Flint: Ford Giving Up On The Ranger ?

[ANTAUS]

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[ZanatWork]

Ah, the Ranger. This is one area that Ford has been-and I can't say this clearly enough-transparent in their inability to make a decision.

 

The possibilities are obvious: update and already old chassis, release something off the Explorer chassis, import the Thai model, blow off the whole thing.

 

I don't see a new platform as a real possibility.

 

My suggestion would be to try one more evolution of the existing hardware, and grow it just a little bit more in the cab. Entry-level customers can become long-term customers...if Ford lets them.

[630land]

I'd tell the old fart, Ford did not, repeat, not 'give up' on the Escort. It was replaced by the Focus, worldwide! So, does that mean they 'gave up' on the Pinto?

 

But OTOH, buyers gave up on Ranger in the cheap gas days and got big trucks. Then the managers figured, "Well, that is all we will make better", and to hell with the rest.

[kyle]

I would tell the old far that he is right. Quit defending ford when they screw up...it kills me that people just can't face reality.

 

They have not updated that thing in ages and you wonder why their market share is increasing? If they had just did some minor sheetwork they would pick up 50k in sales. That is the amount of sales that the FJ from Toyota is going to sell.

 

The only thing that ford has done with the ranger is done a minor dash update and for whatever reason they also cheapened up the front brake rotors-have several that i work on and these things warped like crazy at 30k-dealer only iteam at nearly $90 a pop. All the other rangers that i have been servicing have close to 100k on them and no problems.

 

btw the dash update includes a gap in the panel nearly 1/2" thick-and you wonder why people would buy a nissan or toyota!

 

My ranger has 275k on the odo and still going strong and ford wants to just leave this market or come out with a f100-this is one case where bigger is not better

[wescoent]

The pie that is Ford's product development money has been getting smaller and smaller over the years, and someone's going to end up not getting a piece.

 

The new Ford Ranger's design could not be simpler. Take the Explorer chassis, which is about the right size. Design a short and long bed. Design a regular, crew, and 4-door cab. Take the 2009 F-150 interior, and scale it down somewhat. 2.3L Mazda 4-cylinder is a given. The only problem is, they need the truck version of the new Duratec 35 before they can build it. 260hp with enough torque to tow a boat will do just fine in this segment. Rename it Ford F-100 Ranger, and give it mini-F-150 styling.

[630land]

I didn't 'defend' Ford's handling of the Ranger, just that Flint thinks if a car line is replaced, it means it was 'abandoned'. Name Changes date back 100 years. Was Henry Ford wrong to replace the Model t with Model a? Flint would probably think so.

 

The replacement of the Escort line with Focus is no way the same case as just letting the Ranger sit and rot. He could use better examples to back up his story than Escort, and the last T-Brid, which was NOT planned to be a volume car, and had a planned short shelf life.

Edited September 25, 2006 by 630land

[old_fairmont_wagon]

Really simple for the ranger, take what you've got now, find a way to make it roll down the assembly line at STAP where the TC is moving to, and update it during that redesign. Give it 5 options: regular cab short bed, regular cab long bed, extended cab short bed, extended cab long bed, and crew cab short bed. Give it two engines, the 2.3L 4 banger and the 3.5L duratec. Carry over the existing 5AT until 6ATs are in enough volume. Continue to offer the 5MT, even on the V6.

 

There, you have a plant that will be running at or near capacity, another plant that can be closed/idled on the way forward plan, an updated product that will be competitive in its segment, and likely increased volume. How freaking hard is that to come up with? If there are a few peices of equipment in the plant that need replacing, then, so be it. In the end, its another BOF vehicle. Difference is, two peices to the body with a cab and a bed. That would require some modifications to the body caddy.

[630land]

I bet they will replace the Ranger, since they at last minute 'saved' the Town Car. Which I think they never really planned ot kill, just wanted to get some attention to the car.

[kyle]

I bet they will replace the Ranger, since they at last minute 'saved' the Town Car. Which I think they never really planned ot kill, just wanted to get some attention to the car.

 

 

your kidding right? do you think ford needs any more attention at this point? their product development is a total fricking mess. if i was wanting to give the town car attention I would of mentioned that this thing was being "updated" as I tried to put a positive spin before a worldwide media conference. Nope....nothing.

 

Don't get me wrong...I am glad they realized how big this market is and decided they could ill afford to walk away from it.

[turbo_diesel_focus]

I bet they will replace the Ranger, since they at last minute 'saved' the Town Car. Which I think they never really planned ot kill, just wanted to get some attention to the car.

 

 

The Town Car certainly has generated alot of attention over its "apparent demise", looks like Ford will try the same with the Ranger and see how much interest it gains. I dont see how Ford can possibly afford to axe the Ranger. They have spent hardly any money on it over the last 20 yearts, tooling paid for, they must make loads of money on it. The Town Car makes Ford a cool £1 Billion, I am sure the Ranger makes a huge ammount aswell. Ford Motor Co has been caught out now for not revamping their products for years and thinking people will put up with halfed arsed, lazy and tired designs, which is the MAIN reason they are in so much shit now..

[Blue II]

your kidding right? do you think ford needs any more attention at this point? their product development is a total fricking mess. if i was wanting to give the town car attention I would of mentioned that this thing was being "updated" as I tried to put a positive spin before a worldwide media conference. Nope....nothing.

 

Don't get me wrong...I am glad they realized how big this market is and decided they could ill afford to walk away from it.

 

Now maybe the bean counters will not drive PD. This has to be the biggest problem along with marketing.

[630land]

Yeah sorta kidding. But still why such secrecy? Why can't they at least say if they are commited to compact pickups or not? Ford is at least saying 'we are working on new B class cars' and they made sure everyone knows the next gen F150 is for 2009, why not anything else?

[evok]

Yeah sorta kidding. But still why such secrecy? Why can't they at least say if they are commited to compact pickups or not? Ford is at least saying 'we are working on new B class cars' and they made sure everyone knows the next gen F150 is for 2009, why not anything else?

 

hmm - maybe because Ford likes the Honda Ridgeline a lot!

[kyle]

the reason why they have not said anything is because simply they don't even know themselves. I think with all the changes in upper management-especially on the product side-every time a new manager takes over he puts his stamp on what he thinks is most important and face it....small trucks are not something someone is going to make president on! Yah, I revamped the ranger product and we now sell 200k a year....I think they would rather try to make a name on something else...whether it is hybirds, large trucks, small cars, midsize vehicles, just about anything but small trucks-or maybe full size vans!

 

I like their new management and really appreciate their candeness(?) about what is going on...."change or die" is a pretty accurate assement of their position. It will take a few years, along with some disappointments but they will get there. I personally care little for titles-"best selling, #1, etc." I would rather see ford putting out vehicles that create some excitement, look fresh and take chances-ie-a little like chrysler and nissan (just one example folks!) then producing vanilla cars. If they do this the results will speak for themselves.

 

Face it would you rather have ford profitable, bold (where the hell did that come from), and be the darlings of the automotive industry-kind of like honda-then what they are right now....big and boring-although both of these are changing as well.

[bolita]

I thought the Ranger would soldier on with once again, few tweaks until the 2010/2011 MY in which it would be replaced by a new global Ranger developed by the Asia Pacific Mazda/Ford. Seems like too long IMHO...

[RichardJensen]

Flint overreaches, in his attempt to paint a picture of Toyota running roughshod over a bastion of domestic strength.

 

Perhaps he should recall who built the Chevy Luv.

 

Before the Ranger, the domestics were non-existent in the compact truck market.

 

As to the Ranger, well, Ford has probably just recently, or will in the near future decide what's going to happen to it in 2009. After TCAP closes, it either moves with some updates (as 630land suggested) to STAP, or it moves to the global Ranger platform and gets moved to STAP, or it moves to the Explorer platform, and moves to LAP.

 

I'm in favor of moving it to the Explorer platform, as it will justify continued production of the Explorer in smaller volumes.

[kyle]

I think 2009 is unrealistic at best....and it still disappoints me that this did not have to happen....I can't see them moving to the explorer platform-it just seems to expensive. The customer buying the ranger wants to spend $10-16k and wants to have a small truck-look at the dakota-when ever i see that i think to myself that he is a ram wannabee.

 

The market for $25k midsize trucks is very small due to all the manufacturing capacity (read-rebates from whoever has the oldest truck) in the full size segment.

 

Maybe there is a market for an f100-say $15-23k and then the 150. Look at all those small courier trucks on the road...that is a huge market for just parts and service....not to mention if they put out a good vehicle that the driver alone very well may purchase that brand.

[swenson88]

Part of the problem was Ford decided during the development of the 2002 Explorer to give it a unique platform, thus more expensive figuring this SUV-boom was good for a long while. Now that Ford is selling way under 300K units of the Explorer and Ranger, it makes absolutely no sense to have them on separate platforms, just like it stopped making sense for the Expedition and F-150 to be on separate platforms. So now Ford is stuck - the Explorer chassis is too expensive to use in a vehicle like the Ranger which will have to sticker around $15K for a stripper reg cab 2wd, but it's also too expensive to have two completely separate platforms when one would be cheaper. I don't think a bargain-basement Thai Ranger platform is going to do any good, I think the upcoming Explorer redesign in the latter part of the decade needs to involve bringing the Ranger onto the Explorer platform.

[Watchdevil]

The Town Car certainly has generated alot of attention over its "apparent demise", looks like Ford will try the same with the Ranger and see how much interest it gains. I dont see how Ford can possibly afford to axe the Ranger. They have spent hardly any money on it over the last 20 yearts, tooling paid for, they must make loads of money on it. The Town Car makes Ford a cool £1 Billion, I am sure the Ranger makes a huge ammount aswell. Ford Motor Co has been caught out now for not revamping their products for years and thinking people will put up with halfed arsed, lazy and tired designs, which is the MAIN reason they are in so much shit now..

 

 

It could be all of a sudden Ford is finally becoming sensitive to the fact that abandonment and neglect of certain vehicles and discontinuing long established nameplates without suitable updated replacements is giving a possible public perception that these vehicles are failures in one way or another. The last thing Ford needs is a long string of perceived failures... It's getting to the point that the company as a whole could be perceived this way and it establishes a lack of trust and confidence in consumer purchases. If Ford won't make what people want, people will buy it elsewhere...

[bolita]

I don't think a bargain-basement Thai Ranger platform is going to do any good, I think the upcoming Explorer redesign in the latter part of the decade needs to involve bringing the Ranger onto the Explorer platform.

 

Why not? What if the next Thai-Ranger incorporates NA into their design? I wouldn't rule it out so fast. My only concern is that the next all new Thai Ranger (current "new" is major refresh only) is due in 2010/2011 which is way too long for NA to keep the current Ranger. However, rumor has it that the Argentinean Ranger (which is the NA Ranger only in a crew cab) will stay as is untill the 2011 MY when it will migrate to the world Ranger. Go figure....

[mettech]

Do something different.... again. Drop the Ranger. If you want a cheap truck, get a F-150 with the V-6.

 

Replace the Ranger with...maybe.... the Ranchero.

This time use the Crown Vic as the base body.

 

Wonder what that would look like?

 

Or maybe use the 500 with AWD. That would compare to the Honda Ridgeline.

 

Wonder what the 500 Ranchero would look like?

[RichardJensen]

I don't think the Explorer frame is price prohibitive for the Ranger.

 

You'd use the Explorer's frame ahead of the firewall, and aft, you'd use a ladder-style frame that would be unique to the Ranger.

 

Given that the Sport Trac doesn't start too far past the cost of a Ranger extended cab with all the goodies, I don't think it follows that the Explorer platform can't be simplified and cheapened for a reasonably priced Ranger.

 

BTW, thank Nasser for the separate Explorer and Expedition architectures.

[Watchdevil]

I think 2009 is unrealistic at best....and it still disappoints me that this did not have to happen....I can't see them moving to the explorer platform-it just seems to expensive. The customer buying the ranger wants to spend $10-16k and wants to have a small truck-look at the dakota-when ever i see that i think to myself that he is a ram wannabee.

 

The market for $25k midsize trucks is very small due to all the manufacturing capacity (read-rebates from whoever has the oldest truck) in the full size segment.

 

Maybe there is a market for an f100-say $15-23k and then the 150. Look at all those small courier trucks on the road...that is a huge market for just parts and service....not to mention if they put out a good vehicle that the driver alone very well may purchase that brand.

 

I still think there is a lucurative market for small, roomy, economical and afforable trucks in this day and age of high gas prices. People still need something to haul things in and some people don't wanna be stuck in an econobox small passenger car for the sake of image. The problem with the Ranger is it basically looks the same as it did when it was last given a complete restyling. People won't even give it a look if there are more stylish and more frequently updated Toyotas and Nissans. Also, they missed an opportunity to provide affordable and simple four door trucks by making an Explorer Sport Track a more premium offering.

 

My advice at this point is if they don't wanna do an all new truck, then freshen what they got to make it look modern and new, and get that interior in line with the styling of the bigger Ford trucks.

 

Do something different.... again. Drop the Ranger. If you want a cheap truck, get a F-150 with the V-6.

 

Replace the Ranger with...maybe.... the Ranchero.

This time use the Crown Vic as the base body.

 

Wonder what that would look like?

 

Or maybe use the 500 with AWD. That would compare to the Honda Ridgeline.

 

Wonder what the 500 Ranchero would look like?

 

It would look like a Passat with a truck bed...

 

I seriously miss the old Ranchero. I always loved the carlike features. I also liked the fact that it was a piece of cake to modify the 1977-79 Ranchero by bolting on a Tbird front end and grille for something a little unique. You could literally and easily make yourself a Thunderbird truck... Or even a Cougar truck if you wanted to. I have seen a few custom Rancheros done that way.

 

I still adhere to my dream line-up of 427 Concept styled rear wheel drive vehicles offered in different body styles, nameplates and trim. Australia has been doing it forever. We could have the return of the Thunderbird in coupe and convertible form, a nice 4-door performance sedan (Falcon, Fairlane, Galaxie or Torino), a luxury LTD derivative, a new Ranchero, maybe even wagon like the Dodge Magnum. Strtch the possibilties and there is room for other derivatives such as a Cougar, Maurader, a real Montego and for Lincoln a Continental and Mark IX. Stretch the possibilty one step further and you can have yourself a real Mark LT based on the Ranchero derivative with Lincoln Mark IX styling. All this on one platform with shared mechanicals. The formula would not be that different than the one they used during 1977-79 on the mid-sized cars. They would instead be the right size (like the Charger, Magnum and 300C) and stylistically differentiated enough to give each nameplate individual character. And the good thing is with flexible assembly, it would be easy to adjust the mix of the models offered to meet supply and demand.

Edited September 25, 2006 by Watchdevil

[Edstock]

What would be way cool would be to get rid of the buggy springs and use coils on the next "Ranger". I know it costs more, but the bonus in NVH might be considerable.

 

The next Ranger doesn't necessarily have to be the cheapest smaller-size pickup. If gas climbs, there will be all sorts of Asian competition, and there's nothing man can make that they can't make cheaper.

 

Should the nest Ranger be wider/bigger?

[RichardJensen]

1-2" wider