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Overview
Compact pickup leader offers even more
“As the best-selling compact pickup for 13 straight years, Ranger
has a heritage of delivering what customers are asking for – and
more. But the best never rest, and we worked hard to ensure that
the 2001Ranger builds on its solid base and then goes an extra step
to deliver even more.” Gurminder Bedi – Vice President, Ford
North American Truck
For 2001, the “Built Ford Tough” Ranger – sales leader among compact
pickups for the past 13 years – has more power, more performance,
more personality and the type of refinement not often found in
working-hard, playing-hard compact pickups.
The 2001-model
Ranger, easily identifiable by its bold new styling and new trim
levels, is designed to offer customers more choices within the
compact pickup market. Design elements from Ford’s F-Series pickups
give a visual cue to the Ranger’s tough-truck evolution. On 4×4 XLT
and an all-new Edge series, the hood is raised – giving a hint at
the added power under the hood. Alternative grille treatments
include high-tech mesh or the more traditional two-bar chrome grille
cues creating a strong family resemblance.
Under the hood,
Ranger offers three engine choices: a new optional 4.0-liter SOHC
V-6, which produces 207 horsepower, 29 percent increase than the
previous model’s V-6; a 3.0-liter OHV V-6, and an I-4 engine. At
introduction, the 2.5-liter I-4 engine currently offered in the
Ranger will be available. Later this winter, an all-new I-4 engine
will be introduced.
Ranger’s suspension has been revised to
accommodate the new engines and to provide refined ride-and-handling
characteristics. Changes include updated front-end geometry,
stabilizer bar rates, spring rates, upgraded bushings and shock
tuning modifications. The 2001 Ranger also has a quieter interior
cabin, thanks to improvements made to isolate noise vibration and
harshness (NVH). Stopping performance also is improved through the
use of a four-wheel anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brake
force distribution (EBD) and innovations in the braking system that
optimize braking performance with the vehicle loaded or empty.
Configurations
Ranger is available in three trim-levels
and several configurations to deliver a wide range of choices to
customers. Customers in the compact truck segment often “customize”
their trucks by buying a base-model and adding accessories to suit
their taste. Aiding the ability to customize, the 2001 Ranger will
be available as a Regular Cab or SuperCab, with three wheelbase
choices, a traditional Styleside or a more distinct Flareside box
and several payload capabilities. The SuperCab version, most
popular with buyers, is expected to account for more than 60 percent
of sales.
In addition to the value-level XL and the most
popular XLT model, the Ranger has a new trim level for 2001 – the
Edge.
Edge
The Edge, with its aggressive styling
and high stance, is a new series aimed at young, active-lifestyle
customers who want a vehicle with a distinctive appearance at an
affordable price. Edge is positioned in the Ranger stable between
the XL and XLT models and offers custom appearance and performance
features normally not found at this price level.
Key Edge
features include:
- Monochromatic exterior, available in red,
white, blue, black or Chrome Yellow
- 4×4 ride height, even in 4×2
configurations
- Bed rail and raised power dome hood
- A durable
interior with vinyl floor, for easy cleanup
- A four-speaker CD
system with Dolby, AM/FM stereo and 60 watts of power
- Custom
wheels and tires, with tow hooks, fog lamps and a mesh-type grille
- 3.0-liter V-6 engine, coupled with a five-speed manual
transmission, both standard
- Air conditioning
Powertrains
The 2001 Ranger is available with a 4×2 or 4×4 powertrain and three
engines: an optional 4.0-liter SOHC V-6, a 3.0-liter OHV V-6 and an
I-4 engine.
New for 2001 is the optional 4.0-liter SOHC V-6,
which boasts 207 horsepower at 5,250 rpm and produces 238 ft.-lbs.
of torque at 3,000 rpm. The new 4.0-liter SOHC gives customers an
increase of 47 horsepower over the previous model.
The
4.0-liter SOHC engine is coupled with either a new five-speed
automatic transmission with adaptive shift technology or a
heavy-duty, five-speed manual transmission.
The 3.0-liter OHV
V-6 engine will continue to be offered on Ranger and is standard on
4x4s, SuperCabs and the Edge series. It produces 150 horsepower at
5,000 rpm and 185 ft.-lbs. of torque at 3,750 rpm.
The
2.5-liter SEFI I-4, currently offered on the Ranger, will remain in
the 2001 Ranger powertrain lineup until later this winter, when it
will be replaced by an all-new I-4 engine. The I-4 engine is
standard on the XL and XLT 4×2 Regular Cab models. The 2.5-liter
I-4, available at introduction, achieves 119 horsepower at 5,000 rpm
and 146 ft.-lbs. of torque at 3,000 rpm. Further details regarding
the all-new I-4 engine will be provided at a later date.
Special Package
In addition to the new Edge series, the
Ranger Tremor will be offered as an optional audio package. It
brings an aftermarket-grade audio system to a compact pickup. First
introduced in summer 2000, Tremor includes a premium, high-powered
stereo with 560 watts of power and a custom designed-in subwoofer
enclosure that fits nicely in the rear floor area. In order to
accommodate the built-in subwoofer, the Tremor package only is
available in Ranger SuperCab models. The stereo system has been
tuned to deliver tonal accuracy and imaging over a wide audio
spectrum, from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
It includes:
- In-dash Pioneer CD, cassette and AM/FM stereo with selectable
audio profiles. It also has an upgradeable Double-DIN head unit and
13-band graphic display.
- A subwoofer housing built onto the
floor behind the front seats. The housing offers three cubic feet
of space for the 10-inch bass speaker to perform its function of
pumping out sound. Storage bins replace the normal jump seats
because the speaker housing takes up literally all the rear floor
space.
- Four two-way Pioneer speakers which are mounted in the
doors and rear passenger area.
The Environment
In addition to achieving fuel economy ratings of up to 29 miles per
gallon, both Ranger V-6 engines sold in the United States are
certified as Low Emission Vehicles (LEV), further demonstrating our
commitment to the environment. Ranger also is 90 percent recyclable
by weight.
Ranger will continue to be offered as an Electric
Vehicle (EV) to customers in California. The EV Ranger will feature
carryover styling and be equipped with advanced nickel metal hydride
(NiMH) batteries. The NiMH Ranger EV offers useful range and
payload.
Market Trend
The compact pickup truck
market has grown from total sales of approximately 500,000 in 1980
to 1.4 million vehicles in 1986. Since then, segment sales have
been in the range of one million units a year.
Ford sold
104,396 Ranger compact trucks in 1982, the first year the model was
available. Since then, more than five million Ranger trucks have
been produced.
Ranger quickly became the segment’s sales
leader, a position it has held since 1987, with sales consistently
in the range of 300,000 units. Ranger unit sales reached 348,358 in
1999, when it captured a record share of the compact pickup market
segment, at 32.2 percent. First-half sales figures for 2000
indicate that Ranger will retain its segment sales leadership this
calendar year.
Markets
In addition to the U.S. and
Canada, the Ford Ranger is sold in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, South America, Central America, Caribbean Islands, Guam,
New Caledonia, Saipan, Tahiti, and U.S. Samoa. In South America,
where Ranger serves as family transportation for many customers,
Ranger is offered in a four-door crew-cab configuration.
Assembly Plants
The 2001 Ranger will be built at Ford’s
Twin Cities, Minn., and Edison, N.J., assembly plants in the U.S.
The new models begin production in the summer of 2000 and will begin
arriving in dealer showrooms in late summer or early fall of 2000.
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