Compact truck shown to dealers

[probowler]

As long as the bed is big enough for a lawn mower, weed eater, gas and other misc tools this could be a nice little work truck.

[ice-capades]

19 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

Not much else to offer then what the article states-though its actually will built on the Transit Connect platform, which is a LWB Focus platform. That also means that the TC will be built in the New World vs importing them from Spain or Turkey (forget which one it is now)

 

Not sure how they are equating this as a replacement for the Focus and Fiesta-that was the Ecosport?! Its an entry level Pickup, not a passenger car or CUV. 

 

TC production was moved from Turkey to Valencia, Spain a few years ago.

[ice-capades]

12 hours ago, Joe771476 said:

Gee, nothing like sabotaging Ranger sales!

 

It won't happen! The compact pickup will serve a different market. 

 

For years, all Ranger owners could talk about was asking why Ford had stopped selling the Ranger in North America. They loved their Rangers and kept them forever as evidenced by the Rangers that are in our service department every week. Unfortunately, the new Ranger was introduced with a very heavy production mix of Lariat trim units which caused a lot of potential Ranger customers to walk away because of the "sticker shock" but Ford finally changed the production mix to 75% XLT trim units which helped a lot  including marketing support. Now, thanks to the decisions coming out of Dearborn, Ranger sales in the past two months have plummeted thanks to substantially reduced marketing support. 

 

Not all certainly, but Ford Dealers know their market and their customers. If done right, the compact pickup could be a another success story for Ford which does trucks better than anyone. The problem is that there are too many executives in Dearborn that know anything or have any experience with retail at the dealership level. 

[ice-capades]

Courier vs. Ranchero? Either would be fine as long as the marketing is done well although I think the Ranchero name might be received better in North America. Forget anything related to Bronco or Bronco Sport as this vehicle will have no connection to either. 

Edited March 10, 2020 by ice-capades

[HotRunrGuy]

Do we have any idea if this is going to be a 2-door/2-passenger, or are they going to screw it up by trying to create a 4-door with an unusable rear seat?

 

HRG

[pffan1990]

6 hours ago, SoonerLS said:

We have a Transit Connect in our fleet, and, man, is that thing tiny. It could almost fit inside the cabin of one of our Transits. 
 

If the truck is anywhere close to the size of the TC, Courier would be appropriate, as it'll be about the same size as the old Courier.

I'm actually surprised that Ford hasn't been selling the midsize Transit Custom here to fill as middle slot between TC and T. Not sure the Transit Custom name would work out here but could find something that works. I can't wait and see what Ford has planned for next generation TC van and the new pickup. I think Courier name would be better for this one however the Ranchero would be more recognized name though.

 

27 minutes ago, ice-capades said:

Courier vs. Ranchero? Either would be fine as long as the marketing is done well although I think the Ranchero name might be received better in North America. Forget anything related to Bronco or Bronco Sport as this vehicle will have no connection to either. 

Agreed. Ranchero would be more recognizable and likely better name for it though I think Courier would be a good one too. Not sure what Ford will name it but I do see it as a success if they can get this one done right especially the marketing.

 

13 minutes ago, HotRunrGuy said:

Do we have any idea if this is going to be a 2-door/2-passenger, or are they going to screw it up by trying to create a 4-door with an unusable rear seat?

 

HRG

The test vehicle in the article photo appears to be 4-door with short bed though it could be camo trickery. I'm thinking it'll have both 4-door/4or5 passenger for US and global with 2-door/2-seat for other markets only unless they sell that one here (could be a hit for fleets).

[SoonerLS]

2 hours ago, pffan1990 said:

I think Courier name would be better for this one however the Ranchero would be more recognized name though.

I'm not sure if either one has anything to recommend it over the other (and I don't mean that in a negative sense), but I do like Ranchero better. Then again, I doubt that I'm in Ford's target demo, as the idea of a unibody truck holds very little appeal to me.

 

On a related note, I got a notice for an estate sale this Saturday, and it has several old Ford tractors (a 601 Workmaster and 801 Powermaster that at least have nice paint and new decals, along with others in various states of restoration). One of the vehicles caught my attention--an early-'70s Ranchero. The paint looks decent in the one picture, although it says it's not running. If I had the expendable cash, I'd be tempted to try and get that one. (I might try for the '55-ish T-Bird, but that'll go for stupid money, or at least a buck more than I can afford to spend...)

[silvrsvt]

IMO I don't think that an old name needs to be recycled for this-both names have zero association with me at least-lets try something different. 

[rmc523]

1 hour ago, silvrsvt said:

IMO I don't think that an old name needs to be recycled for this-both names have zero association with me at least-lets try something different. 

 

F-050?  ?

[tbone]

6 hours ago, ice-capades said:

Courier vs. Ranchero? Either would be fine as long as the marketing is done well although I think the Ranchero name might be received better in North America. Forget anything related to Bronco or Bronco Sport as this vehicle will have no connection to either. 

I’m not a big fan of either of those names, but if I had to pick one I would say Courier. They just sound dated to me. I also agree it shouldn’t have a Bronco linked name either.   The Maverick name has been kicked around quite a bit so I wonder if it may end up on this vehicle. 

[HotRunrGuy]

11 minutes ago, tbone said:

I’m not a big fan of either of those names, but if I had to pick one I would say Courier. They just sound dated to me. I also agree it shouldn’t have a Bronco linked name either.   The Maverick name has been kicked around quite a bit so I wonder if it may end up on this vehicle. 

 

I'm OK with Courier, back around 1980 it was the first brand new Ford I ever purchased,,,,

 

HRG

Edited March 10, 2020 by HotRunrGuy

[atomcat68]

I think this product should have a new name. They should not recycle an old one.

[silvrsvt]

Two issues with the names:

 

Ranchero-Was Ford's version of an El Camino (well the El Camino came out after it but the name is more well known)

Courier-Was a Mazda import, at least in North America.

 

Since Ford is fond of recycling trim names for new Products, how about Lariat from the F-series? Anyone else got a good idea?

[jpd80]

 

 

might be wise to reveal the baby pick up as well as the coronavirus will probably cause cancellations of auto shows 

[fuzzymoomoo]

1 minute ago, silvrsvt said:

Two issues with the names:

 

Ranchero-Was Ford's version of an El Camino (well the El Camino came out after it but the name is more well known)

Courier-Was a Mazda import, at least in North America.

 

Since Ford is fond of recycling trim names for new Products, how about Lariat from the F-series? Anyone else got a good idea?

I can see it now

 

the Ford King Ranch

 

 

[K270]

2 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:

Two issues with the names:

 

Ranchero-Was Ford's version of an El Camino (well the El Camino came out after it but the name is more well known)

Courier-Was a Mazda import, at least in North America.

 

Since Ford is fond of recycling trim names for new Products, how about Lariat from the F-series? Anyone else got a good idea?

 

 

How about the F-100?

Edited March 10, 2020 by K270

[akirby]

1 minute ago, K270 said:

How about the F-100?

 

That would be closer to Ranger.  This one would be below that.

[K270]

Just now, akirby said:

 

That would be closer to Ranger.  This one would be below that.

 

 

Then how about the F-99? The F-75?, The F-50? Or, how about the F-69? Wait, that one might cause problems. 

[rmc523]

1 minute ago, akirby said:

 

That would be closer to Ranger.  This one would be below that.

 

That's why I jokingly said F-050 above.

[Deanh]

All for Courier myself...very fond memories of that little pickup...which was damn near impossible to kill.....

Edited March 10, 2020 by Deanh

[silvrsvt]

21 minutes ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

I can see it now

 

the Ford King Ranch

 

I was out by the King Ranch in TX a few weeks ago-a whole bunch of nothing out there for the most part. 

[bzcat]

Maverick is the best name if we are recycling. Courier is good name too. Ranchoro is fine but it may not work outside the US (and I'm not sure how many people remembers it in the US).

 

That being said, I suspect Ford will come up with a new name. And it would not surprise me one bit if the front 1/3 of the truck looks nearly identical to Bronco Sport.

 

As for target market, it seems pretty obvious to me Ford is going to target entry level buyers whom they have deserted by killing Fiesta and Focus. The little cargo area is not the point here. This is going to be a cheap car without cheap car stigma. Would you rather drive a Nissan Versa or Kia Soul? Ford's alternative is going to be this little truck.

[akirby]

2 minutes ago, bzcat said:

Maverick is the best name if we are recycling. Courier is good name too. Ranchoro is fine but it may not work outside the US (and I'm not sure how many people remembers it in the US).

 

That being said, I suspect Ford will come up with a new name. And it would not surprise me one bit if the front 1/3 of the truck looks nearly identical to Bronco Sport.

 

As for target market, it seems pretty obvious to me Ford is going to target entry level buyers whom they have deserted by killing Fiesta and Focus. The little cargo area is not the point here. This is going to be a cheap car without cheap car stigma. Would you rather drive a Nissan Versa or Kia Soul? Ford's alternative is going to be this little truck.

 

I think they'll also be targeting the original Ranger-philes.  My first one was a cheap entry level vehicle.

[rmc523]

5 minutes ago, bzcat said:

Maverick is the best name if we are recycling. Courier is good name too. Ranchoro is fine but it may not work outside the US (and I'm not sure how many people remembers it in the US).

 

That being said, I suspect Ford will come up with a new name. And it would not surprise me one bit if the front 1/3 of the truck looks nearly identical to Bronco Sport.

 

As for target market, it seems pretty obvious to me Ford is going to target entry level buyers whom they have deserted by killing Fiesta and Focus. The little cargo area is not the point here. This is going to be a cheap car without cheap car stigma. Would you rather drive a Nissan Versa or Kia Soul? Ford's alternative is going to be this little truck.

 

[silvrsvt]

3 minutes ago, bzcat said:

Would you rather drive a Nissan Versa or Kia Soul? Ford's alternative is going to be this little truck.

 

The Soul is "cute" and doesn't look cheap and had an effective advertising campaign for it. The Versa and the like are just boring and cheap...though the Chevy Spark I had as a rental wasn't actually half bad besides being too small for me.