Will Ford Kill the Ranger???
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
From: crete, illinois
tell me if i'm wrong. hasn't the ranger been the best selling compact truck for like twenty years or some crap? HELLO! however i hear the f-150 is getting half way decent mpg, about the same as some of our rangers unfortunately. maybe thats the way oh billy-boy and the rest of ford is leaning. i don't like it. pretty soon all the things i like in this country will be gone, freedom of speech, right to bare arms, pledge of a legence, cigarettes, RANGERS! please...stop the madness!
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 325
Likes: 0
From: Manassas Park, VA
It wouldn't suprise me all that much if they did drop the Ranger, they have basically ignored it for a while now. I hope not but time will tell.
I could see a couple things happen if Ford decided to drop the current Ranger.
1 bring over one of the Rangers made overseas, Asia or possibly Mexico, all that would really need to be done is to have it meet US standards, which might, big might, be cheaper than a total redo on the current Ranger.
2 drop it and just have the Sport Trac as a small/midsize option, that would make no sense but then common sense seems to be in short supply at the moment.
3 drop it entirely and abandon the small midsize market. Then when gas prices rise again and stay up and some other manufactures bring out revised versions of the small trucks they recently stopped making Ford will wonder what happened. This one I really don't see happening as I would assume someone at Ford has probally thought of this already.
I could see a couple things happen if Ford decided to drop the current Ranger.
1 bring over one of the Rangers made overseas, Asia or possibly Mexico, all that would really need to be done is to have it meet US standards, which might, big might, be cheaper than a total redo on the current Ranger.
2 drop it and just have the Sport Trac as a small/midsize option, that would make no sense but then common sense seems to be in short supply at the moment.
3 drop it entirely and abandon the small midsize market. Then when gas prices rise again and stay up and some other manufactures bring out revised versions of the small trucks they recently stopped making Ford will wonder what happened. This one I really don't see happening as I would assume someone at Ford has probally thought of this already.
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
From: crete, illinois
i thougth they stopped making the sport-trac, no? i really can't see them doing this. as far as i'm concerned, ford has this market all to them selves. you can't call the other smaller trucks compacts. you can call them ugly as heck though! the dakota, colorado, tacoma...ugh what is that?
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,147
Likes: 0
Ford won't give up there piece of the pie, they need all the money they can get, and the ranger has been the best selling compact for years. It might be a new truck, with a new name, but i don't think they'll give dodge or gm an inch in the small truck segment. I saw , I think it was motor trend, where ford has a hybrid f-150 that gets 60 mpg in the city, to be released around 08. It is gas and hyd, instead of gas and electric. If they can get that with an f-150. what could they get from a small truck? I saw a south africacan ranger, it had factory roll bar, brush guard, 4-door crewcab, and only 2 engine choices, the 4.0 v-6 and a 4 cly diesel. It still looked like a truck, actually it looked good. If they would build that here, they would be ahead of the game again.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,147
Likes: 0
Ford was going to drop the mustang after 93, america started a letter writing campain that saved it. Now it is one of thier biggest sellers.
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Elder User
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
From: crete, illinois
there you go. thats what i'm talking about. maybe us devoted ford ranger fans could get something like this started. what do you guys think? we could post a topic about it and see where it leads us!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,147
Likes: 0
I guess it would help if we knew what ford was going to do with the ranger for sure. We could give ole Bill Ford a call and ask him. I wonder if his number is listed in the phone book he he. I wonder if there is somebody at ford that could be contacted for more information on the rangers future?
Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 10,562
Likes: 4
From: South Jersey
I could see them dropping the Ranger and only having the Sport-Trac. I believe I read it's getting redone in 2007 with a v-8 option, no reason they couldn't make an extended cab with a 6" bed for the frame and get rid of the standard cab. This option would be a big cost savings over re-doing the S-T & the Ranger and most of the other manufacturers are going with mid-sized trucks.
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 623
Likes: 0
From: Blytheville, AR
That'd definitely sad to hear. I'm very fond of my Ranger and intend to purchase a new one as soon as I get out of college. Of course it will be a 4.0L with a 5spd.... 
I would love to have that. I just hope they're around until the summer of 2008.
I would love to have that. I just hope they're around until the summer of 2008.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,147
Likes: 0
Well'', the sport trac is an suv with a lunch box for a bed, and independent suspenion all the way around. It wouldn't do the job that most of us buy a ranger for, such as hauling, or 4wheeling and such. Calling ford wouldn't do any good, because I bet they got something up thier sleeve, and as allways it's hush hush until thier ready to show it to the world. I bet an all new roomier compact, or mid size truck, with a new name. Rumers Iv'e heard, it will look like a mini f-150. Keep your eye on future concepts over the next couple of years. As for us diehard ranger fans, theres enough rangers built over the last 25 years to last us a life time, we just might not be able to buy a new one, or maybe we will, time will tell.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 128
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From: ontario
Originally Posted by drb1956
Hey racsan, you're probably right !!!! How many white Rangers do you see in use during the day doing commercial type jobs? Can't buy a compact pick-up from GM anymore...
