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Just heard on the news that the 6,657,881st and final Ford Ranger rolled off the line today at the Twin Cities Assembly Plant. This plant was built in conjunction with Lock & Dam #1 on the Mississippi River in 1924. It is currently the oldest operating Ford plant.
Farewell, Ranger, and best of luck to all the displaced workers.
Just heard on the news that the 6,657,881st and final Ford Ranger rolled off the line today at the Twin Cities Assembly Plant. This plant was built in conjunction with Lock & Dam #1 on the Mississippi River in 1924. It is currently the oldest operating Ford plant.
Farewell, Ranger, and best of luck to all the displaced workers.
It was indeed quite a run. We offer up a little eulogy on the homepage...
Truly sad, for the workers and the Ranger..............how soon will Ford realize their mistake with handing the compact truck market to GM, yota and Nissan?
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93 F-250HD SC 460 E4OD
96 Explorer Limited 4.0 V-6 OHV
93 Ranger Splash 2.3 5spd only 51,000 miles!
84 Ranger 4x4 2.8 V-6 5spd......needs a new TK-5 trans, PM if you have one!
Dave
Oregon Assistant Chapter leader: To join the Oregon Chapter, click HERE
indeed a sad day...the 6,657,881 number isnt rangers..its TOTAL vehicle production at the plant..which dates back to Model T's...and WWII efforts I suspect...Galaxies(a 66 LTD was the 3,000,000th), F series...lots of cars and trucks...and memories...I salute all that work there and built them all...including my 91 Ranger.
Some of the reasons given for ending production of the Ranger make sense. At the same time there are owners such as myself that don't need a heavy hauler and like the size of the Ranger. I recently bought an extended cab model and find that the extra room gives me the ability to adjust the seat so that my 6'2" frame fits comfortably. I am somewhat disappointed in the fuel economy, even with the four cylinder engine. I had expected better gas milage than I am getting (18 - 19 MPG with mostly city driving in cold weather).
For many years, Ford has done nothing to promote the Ranger. When have you last seen an ad, be it in print or on TV, for a Ranger? Very little updating has been done. It seems like Ford has let the Ranger sell itself and has let it die.
I hate to see it come to an end. I updated from a 1991 XLT to a 2008 XLT last August because I wanted to continue to have a Ranger with out having the cost of repairing a 100 K + truck into the forseable future.
I'm happy with my truck and am saddened to see it come to end. Hopefully the folks that built a great little truck are successful in finding work before long.
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2008 XLT, 2.3 DOHC, 5R44e Automatic, 7.5" axle, 4.10 gears, 50 K miles
Motorcraft Blend in Engine, PS, PB, A/C, 225/70 x 15 Continental ContiTrac RWL tires,
extended cab, 6' bed, Access tonneau cover.
Previous vehicle: 1991 XLT, 2.3 SOHC (Lima), M5OD, 7.5 axle 3.45 gears. Donated to a charity.
I echo your post. I love my 2009 Ford Ranger and have customized it just the way I wanted it to look.
I own a Mercedes Benz 560SL and like the truck more than the car.
It is indeed a sad day, except for us that still own a Ranger.
I think its too bad Ford didnt do more with this truck. I've had my 02 truck for almost 3 years, and never had a problem with it. Both my dad and uncle have an 04. Two of my family freinds has a Ranger, an 08, the other a 98. (The 98 has 250,000+ on it) But the sad thing is, it boils down to money. Ford would rather ditch the truck line than spend money on it to make it better. See, they could have renamed it the F-100 again, and brought the ranger trim line back as well. Then they would still have the "F-series is the best selling" slogan still. AND Ford never had a small truck V8, like the dakota. Didnt try to get new, better mpg engine/tranny combos. Oh well. Ill just keep my truck, and love it more than the new cars/trucks coming out with too many options.
Long live the Ranger, and all those who made them.
From what I saw on the Cool Fords Facebook page, it went to Orkin Pest Control.
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Mike B
1969 ForDor Thunderbird
2006 Dodge Charger (wifes car)
2000 Ranger Regular cab
2.5L with A/C backed up by the 5 speed manual, 2WD.
159,000+ on the clock.
Sad day indeed. MY 1988, 1999 and 2011 all came from St.Paul plant as well as my dad's 2000. My 1995 came from the Edisson NJ plant that is also now closed.
I hope to keep my 2011 for at least 300K miles and 20 years..
The saddest part of all, is that it's only the USA version that has ended production. The rest of the world will continue to enjoy what we started here in the USA, while we will have little choice other than an import for a small truck.
My 95 may have Mazda badges on it, but it was built in America, by Americans. Of course, half of the sub-assemblies were made elsewhere, shipped to NJ, and put together there.......
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1980 F-150 300 I6, C6 & 9" rearend. The workhorse. 300K+
1974 F100 Ranger XLT 390, C6 3.25 axle. Dad bought it new, drove it over 500K. Now that he can no longer drive it came to me. Value: Priceless.
1983 Mazda RX7 1.1L Rotary. The show/autocross/toy. 231K
1995 Mazda B2300 (undercover Ford)
It seems that the Ford executives feel that most Ranger buyers bought it on price alone, which I don`t feel is accurate. Certainly most commercial buyers may have bought on price, but speaking for myself, the Ranger platform was the perfect size for a commuter vehicle in downtown traffic with occasional light hauling now & then. I also own an old F350 for hauling my race cars, or heavy loads, and we have a "normal" car for trips, or when we need to carry more than 2 people. I bought my Ranger BECAUSE of it`s size & utility value. Even if a base F150 was the exact same price, and got the same mileage, I still would have chose a Ranger. And by the number of other Rangers I see on the road every day, I`m not alone in my thinking. I see a lot more "loaded up" Rangers on the road than stripper XL`s, I`m sure that many of these fancier Rangers were pretty close in price to a mid line F150. I`m guessing that many people would have chose a loaded Ranger to a plain F150 for the same price. Now that option is no longer available to them. Since I prefer manual transmissions, and Ford has chosen to make all the F150-350`s automatic only, Ford couldn`t have sold me a F series anyhow. As I understand it, Ford was selling twice as many Rangers as Flexes, yet they killed off the Ranger, and kept the Flex. Go figure. Hopefully my 2010 Ranger lasts me a good long time, like 2 of my other Fords (74 F350, 24 years, 78 Fairmont, 26 years, no plans to sell either of them.)
Well lets see, I ordered my 99 Ranger & it was special built at the St.Paul plant, but it came with a German engine, French tranny & was assembled in the USA, so maybe it should have been called an "International"!!!!! lol, Remember those, they're history too.
My 99 has about 75K on it now, just getting broken in real good & if I take care of it, the danged thing will likely outlast me!!!! I like it just fine, has done everything I've expected of it. If I'd wanted an import I wouldn't be driving the Ranger. If I'd wanted or needed an F-150 I'd be driving that. The 4.0L pushrod, 5spd OD tranny, extra cab with 4drs, was just what I was looking for, so 3mos after retiring I took delivery of my first truck & put it to work towing my Bass Tracker to the lake, where I'm now on a first name basis with most all of the large mouth bass!!!! The pushrod 4.0L has plenty of Grunt & still gives 17.5-17.7 towing the Tracker over & through the Blue Ridge Mtns & better than 25 on the highway in OD running 55-70, so I don't need or want anything else!!!! The Ranger & I have bonded!!!! Too danged bad fords short sighted upper management didn't!!!!! lower case intended!!!!
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99 Ranger XLT 4dr 4x2 4.0L 5spd Auto 3.55L/S Payload Pkg2 Tow Pkg
Details are trifles but trifles make perfection & perfection is no trifle
(Ben Franklin)
Our signature is a sign of a job completed, autograph your work with excellence
It seems that the Ford executives feel that most Ranger buyers bought it on price alone, which I don`t feel is accurate. Certainly most commercial buyers may have bought on price, but speaking for myself, the Ranger platform was the perfect size for a commuter vehicle in downtown traffic with occasional light hauling now & then. I also own an old F350 for hauling my race cars, or heavy loads, and we have a "normal" car for trips, or when we need to carry more than 2 people. I bought my Ranger BECAUSE of it`s size & utility value. Even if a base F150 was the exact same price, and got the same mileage, I still would have chose a Ranger. And by the number of other Rangers I see on the road every day, I`m not alone in my thinking. I see a lot more "loaded up" Rangers on the road than stripper XL`s, I`m sure that many of these fancier Rangers were pretty close in price to a mid line F150. I`m guessing that many people would have chose a loaded Ranger to a plain F150 for the same price. Now that option is no longer available to them. Since I prefer manual transmissions, and Ford has chosen to make all the F150-350`s automatic only, Ford couldn`t have sold me a F series anyhow. As I understand it, Ford was selling twice as many Rangers as Flexes, yet they killed off the Ranger, and kept the Flex. Go figure. Hopefully my 2010 Ranger lasts me a good long time, like 2 of my other Fords (74 F350, 24 years, 78 Fairmont, 26 years, no plans to sell either of them.)
I agree. I want the small size, not midsize or extra large..
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