Okay first off let me say that this is not meant as a bash to Ford. I didn't mean this for a compairison thread either. Just a heads up to everyone about Nissan's new mid-sized truck engine. The entire truck hasnt' been fully released as I can find. Only the engine is for sure now. And heads up Ford, it's a 4.0 V6...

http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/news/05frontier.html

 

Made and sold by the people who brought you Pearl Harbor.Maybe their sister company,Mitsubisi,will build a truck too,they did so well with the japanese "zero".

 

Mitsubisi/Fuso recently fired the CEO for covering up design problemsd that should have triggered recalls. FYI but...it has nothing to do with Nissan.
Nissan is ok until the warrantee runs out (that's assuming you can stand to look at those butt ugly things.) Try buying parts or finding reasonable service.

 

Quite a nice looking truck


Heck, if the price is right, I'll even trade in my '04 Ranger for one.

 

Nice looking truck?!
Sorry, couldn't resist, just can't stand Nissan's, I drive by a Nissan dealership everyday on the way to work (Ford) and I'm always disgusted by what I see.

 

Well, the current style of the Frontier is pretty lame, but I'm sure the build quality and components makes up for the looks.

 

At least this re-model looks better than the last one.

 

As being a former owner of an Xterra (traded it in to get a Ford Ranger) I have to say that the fit and finish on the Xterra was better compared to the Ranger.

Seems that Ford sometimes goes on the cheap for parts, especially on the interior.

Just my 2 cents on the subject.

 

Everyone I know who owns a Nissan says they are built like M1 tanks. I just haven't found a reason to leave the Ranger.

 

I've been praying that the Ranger will get respectable horsepower/torque for years now. Maybe this will push Ford along. (I can hope, can't I?)

 

Seriously. It seems like Ford's waiting for some kind of sign to revamp the Ranger and but they don't know what that sign is. You'd think that Ford would be much obliged to do a full redesign of the truck given that all of their competitors are in the process of doing it, or have already done so. GM started it with its Colorado and Canyon twins, Dodge has a new Dakota, Nissan has the truck mentioned here, and Toyota has a new Tacoma on the way. I don't see how Ford intends on fending off so much competition with an older design but, hopefully, it's apart of some kind of strategy. Maybe they want to see what everyone has to offer so they can then release something better.

 

There are a ton of people that want the smaller Ranger. While everyone else is dropping the compact truck line and going to 'midsize', A lot of people still come for the Rangers. There are a ton of people who own Rangers and come back for new ones because the trucks have treated them so well, and have been similar for a long time, and it's well trusted. However, I wouldn't mind a midsize Ford still, just trying to look at things from Ford's eyes. Besides, this <b>is</b> a Ranger forum

 

I will say, the Nissan is tempting. You can get the 6.5' bed WITH 4 full size doors. You can get a GOOD 6-speed manual transmission. 260 HP V6. Auto hubs that can be converted to Warn manuals. And a much better warranty...all for LESS money than the Ranger. With all the trouble I've had with my new Ranger (just got it back from the shop AGAIN today), I might honestly be test-driving a new Frontier this winter.

 

I never said I wanted Ford to make a larger Ranger when it comes to a redesign. In fact, I hope that Ford won't increase the size of the Ranger substantially in a future redesign; my existing Ranger is already pretty long for my garage. I guess what I'm really interested in is a further refinement of the existing Ranger design with a host of new options to keep it on par with the competition. I would like to see some new engines in the Ranger lineup including a diesel (not for me personally but for the sake of choice for those who prefer that sort of engine) like the "Duratorq" engines used in Rangers outside the U.S. The "Duratec 23" 2.3 DOHC I-4 I would leave alone since it is still relatively new but the old "Vulcan" 3.0L OHV V6 and the "Cologne" 4.0L SOHC V6 I would replace with Duratec engines. For the Vulcan, I would go with the "Duratec 30" 3.0L DOHC V6 while for the Cologne I would, at the minimum, go with the forthcoming "Duratec 35" 3.5L DOHC V6 or, better yet, a hypothetical derivative of this engine, such as a "Duratec 40," to best Nissan's new 4.0 liter since the Duratec 35 is only rated at 245HP currently. And finally, for the real enthusiasts, I would love to see a V8 such as a variant of the 4.6L SOHC V8 w/3-valves per cylinder going into the '05 Mustang. If CAFE is a concern for a V8, Ford could always make it limited to the FX4 as an extra cost option, not even making it standard. Another thing I would like to see is both the 5-speed manual and automatic transmissions be replaced with 6-speed versions. Standard, if not at least available, rear disc brakes would be a neat thing to see simply because it's never been done in a production Ranger before and it would help to allow the increase of the Ranger's towing/payload capacity. Along with this, Ford could strengthen the chassis and suspension to take better advantage of the higher output engines for towing and payload. And finally, taking another page from Rangers outside the U.S., Ford could add a crew cab configuration to the Ranger lineup for those who demand more passenger space. Speaking of the cab, Ford can also donate the F-150's interior styling to the Ranger to spruce it up. With all of these things, even if Ford could do them on the existing Ranger platform, it would still effectively amount to a full redesign simply because so much would change. For me, this is wishful thinking but, hopefully, some of these things can be made into a reality.

 

It has a DOHC 4.0L more horsepower...