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Ford Renewing Splash Trademark?


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My guess is the Splash may be the electric version of Ranger as part of family of Rangers. Similar to 'F-150 Lighting' electric, Ford could just be leveraging the old 'Splash' trim to electrify the Ranger. As much as I really liked the sporty Flareside bed from both the old Ranger Splash (later standalone option) and F-150 Flareside, I doubt Ford would be bringing that style of bed back to the next generation Ranger, due to the smaller inner bed dimensions, less payload, and all. Just as the article said, it could also just be Ford preserving the name to hold onto it.

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On 6/18/2021 at 3:10 PM, pffan1990 said:

My guess is the Splash may be the electric version of Ranger as part of family of Rangers. Similar to 'F-150 Lighting' electric, Ford could just be leveraging the old 'Splash' trim to electrify the Ranger. As much as I really liked the sporty Flareside bed from both the old Ranger Splash (later standalone option) and F-150 Flareside, I doubt Ford would be bringing that style of bed back to the next generation Ranger, due to the smaller inner bed dimensions, less payload, and all. Just as the article said, it could also just be Ford preserving the name to hold onto it.

 

Splash doesn't conjure up any image of tough electric truck though. Definitely not in the same league as Lightning. 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, bzcat said:

 

Splash doesn't conjure up any image of tough electric truck though. Definitely not in the same league as Lightning. 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe a special trim for the Surf Board lifestyle activists and Water Sport activists in general. Get that surf board and/or water skis out onto your Splash.

 

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, bzcat said:

 

Splash doesn't conjure up any image of tough electric truck though. Definitely not in the same league as Lightning.

 

Yeah, I later realized that Ford would likely just re-use the Lightning for the electric variant of the Ranger, along with Lightning Pro for the commercial variant of electric Ranger as well. The Splash would make better use as a sporty trim for both Maverick and Ranger for the younger active lifestyle customers. Perhaps Ford will only use it only for Maverick though. I'm thinking more than just bright colors and pinstipe tapes though. We'll see.

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Yea I agree... Ranger EV could just leverage the same Lightning sub brand the same way Raptor made it from F-150 to Ranger.

 

Also agree that Maverick could be a good candidate for Splash treatment. One thing that was missing on Maverick is a STX package found on Ranger and F-150... a color-matching appearance package that removes all references of XL badge and make it more retail friendly for the budget conscious buyer. Maybe instead of STX, Ford is thinking of branding it with more fun name.

Edited by bzcat
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I recall Splash came in yellow, green/teal, purple and red. Maybe white too?

 

I don't think Ford will make a flareside bed for Maverick because it is unibody so you are changing the safety structure if you change the bed shape. Also that will make the bed even smaller and less practical. But cool colors, different wheels, and maybe different interior fabric/shades should be easy to do and add to the transaction price. 

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3 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

Article on the original Ranger Splash

https://www.newcartestdrive.com/reviews/1994-ford-ranger/

So its basically was an appearance package with a flareside bed. I wonder if they'll do an fake Flareside bed for the Maverick Splash.

Also offer some cool colors...I remember the Splash came in a cool aqua green blue of the era.

 

I would doubt it on the flareside bed.  Ford moved away from it years ago on the F-150 because of decreasing take rate.....while I like the look, later versions of it haven't been as attractive as the '97-'03 aero F-150s were with the flareside.  Back on Maverick - bed space is already limited on the Maverick as it is - because keep in mind, to make a flareside, they have to bull the bed sides in/make the bed narrower to create the bigger flares and unnecessary on Maverick side step.

 

I see it just being an appearance package - maybe unique grille treatment or color/trim, unique/colored mirror caps, unique wheels, "SPLASH" on the back bed side unique interior colors - with perhaps built-in/included accessories and bed mounts for "splash" related items - i.e. surfboards paddleboards, etc.

Edited by rmc523
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6 minutes ago, bzcat said:

I recall Splash came in yellow, green/teal, purple and red. Maybe white too?

 

I don't think Ford will make a flareside bed for Maverick because it is unibody so you are changing the safety structure if you change the bed shape. Also that will make the bed even smaller and less practical. But cool colors, different wheels, and maybe different interior fabric/shades should be easy to do and add to the transaction price. 

 

Very good point about it being a unibody - I didn't even consider that aspect of it.

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7 hours ago, rmc523 said:

 

Very good point about it being a unibody - I didn't even consider that aspect of it.

 

I was thinking of a faux Flareside that wouldn't actually impede on the bed itself

 

2022 Ford® Maverick XLT in the color Area 51 parked on the street in front of vibrant pink and yellow homes

 

Going by the side shot, all it would take is a new stamping due to the way its broken down. near the bed. Maybe add a flare to the front wheelwell to match up with it (Ie add on part)

 

I doubt its going to happen, but hey stranger things have happened! 

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55 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:

 

I was thinking of a faux Flareside that wouldn't actually impede on the bed itself

 

2022 Ford® Maverick XLT in the color Area 51 parked on the street in front of vibrant pink and yellow homes

 

Going by the side shot, all it would take is a new stamping due to the way its broken down. near the bed. Maybe add a flare to the front wheelwell to match up with it (Ie add on part)

 

I doubt its going to happen, but hey stranger things have happened! 

 

I'm not sure how you'd make a faux one though - there's not much room there to bulge out a flare/cut from the bed wall to accommodate one.

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16 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

 

I was thinking of a faux Flareside that wouldn't actually impede on the bed itself

 

2022 Ford® Maverick XLT in the color Area 51 parked on the street in front of vibrant pink and yellow homes

 

Going by the side shot, all it would take is a new stamping due to the way its broken down. near the bed. Maybe add a flare to the front wheelwell to match up with it (Ie add on part)

 

I doubt its going to happen, but hey stranger things have happened! 

 

You are assuming there is room between the exterior and inner body stamping to get that sculpted look of flareside. I don't think that is the case. If Ford wants to make a flareside, it will need to reduce the width of the bed, which implies changing the unibody of the rear section.

 

If you are changing the width of the rear unibody, it will impact stress loading on the passenger cell on an unibody vehicle, especially on side impacts. This is why I said it's not likely Ford will do what you proposed because it will be considered an entirely separate body style that will need NHTSA crash modeling and certification.

 

On a body on frame vehicle, the bed is not attached to the passenger cell and the chassis transfers all the impact force so you can change the shape of the bed without incurring too much costs.

 

Think of it this way... Maverick regular vs. flareside is like Focus sedan vs. wagon as far as crash test is concerned... different rear unibody. The cost goes up exponentially more than doing a flareside on T6 of F-150.

Edited by bzcat
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