I was just looking at some of the Ford Ranger trucks in the gallery and noticed some foreign made crew cab rangers. Why doesn't Ford sell them in the US to compete with toyota, nissan, and other compact crew cab trucks?No matter how I slice it, a ranger would be too small for me (although I'd love the mileage! ), but it seems illogical for Ford to not sell these back home. Any thoughts?

 

Isn't the Explorer Sport Trac essentially the same thing? Not sure if they share the same platform but the Sport Trac doesn't seem as large as the regular Explorer.

 

Well I consider the ranger a compact pickup while the sport trac is supposed to be the same thing as an explorer (i.e. not a functioning truck). Not to mention it's bigger than a ranger (and extraordinarily ugly) but with a much smaller bed. It just seems like a relatively easy move for ford to make the crew cab in order to keep from losing 4 door customers to other manufacturers.

 

Making a crew cab compact (besides defeating the purpose of a compact pickup) would in theory take customers away from the F series pickups. Honestly, if you need the space, buy the big one! Anyway, the F series rocks... I don't really think Nissan or Toyota have anything on Ford (especially with stying!).

 

No, I agree with that wholeheartedly. I couldn't buy a compact pickup in good conscience, but I was just referring to the lost sales to companies that offer the crew cab compact. People that want a compact will buy a compact and people that want a full size will get a full size. I don't think the business will shift from buyers purchasing a compact because of the crewcab rather than buying a full size truck. I think it's just a matter of availability. If ford made a crewcab compact, i bet they could get more buyers since when it comes to trucks, ford's name is way more powerful than nissan or toyota.

 

Ford offers a lot of different types of products that satisfy a lot of different people's tastes. It costs a lot to do that. Smaller Japanese companies aren't trying to steal away the truck market... they're trying to cut into it. Compare the truck options of any of these companies and Ford is clearly leading. So what sense does it make to spend tons of money developing and engineering a crew cab Ranger hoping that the .005% who are in the market for them will buy a Ford? Especially since Ford already offers a lot of other really great options. I mean, let's face it. If you want the utility of a pickup with lots of seating room, but you can't park something as big as an F-350... get a minivan... Seriously, folks... I can see some demand possibly for fleet vehicles of that nature, like maybe park rangers... but still, not enough to justify the cost.

 

haha! Well said D ranged. I guess you're right. The cost of fielding these foreign-sold crewcab rangers in the US must outweigh the profitability. But I must say, here in NY I'm seeing more and more of those frontiers and such on the road...

 

The Explorer Sport Trac is based on a Ranger chassis. The 2002+ Explorer isn't. The Sport Trac is essentially a 4 door Ranger, isn't larger than a Ranger (the fender flares make it look larger)... my guess is Ford can sell it for more as a Explorer than a Ranger.

 

I just checked... it is... but wouldn't the Sport Trac need more of a truck-like chassis anyway, since it is more of a truck?

 

"...my guess is Ford can sell it for more as a Explorer than a Ranger." DING DING DING. !!! We have a winner!

 

The Explorer name commands a higher price then the Ranger name. I know a couple years ago the Sport Trac was priced within striking distance of a crew cab F150. Even in import shy Kansas the crew cab Frontiers are making some major inroads.

 

Moved to a more appropriate forum

 

Wow, you guys sound a little convicted about this... It's a TRUCK people! It needs a truck chassis to keep the CG at a good level, otherwise you put huge amounts of strain on the rear axle. They don't call it a Ranger because it's not... Rangers are compact pickups. The Sport Trac is far from compact. (and yet, compared to the Avalanche, it seems so small... ) For a basic Ranger which seats 3 (sort of ) you'll pay about 18 grand. The Sport Trac can be had (I'm pretty sure) for about 26 grand, but that seats 5 (in reasonable comfort) and has a bunch of different features. You're getting a lot more with a Sport Trac, I mean come on, what manufacturing sense does it make to engineer a different chassis for every vehicle in your line if you can borrow from other lines? It could be worse... they could just make every car look the same... (pontiac...)

 

Ford invented mass production, and IMHO, they've been on top of the industry ever since. I wouldn't expect them to do anything that is unneccesary and costly in their production. I wouldn't see any reason why they would even want to mess with another frame.