Ford May Keep Building Rangers

[MN12Fan]

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

[ausrutherford]

Thats so stupid, why kill the Raptor now. They have spent millions on it. They should go through with it.

[likearock00]

Ha HA! I knew as soon as I saw that thread about limited use of the Boss engines that the Raptor would get killed!

So sad to see that this poor Ranger will have to slug around for another 2 years. It's still a good truck though and has a huge customer base, so as long as it costs little to produce Ford is making a good decision.

[doh]

Makes sense to me. Look at what happened with the Sport Trac. No Sport Trac for a year meant many customers coming out of a Sport Trac lease had no where to turn.

Ford had the capacity to build them they just vanished for a year.

We sell alot of Rangers here in Canada so to leave us without a small truck for 2 years just means more of our customers would have to turn to Nissan/Toyo for thier small truck needs. Then we would be stuck trying to get back into the small truck market in 2 years.

[igor]

Raptor was not killed - at least not yet

The shift of BOSS is such a big move, and Ford IS re-thinking their whole truck plan - that some people assume the Raptor will be canceled - it is no doubt being re-evaluated - but as a limited volume high profile high profit vehicle - there is no need to cancel it - it will sell the 10,000 or so units a year they had planned for it. IT might get an axe, but it has not yet

I think this is a good move on the Ranger - if they can get SAB in without much difficulty, they should do it. Also I like the point about South Africa as the source of future US Rangers - I never connected those dots.

Igor

[Hitman1970]

How much would it cost to redesign the interior and place a more fuel-efficient engine in this truck?

[Ming]

Why not? I see plenty of them on the roads these days in Texas. They make sense in a $4.00/gallon environment. Much more sense than the high, slab-sided F-150's as commuter cars and sometimes weekend haulers of mulch and beer coolers.

Unlike the Colorado/Canyon....Ford dealers actually seem to stock a good number of these on their lots, and last I checked they actually had decent incentives (at least locally).

Originally Posted by Hitman1970

How much would it cost to redesign the interior and place a more fuel-efficient engine in this truck?

Not sure, but it would seem worth the effort. I loved the one we got handed as a rental on the Big Island of Hawaii some years back. I didn't notice anything "wrong" with the chassis. Great extended cab truck, and the interior didn't look that bad, either, for the time. Overall it came off as better than the S-10 that was competing with then -- the S-10 had very 1990's curvy interior styling.

Given GM's apparent absolute lack of effort in selling Colorados and Canyons, I often wonder if they too would not have been better off taking the Brazilian S-10's styling/sheetmetal and pushing it along for a few more years. Even the 2.2L OHV I4 would have been welcome now, as it got 28MPG or something similar. But instead they kept around the inefficient wheezer 4.3LV6...(still available on base Silverados) The 2.2L Ecotec could have replaced it. And that's not to mention the 4-cylinder Diesel offered in the Brazilian S-10.




All that, and the S-10 had a huge "mini truck" fan base that was on display at truck shows such as the Texas Heat Wave. So GM replaced it with a hard-edged, "angry toaster" looking Colorado/Canyon that they never much cared to sell...

This is the only memorable ad for the Canyon/Colorado, and it seems to even poke fun at the truck...

Compare this ad to the macho Silverado "This is Our Truck" type ads with cowboys and such:

+ YouTube Video

(Is that guy singing one of the "squints" from Bones?)

[likearock00]

Originally Posted by Hitman1970

How much would it cost to redesign the interior and place a more fuel-efficient engine in this truck?

Obviously way too much more than Ford cares to put into it. How much would it have cost to make a full crew cab on it? Ford has made a nice load of cash off this truck with minimal investment. As long as it sells, Ford will drag it out as long as possible. The just put a nice sum into the F-150- hopefully they'll be able to get a return on that investment given the gas prices now.

[Hitman1970]

This is the type of truck I will eventually buy down the road. It will be a "mulch and beer" hauler as Ming so eloquently put; therefore, it just needs to be competent, not luxurious.

[Ming]

Originally Posted by likearock00

Obviously way too much more than Ford cares to put into it. How much would it have cost to make a full crew cab on it? Ford has made a nice load of cash off this truck with minimal investment. As long as it sells, Ford will drag it out as long as possible.

Maybe this new environment will change their minds and prompt a small refresh. Heck even the Sunfire got one in its final dats. Or they'll let Toyota take all of the people looking for a fuel efficient truck that does everything they need, not the excessive capacity and horsepower of today's F-150 that they really don't need at 4 bucks a gallon. That said, isn't there an "F-100" in the works...? Ford people?

Hitman1970
This is the type of truck I will eventually buy down the road. It will be a "mulch and beer" hauler as Ming so eloquently put; therefore, it just needs to be competent, not luxurious.

I try, I try.

[igor]

Originally Posted by likearock00

Obviously way too much more than Ford cares to put into it. How much would it have cost to make a full crew cab on it? Ford has made a nice load of cash off this truck with minimal investment. As long as it sells, Ford will drag it out as long as possible. The just put a nice sum into the F-150- hopefully they'll be able to get a return on that investment given the gas prices now.

OK one comment here - the one reason why crew cab is not offered in Us is because it was not safe enough - Ford could not get it there - the Ranger hasa crew cab - in South America.

The Interior could use a touch up, but there is nothing wrong with it. If this truck does stay in production the only change you will see is addition of side airbags - the new one is 2 years away - it is not worth a full on redesign not even a new interior - after all Ranger has the reputation of the best assembled interior in the segment.




Igor

[ohmywrd8]

This thing needs to be redesigned. Ugh, ford. Blah

[GMC-70]

Why not? I see plenty of them on the roads these days in Texas. They make sense in a $4.00/gallon environment. Much more sense than the high, slab-sided F-150's as commuter cars and sometimes weekend haulers of mulch and beer coolers.

Unlike the Colorado/Canyon....Ford dealers actually seem to stock a good number of these on their lots, and last I checked they actually had decent incentives (at least locally).



Not sure, but it would seem worth the effort. I loved the one we got handed as a rental on the Big Island of Hawaii some years back. I didn't notice anything "wrong" with the chassis. Great extended cab truck, and the interior didn't look that bad, either, for the time. Overall it came off as better than the S-10 that was competing with then -- the S-10 had very 1990's curvy interior styling.

Given GM's apparent absolute lack of effort in selling Colorados and Canyons, I often wonder if they too would not have been better off taking the Brazilian S-10's styling/sheetmetal and pushing it along for a few more years. Even the 2.2L OHV I4 would have been welcome now, as it got 28MPG or something similar. But instead they kept around the inefficient wheezer 4.3LV6...(still available on base Silverados) The 2.2L Ecotec could have replaced it. And that's not to mention the 4-cylinder Diesel offered in the Brazilian S-10.




All that, and the S-10 had a huge "mini truck" fan base that was on display at truck shows such as the Texas Heat Wave. So GM replaced it with a hard-edged, "angry toaster" looking Colorado/Canyon that they never much cared to sell...

I had a 2000 bare bones S10 with a 5spd--Great little truck. I wonder why GM really pulled the plug on this one as the Colorada/Canyon are really not direct replacements.

Thanks for all the pictures of the Brazilion S-10s .....it's cool to see the differences, but it makes you wonder why spend all that $$$ on two Chevy designs of the same truck? I understand different divisions require it, but why does a Brazilian chevy S-10 need to look different then the US market Chevy S10

Do you know if they sell the Canyon/Colorado there? If so are they any different?

[Ach]

I too think keeping the Ranger around is a good move...it really is a perfect size for the changing market.

I can't think of anything more irrelevant than the Raptor at this point. If they are going to put out SVT vehicles they should start with Fusion and Focus- those lineups could really use a halo performance model that emphasizes both performance and efficiency.

[Ming]

Originally Posted by Ach

I can't think of anything more irrelevant than the Raptor at this point. If they are going to put out SVT vehicles they should start with Fusion and Focus- those lineups could really use a halo performance model that emphasizes both performance and efficiency.

I always thought that hot rod pickups were a novelty and a poor replacement for a muscle car anyway. They can't match the fuel economy or track performance of a Mustang, and few actually even use the frou-frou fabric-lined, tonneau-covered beds anyway. I blame the "muscle pickups" for the decline in sales of cars like the F-bodies and Mustangs when SUVs and Pickups were "must have" means of transportation in the late 1990's and early 2000's. And nowadays it seems any male between the ages of 18 and 35 who lives in the South is convinced that they need a pickup, not a car, to look tough along with their Stone Cold shaven heads and goatees. The muscle trucks make for fun toys, but they aren't to be taken very seriously.

Now an off-roading truck / ute is another story...

On the other hand, one could also conclude that the "Super Bee Ram" type vehicels were just for people who were waiting for the new Charger. And the way Detroit focused on Trucks to the detriment of Muscle Cars up until recently could have played a role in the rise of the Muscle Truck and decline of the Muscle Car as well.

Still, I remember the 80's when "Rock you Like a Hurricaine" or "Rock of Ages" would play from the open windows of a passing Camaro, and that was considered bad ass, not some hotted up farm vehicle.