year because they could not meet US crash standards. US engineers had to be brought in to "tweak" the design. I have low confidence that the Aussies can complete the design changes without US assistance, Most of the worldwide powertrain calibration/emission has been done in Dearborn since about 2008.

This is not Ford Australia design and development you remember,

Ford Asia Pacific projects like Ranger and Everest were headed up by

US project supervisors hand picked by Dearborn with lots of experience.

There have been well over 1500 engineering staff employed at Geelong since

around 2007, just after kickoff on T6 Ranger, their latest effort after Everest

Was the Chinese Taurus.r

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Just remember, when EU got the nod to do the "world" Transit redesign, they lost a whole year because they could not meet US crash standards. US engineers had to be brought in to "tweak" the design. I have low confidence that the Aussies can complete the design changes without US assistance, Most of the worldwide powertrain calibration/emission has been done in Dearborn since about 2008.

So would this include the 7L Duratorque diesel?

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This is not Ford Australia design and development you remember,

Ford Asia Pacific projects like Ranger and Everest were headed up by

US project supervisors hand picked by Dearborn with lots of experience.

There have been well over 1500 engineering staff employed at Geelong since

around 2007, just after kickoff on T6 Ranger, their latest effort after Everest

Was the Chinese Taurus.r

 

Geelong designed several vehicles since it was re-grouped as APAC design center.

 

Original Figo (India)

Ranger (Worldwide)

Escort (China)

Everest (Worldwide)

Taurus (China)

 

I think there was also a couple of projects that got cancelled after starting, for example, a cab forward van and truck replacement for Econovan. Evidently, Ford gave up on that project in favor of just importing the Transit.

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Yeah at one stage they were working on four projects at one time,

they also do work outside FAP on behalf of other regions as well as localisation for Australia.

 

and let's also not forget the design for Ford GT came from an Aussie too.. :)

 

As a foot note,

Two T6 Ranger mules were built years ago with 2.0 EB / 6-speed auto as attribute prototypes for Falcon Ecoboost,

I wonder if that development work smooths the way for delivering a better gasoline variant than the current 2.5 TiVCT..

Edited by jpd80
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They better hurry with the build. I need a mid size truck by Dec 2017. As of right now GMC and Tacoma are in my crosshairs.

Hey Hydro, looks like the timing is out for you getting a Ranger but if you're interested,

The Ranger is sold in Mexico, maybe one just over the border from you to go take a look at.

I think they're only 2.5 petrol down there but they do come with crew cab...

 

Guys

Can you gray import into USA from Mexico or are there strong laws in place to stop that?

I'm thinking that NAFTA might help...

 

NAZ_1f0f6ee410a4420f929c0cdd00649aab.jpg

Edited by jpd80
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I'm thinking that NAFTA might help...

Tariffs (which is what NAFTA really affects) aren't the problem; the vehicle has to be Federalized--it has to be certified to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Federal Emissions regulations. There used ot be loopholes that were used to bring in one-off exotics (there were a few notable Porsches, IIRC), but I think those were closed several years ago. It's almost certainly going to be prohibitively expensive to do it for something like a Ranger.

Edited by SoonerLS
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You can private import vehicle to the US if it falls under any of the 4 categories:

 

1. Vehicle on the DOT approved non-compliant list - you would need to hire someone to make it conform to US FMVSS. http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/elig120115.pdf

 

2. Vehicles on the DOT show and display list - you are only allows to drive the car for a very limited number of miles per year (I think 1,000 miles?) http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/sdlistoctober222014.pdf

 

3. Vehicle that is under 25 years old and has a letter from its manufacturer that states it meets US FMVSS. Example: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjM2/z/llgAAOSw~gRVwLw9/$_57.JPG

 

4. Vehicle that is over 25 years old.

 

T6 Ranger doesn't meet FMVSS (as far as I known) so someone would have to spend money to modify it and submit it to NHTSA to get on the approved non-compliant list (#1). No one is crazy enough to do that yet.

 

It's also unlikely that Ford will issue you a FMVSS letter if you want to bring your Mexican Ranger to the US.

Edited by bzcat
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There's a guy here in Chicago that has/had a Mk2 Focus RS from Mexico. I know I saw a story on how he got it here, but can't find it now.

 

All the Focus RS in the US (there are several) came from Mexico and they all have FMVSS letter from Ford. See the link in my previous post.

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28 is only 2 more than the 26 on the F150. Though I think they may have been revised to 24 for 2016.

Ah but the difference is that the majority of F150s sold are rated around 22 to 23 mpg.

 

If Ford was to federalize the 2.2 I-4 diesel it would get 30 mpg easy, maybe a bit more..

Edited by jpd80
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