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now if if we can get some incentives or discounts we will be all set. Really hope to replace my F150 with one when my lease ends but something price wise has to happen in the next 6 months for me to get one.
I am hoping that this "Black Edition" or "Midnight Edition" fad ends soon.
Car and Driver said it best:
Generally, when a manufacturer gets around to treating a model to a "black" or "midnight" trim package of some sort, it's a last-ditch attempt to inject a little excitement into a model when the sizzle has begun to fizzle.
On the contrary, I think chrome packages are gross...especially stuff like "chrome wheels" which are really K-Mart chrome hubcaps over proper alloy wheels. The over-chromed Rangers sitting outside out local dealer are a complete turnoff for me.
Ford should make the blacked-out packages more common on vehicles that it hopes to sell to "car guys" and younger people, especially as "lifestyle vehicles". Their latest commercial makes it clear that they hope to sell Rangers to younger, sports and outdoor minded people. I don't think it's a last-ditch attempt but rather a wake-up call from dealers and customers. High-dollar Euro cars are not plastered with cheap chromed plastic.
Chrysler seems to have caught onto the blackout styling thing more than Ford or GM...their Grand Cherokee and Durango have some really attractive (to me) packages. They are also doing some dark gray and dark bronze alternatives that are really appealing to me.
Charging 2 grand for a blackout package is a bit weird, however. It's cheaper to make a grille out of black plastic than it is to put on a gaudy chrome-over-plastic grille...although I guess a sprayed-in bedliner is part of the package, and the wheels may also be an upgrade.
I am hoping that this "Black Edition" or "Midnight Edition" fad ends soon.
Car and Driver said it best:
Your quote is incomplete and that puts it out of context. The full C&D quote is: "Generally, when a manufacturer gets around to treating a model to a "black" or "midnight" trim package of some sort, it's a last-ditch attempt to inject a little excitement into a model when the sizzle has begun to fizzle. Not the case with the 2019 Ford Ranger. It has only been in showrooms since January (although, technically, preordering started in October 2018), and Ford is already busting out this Black Appearance package, which is available for order immediately."
Your quote is incomplete and that puts it out of context.
No, not really. What C&D is implying is that despite being new to the market, the Ranger is a bit of a fizzle. So Ford is trying to add some sizzle. I was being kind.
But when Ford announces the 1st quarter Ranger sales new week, we will all know how well the Ranger is selling.
Just went and built one with the blackout package. Nice, monochrome bumpers and fender flares now. If they'd just offer the machined and black 18" wheels with that package, I think I'd be happy.
The black-out/midnight 'packages' are just cheap and lazy, most of the time. With a high contrast color like white/yellow maybe it works, but most of them are just solid monotone black everything. I really wish they would offer a couple of alternatives like white-out, or a brand/year contrast color -- like the Lightning Blue, let people option that onto a white/black/etc base color. They did a lot of that back in the day:
I tend to think the chrome packages are gaudy, particularly because it's on plastic -- put it on metal and I might take a second glance.
Two-tone cars and trucks from "in the day" are dated like saddle shoes...in 1978, Ford offered 4 different 2-tone patterns which could be done in any color...this was a production nightmare. That's a great looking dentside there, but note the extra metal trim outlining the white paint (spots for rust to start, and miserable to line up in production and after collision repairs). Back then, most people (including me--my first new vehicle was a 1978 F100 flareside) ordered a truck and waited; there were about 10 million combinations of equipment. Abandoned orders left dealers with 2-tone purple and orange trucks with green interiors that could not be sold...
Custom conversion vans had a lot of gaudy multi-tone work that was an absolute mess to fix after a collision or when dealing with the inevitable body rust. Motorhomes are still done in multi colors.
Automotive fashion now is for monotones and even satin paint (I think the latter will look terrible once it ages and gets spots polished out from dealing with tar, bird droppings, eggings, etc).
As for 2-tone, the way to go now is body wraps or large graphics. Nothing prevents a new truck buyer going to an auto trim shop and getting a wrap made up in whatever pattern they might want.
I think you're a little behind the times George. Black wheels and Satin Paint has/is run it's course and will soon be like "choppers" are for motorcycles.
I think manufacturers have become stale and predictable in what they offer. Everything is because of the dollar. It seems FCA is one of the few companies that likes to shake it up with their wild offerings.
I am always behind the times Black wheels are not my favorite part of blackout treatments--especially when they're dirty, they look like someone stole the hubcaps. Not sure what's new or fresh...for me it sure is not overchromed and gaudy. I don't like orange or lime green paint colors--they look dated from day one.
Satin paint hasn't hit the mass market yet but seems impossible to maintain (buffing out scratches, matching the texture of a repainted panel, keeping from glossing out spots when scrubbing off bird droppings).
For years I have thought that Jeep and other 4x4 mfrs should do more vehicles in military color motifs (desert tan, military greens, other outdoorsy colors) instead of doing off-roaders in Buick color palettes....Chrysler is doing that on Wranglers, finally. But instead of new, that really goes back to WWII... But hey, Ford, this is a hint for you too. If you want outdoorsy people to buy Rangers and Broncos, go look at hip outdoorsy clothing stores for your colors.
Chrysler also does have some cool trim packages and I tend to like some of their styling and proportions. (The Durango is a tougher looking vehicle than an Explorer or Edge IMO.) As a guy who once owned a real '68 Hemi Roadrunner and '70 Hemi Cuda, I do have a soft spot in my head for tough Mopars. I am driving a Grand Caravan "R/T" after all, which is pretty much blacked out but has polished accents on the wheels...
2 tones don't really work on new trucks unless it's a lower accent color. As for black wheels, I never did much care for them in any fashion, nothing makes a solid colored vehicle pop more than chrome.
When we ordered the Ranger I saw one with the Sport Apperance package and the 17” wheels, they were just too dark so we had to add the optional 18” to add some bright work to the apperance. Maybe on a black or magnetic truck the dark rims would work but we ordered Ingot Silver.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
