How long does Ford think it can neglect it's compact truck? The Toyota Tacoma is now the number one seller in the compact truck world. The Tacoma has outsold the Ranger for the second month in a row, with Tacoma sales at 13,176 and Ranger sales at 12,510 in August. I hate to see the domestics giving up their lead to the imports one vehicle class at the time. It started with cars and has now moved to compact trucks. I fear that when Toyota and Nissan get thier act together on full size pickups, the F150 will lose it's crown. I know that some of you will say that will never happen, but believe me it can. Just look back at the '80s when Ford got complacent with the Taurus and thought that since it was the number one selling car for so long that they had nothing to worry about, look what car is at the top of that list now. I hope Ford wakes up, and soon!

 

You wouldn't happen to have a link to this would you? I have yet to hear of any such thing.

 

i dunno where they're sellin all thos tacos at...i see a helluva lot new rangers...

 

I'm sure the 2004/2005 numbers are going to be lower for the ranger, with the interest rates, and incetives last year everyone bought 2003s, and with the toys, the s10 croud is prolly buyin them.

 

Year to date, at the end of June, the Ranger had it beat, so if you already have total sales numbers from August and September, please post them.
http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/otf0999.html
As you can see, the most recent sales figures that I can find has the Ranger at 86,668 trucks sold, and the Tacoma at 79,091 trucks sold. This isn't a very big margin, so yes, I would say that Toyota may have a chance to get this market, and Ford has dominated the small trucks for quite a while, too, but I don't think Ford concetrates on this as much as their full size trucks.

 

I personally prefer the Tacoma in this situation. I think the Ranger is less costlier though which probably makes it a better overall value(bang for buck). I don't know though... the msrp in Alaska for 4x4's seem to be much higher than other states.

 

The Ranger needs a major stying change to keep up. The last "facelift" was hardly a redesign. Most of the new ones I see today are plain white regular cabs in fleets, a sign that they are competing mainly on price. A smaller version of the new F-150 look would be a winner.

Jim

 

Here is the link to the article http://www.courier-journal.com/busin...to02-5075.html at the bottom of the page. It does have really good news for the F150, though. Lets hope they can keep sales of the F150 up over the next several years.

I agree that a smaller version of the F150 would be awesome. Take advantage of the great thing you have with the F150, kind of like dodge did with the last version of the dakota, even though they messed it up on the new one. Think about a new ranger with the styling and technology of the F150, with an optional 3V 4.6!

 

You always prefer anything other than a Ford…

 

If you want the "inside" info on Ford and issues concerning Ford like production numbers, litigation,new models, production schedules,plant closures, etc., you need to visit
www.blueovalnews.com
Take a look at the sales figures as compared to August last year and also click on "more sales info".

 

Yes, blue oval news is a great site for insider information. I followed the link to sales figures, here are the stats for the ranger current month year ago %change:

Ranger 12,510 23,438 -46.6

Almost 50% drop in sales from 1 year ago. Almost every vehicle except the F150 is in deep trouble, and that could just be a matter of time. As they say, it's not good to have all of your eggs in one basket. The rebates are starting to catch up, and now manufacturers can't hardly sell thier vehicles with crazy amounts of rebates. GM started the rebate wars a couple of years ago, and they are on the verge of killing Ford off. GM can offer these rebates and still make money and Ford tries to match them. It is my opinion that a Ford is a better made vehicle than a GM, and costs more to manufacture. Ford needs to focus on changing the perception of their vehicles and get out of this rebate war. They may initially lose sales, but if they focus on quality instead of quantity it will pay off financially in the long run. Look at Toyota, hardly any rebates and they make much more profit per vehicle than any of the domestic brands.

 

I'm starting to think so too. Kinda makes you wonder why he's hanging out here.

 

The Circled Mustang and his screen name is enough

 

Sales are down for everyone and everything Not just cars and trucks. But concerning small trucks I think there days are numbered unless they can improve there mpg and reduce the price. I'm on my last small truck. A F150 gets about the same mpg, cost about the same and can do more.

The rebates do hurt future sales though. I have 0% financing and see no reason to get a newer vehicle at this time. Of course if the KR gets 0% for 60months the Ranger is gone.

 

Sales are up. Check Fords numbers for this past month. F-series is up 15%.

[QUOTE][GM started the rebate wars a couple of years ago, and they are on the verge of killing Ford off/QUOTE]



That's a good one. Pull the other leg.

I thought this forum was technical discussion only. The DieselDoner guy started another thread on Duramax vs. PSD and then started talking about Vortecs, soft seats and ground clearances.