From
The Detroit News:
Ford may keep building Rangers
U.S. production was to end in '09
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
With record gasoline prices undermining sales of its full-size pickups, Ford Motor Co. is considering extending the life of its elderly Ford Ranger compact pickup for another two years, according to people familiar with the company's plan.
That would be good news for workers at Ford's Twin Cities Assembly Plant in St. Paul, Minn. The factory is slated to close next year when production of the Ranger is scheduled to end.
Under the plan now being weighed by Ford, the Ranger would stay in production until 2011 when a new global version is ready. That truck will be produced overseas.
The review of the Ranger is part of a broader rethinking of Ford's entire truck program triggered by skyrocketing fuel prices and a consumer shift to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
As The Detroit News first reported two weeks ago, the Dearborn automaker is planning on converting some of its U.S. truck plants to car production. It is also taking a hard look at every future product program.
Though no final decisions have yet been made, sources say the company is considering an indefinite delay of the SVT Raptor, a planned high-performance version of its F-150 pickup.
Complete article here.
2008 Ford Ranger. www.fordvehicles.com