How about a Ford Micro Truck?
 

I was just remembering my 1971 Datsun pickup. If you can recall these they were pretty small. Nothing like the stuff Nissan and Toyota sell today. If I remember correctly it had a 1600cc 97 HP 4 banger and a 5 speed. The bed was long enough to get a couple of dirt bikes and your gear for the weekend in. I seem to recall getting around 25 MPG with it. If Ford could come out with something that size that gets 35 MPG with an up to date powertrain they will sell a ton of them when gas hits $5.00. They are dropping the Ranger so why not?

Well as Americans expand they need bigger and bigger vehicles.

To impress people they don't know with things they don't need.

The Original Ranger was a good combo in its day minus the I beams, and what would it be capable of now with todays technologically advanced motors.

I had the new 07 GMC RCSB, and I meet a guy with a 74 Chevy RCSB. He transplanted the same motor, tranny, and electronics into his truck as mine. He was alot faster, and got much better mpgs then I could dream of. The damn truck would get 25mpg hwy. I guess the larger larger rims I had "17's stock", and extra 1200 my truck weighed made a difference.

I personally believe that every truck company builds things to look good on spec sheets, and ignores how 95% of people just drive there trucks. For the people who use the 1/2 tons to the max theres 3/4 tons. I just need to haul a few hundred pounds from home depot.

Tiny trucks are deathtraps in crashes. Lots of the weight of current vehicles is crash protection.

Americans can afford five-dollar gas (they will squawk, but they can afford it).

i wouldnt mind one of these with a 4.5l powerstroke

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...1t:429,r:5,s:0

I can't afford it! But if they hadn't droped the Panther Platform, they could've introduced a new Ranchero could've even put it on the Taxi/Town Car frame so it was longer. Base Ranchero with a Ecoboost V6 and a Ranchero GT with a SOHC 5.4 or 3V 4.6(OR the new 5.0 instead of the 4.6) Offer the FR55 auto or a T56.

Upsize the Ranger some so it's bigger somewhat possibly make it a F100 Ranger and then the F150 is upscaled to the size of the F250 or 350.

I can't afford it! But if they hadn't droped the Panther Platform, they could've introduced a new Ranchero could've even put it on the Taxi/Town Car frame so it was longer. Base Ranchero with a Ecoboost V6 and a Ranchero GT with a SOHC 5.4 or 3V 4.6(OR the new 5.0 instead of the 4.6) Offer the FR55 auto or a T56.

Upsize the Ranger some so it's bigger somewhat possibly make it a F100 Ranger and then the F150 is upscaled to the size of the F250 or 350.

Dont know where youre from or what you do for a living but I cant affor $5 gas...............And no......I'm not a welfare bum. I work hard for a living........

I bought a 1974 Datsun pickup with an 8-foot bed new for $4000. It had a 1.9L engine & 4 or 5-speed M/T. I put about 134,000 miles on it and got 22-25 mpg average, occasionally hitting 30 mpg if the wind blew just right. It was terrible to ride in, much too small in the cab for me & the OEM tires were like railroad wheels until I upgraded to wider 14" rims and F70-14 radials.
By the time the Datsun died I had ruptured a disk in my spine from all the jarring and cramping. Its last morning in May 1983 it started up with a cloud of white sweet smelling smoke in the exhaust, got me home to my driveway and never ran again. I'd lost compression in 2 adjacent cylinders. I looked for a replacement engine, none were available, the scrap yard men said all those engines died the same way & weren't worth repairing. Very few functional engines were available for transplants. I had the remains carted away for junking. Got my money's worth, though.
Ford does have up-to-date engines that get far better than 35 mpg's, they're turbo diesels and will never be sold in the USA.
The Euro version of the Transit Connect gets 40-50 mpg with its diesel, and provides far more space inside for both the driver & cargo. I suppose Ford could put its new ecoBoost 4-cylinder engine in the TC, which would be both more powerful and more economical than the engine now in it. That little ecoBoost is supposed to be an option on Ford's upcoming C-max mini-minivan to be sold later this year.
I was going to buy a gas powered Transit Connect, but the #$(!! thing has this HUGE console which really cramps my right leg position and aggravates the pain & numbness from my ruptured disk. I'm disgusted with the way Ford designed a vehicle with so much space and very little for the driver.

seen a chevy from mexico sporting a truck bed with what looked like an aveo front. seemed like not a bad idea for a city delivery vehicle.

I honestly think that with the Ford Kuga coming over in a year or two, clipping the rear section and putting a cargo box on would make for an interesting vehicle...

Go Aussie style and put an Eco-Boost 2.0 twin turbo in it with a 6 speed manual and have some serious fun. :)

BTW, I think the Aussies have finally gotten their act together and are starting to use the 5.0 Coyote with their Falcon and Falcon UTE...we can wish for that monster to somehow show up here... :)

You talking to me? Nevermind I think I know who you ment.

25 mpg's isn't real impressive in today's standards considering a 2011 F-150 4x2 3.7L is rated at 23.

Even the new Mahindra diesel that is allegedly coming to America has been down graded to 21 mpg's highway.

I am an American. What are you? Where do you live?

I can not afford $5 a gallon.

I think the current U.S spec Ranger is perfect sized for a compact Ford truck. Give a chassis and styling update and then stick a 2.0L Ecoboost and the 3.7L Mustang V6 in it, both paired with a 6-speed automatic. And wham you have a high mileage highly capable small truck.

I think the main reason the Ranger has been dying off over the years is this...

#1 - Lack of overall demand. (Partially Fords fault for not doing serious updates in 15 years)

#2 - It could cut in the F-Series sells...Otherwise known as Fords (Cash Cow).

But even so I think its more reason number 1 than 2.

They could rename it F-100 or F-050 and it would fit right in with the F-Series Sells.

I'm an American and I can still afford 5$ per gallon fillups in the F-150...BUT, I've got a unique set up...Work, Grocery Store, and everything else I need is located very close to my house and all on the same route. So if I can get roughly 500 or 600 miles to a 36 gallon tank and drive roughly 15 to 20 miles a day...I can make a tank of gas last a very long time. But if gas gets to outta hand...well...that's what the no frills Honda Civic is for. :)

I agree with you. I think the Ranger is the perfect little truck. Though, I would like to see an upgraded engine / transmission.

I guess I'm one of the few people who think the Ranger is pretty much perfect. Why replace it with anything else?

The only thing that bothers me is you can't order a singe cab 4-cylinder with four wheel drive anymore.

Except in the rest of the world where you can!

Ed

Oh how I miss my Ford Courier!!

4 cylinder, don't remember how big. Don't remember the mileage. All my friends had lots of fun in it though. My first trips to first , second and third base in it.

The only one I ever saw with an automatic.

I'd like to see a Focus based pickup. 30-40 MPG should be reachable, just make sure the interior has plenty of room. Stretch the chassis a foot or so,and give it a 5 1/2-6' bed. Those would sell, because not everyone needs a F150 or Superduty. Offer it with 1.6 liter Ecoboost standard, & 2.0 Ecoboost optional.

Keep the ranger, just update it a little and put a modern drivetrain in it. Its the perfect size and is a great balance of capability and compactness. If Ford abandones the compact truck segment, i'll be forced to look elsewhere, F150's are way too big nowadays to just drive around in as a main vehicle.

i think kia has some things you guys might be interested in. one of there cars look like a toe, its a suv with cargo space.

I don't drive Imports. No Kia's in my future! Ford should consider a Escape (2013) based Ranchero type small pickup. I don't need one, but think it would sell pretty good. They could drop the O and call it the Rancher. It would be nice if they would bring the new Ranger here too. Sales of the old Ranger stagnated because it was a stagnant design. Not many people want a 10-20 year old design.

Ford has a unibody small truck in production already and i really wonder why it wasn't offered in the existing line up along side the Ranger for the past 5-6 years.

Take a look , the MSRP comes in right at 11k USD .

Ford México | Courier | Fotos, videos, características y colores

I need a small light duty truck with a low MSRP and want to drive a std shift transmission- the Courier down in Mexico would have worked for me over the years it has been available.

The outgoing Ranger reg cab with I4 and no frills had an MSRP of over 19k .In my opinion, that was it's demise . The main reason i was never interested in buying anyway.

One of the many issues is per US Government a truck like that could never be sold in the US. Bumper crash tests, side impact, roll over, not to mention air bags, black boxes, antilock brakes and everything else. Now you have double the weight of the truck, and tripled the cost.

for your micro truck how about using a focus platform. make a small truck and/or a convertible. using the same platform would save money. it would be cool.. I would like to see ford make a ranchero out of the sho taurus....

Design the micro truck to convert to an airplane, it doesn't need the same qualifications to drive on the road, haul stuff, fold the wings out and fly away. LOL

You guys are wanting a Bronco-like vehicle. That would be a Explorer or Escape with a removable roof

Maybe the older explorers yes but now they are much more of an around town vehicle than they were before.

Speak for yourself. 110 mile per day commute is rough at $3.50.

I would live to see a truck along the size of the previous Ranger come back. Give the 4x4 version a monobeam front axle too. A 1.6 Ecoboost or small diesel with 6 speed would deliver great fuel mileage too. :-jammin

I had the opportunity to go to Europe last month and rented a Focus wagon with 1.6L DIESEL and it was a great little car.
We drove 80 MPH with no problem fully loaded. We probably got 40+ MPG AND it didn't need any urea BS.

I was at the dealer a week or 2 ago and was talking to one of the sales guys while my truck was getting some work done and he told me that he was "hearing " that the Australian Ranger was comming over here as a 2014 or 2015 model and that it was going to be marketed as the F-100

If we could get that 1.6 L diesel and perhaps a little larger diesel as an option that would be a fantastic truck for my needs....:)

Is anyone from Ford listening???

Ya...and no cars these days are tiny CAFE standard death traps? Lots of weight? Have you not seen the trend in EVERY vehicle? Lighter and lighter and lighter to meet Bama's EPA CAFE standards. So if cars are being made 35mph as death traps...why can't we have a pickup thats equally fuel efficient and deadly?

Oh...the Ranger IS coming back. Soon.

Find an 85 toy with 4x4 and restore it. Will take U most anywhere.

I see this thread has run out'a steam but I'm with the single cab, 4 banger, 4x4 guy. Yeah little trucks are at a disadvantage in a head on with giant road warriors but try to wiggle your 6000 lb guzzler through the woods and sticker bushes I work in and then navigate the tiny streets of the "Quaint Gold Rush Era" town where I get my gas and groceries.
As to $5 gas, well when it comes to that, I'll have to "afford" it but it sure ain't gonna be to my liking. My customers cry about costs now and since they are scattered over several hundred square miles, they're gonna have to pay for that gas.
I had a tiny little '66 Toyota that would haul a huge load, pound your kidneys to paste and get about 16 mpg. It handled a lot like the '32 Allis Chalmers tractor we had when I was a kid too but my '81 Toyo 4x4 was a different story. Guts, tough, reasonably comfortable, I'm on the small side, and fair mpg, about 21. That fool in the RAV4 spoiled a good thing. If Ford ever builds that small single cab,4x4 with great fuel economy, I'll look at it real hard.