the tacoma is a great truck speaking from experience.

the ranger i have i like as well.

if memphis numbers are right, it aint looking good for the ranger, thats almost three times the sales.

any figures from the frontier or gm's colorado?

 

Maybe if they advertised the Ranger again it will again be a good seller. I can't remember the last time I saw a Ranger commercial on TV. I bet its been atleast 10 years or so for me. I see F150 commercials every time I turn the boob tube on.

 

According to RPS GM sold 94,000 Colorado's last year and 27,000 Through April of this year.
The numbers for the Frontier are 77,500 last year and 22,500 Through April.

 

The problem with the Sport Trac is the bed is so tiny. You got a 4 door vehicle, with a useless bed. That is not a truck.

 

Its hard to believe that the Ranger sales are so low now...not that I'm doubting the numbers but there seems to be so many of them on the road around here where I live. Several newer models (05 and up) amongst the countless others around here. I pulled into a gas station this morning in my town of about 5K people and there were 5 Rangers in the parking lot counting mine. It was kinda like a mini FTE meet LOL.

 

Ranger sales are low for Ford, partially due to POOR advertising on Ford's part to market this tough, reliable, fuel efficient, great value truck. Nobody knows the Ranger is this reliable.

Also, Americans, despite $3 bucks a gallon for gas, are still supersizing their cars. It'll take time but they'll make the trip to smaller vehicles soon enough. Hopefully Ford will be in place with the Ranger when that happens (although if I had to bet, Ford will screw it up and introduce a mid-sized PU in the near future).

CMOS

 

Great dialogue. I've been out of the loop for awhile -- will there even be a 2008 Ranger?

I think the Ranger should be a valuable product for Ford if they can position it's strengths better -- high mpg version available, reliability, proven platform, low price, great size for city duty/easy parking compared to full size trucks. I *think* Ford has tweaked the 4.0L V6 for use in Europe, so perhaps they could use this improved version as an upgrade? Anyway, does anybody know if they will make Rangers in 2008?

 

This is for Canada, but its from StatsCan. Reliable for sure.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=414 border=1><CAPTION>Table 1 Market share of new motor vehicles,Canada, 1992 to 2006 </CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD class=un_normalize_header width=46 rowSpan=2> </TD><TH id=un_0 width=110>Trucks market</TH><TH id=un_1 width=110>Trucks, overseas-built</TH><TH id=un_2 width=114>Passenger cars, overseas-built</TH></TR><TR><TH id=un_3 colSpan=3>%</TH></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_4>1992</TH><TD headers="un_4 un_0 un_3">35.0
</TD><TD headers="un_4 un_1 un_3">13.7
</TD><TD headers="un_4 un_2 un_3">36.9
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_5>1993</TH><TD headers="un_5 un_0 un_3">38.0
</TD><TD headers="un_5 un_1 un_3">11.4
</TD><TD headers="un_5 un_2 un_3">33.2
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_6>1994</TH><TD headers="un_6 un_0 un_3">40.6
</TD><TD headers="un_6 un_1 un_3">7.0
</TD><TD headers="un_6 un_2 un_3">23.4
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_7>1994</TH><TD headers="un_7 un_0 un_3">42.5
</TD><TD headers="un_7 un_1 un_3">5.4
</TD><TD headers="un_7 un_2 un_3">17.4
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_8>1996</TH><TD headers="un_8 un_0 un_3">45.1
</TD><TD headers="un_8 un_1 un_3">4.8
</TD><TD headers="un_8 un_2 un_3">13.3
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_9>1997</TH><TD headers="un_9 un_0 un_3">48.1
</TD><TD headers="un_9 un_1 un_3">8.4
</TD><TD headers="un_9 un_2 un_3">14.8
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_10>1998</TH><TD headers="un_10 un_0 un_3">48.2
</TD><TD headers="un_10 un_1 un_3">8.8
</TD><TD headers="un_10 un_2 un_3">20.3
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_11>1999</TH><TD headers="un_11 un_0 un_3">47.7
</TD><TD headers="un_11 un_1 un_3">8.6
</TD><TD headers="un_11 un_2 un_3">22.5
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_12>2000</TH><TD headers="un_12 un_0 un_3">46.5
</TD><TD headers="un_12 un_1 un_3">9.3
</TD><TD headers="un_12 un_2 un_3">24.5
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_13>2001</TH><TD headers="un_13 un_0 un_3">45.6
</TD><TD headers="un_13 un_1 un_3">11.2
</TD><TD headers="un_13 un_2 un_3">28.6
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_14>2002</TH><TD headers="un_14 un_0 un_3">46.1
</TD><TD headers="un_14 un_1 un_3">12.5
</TD><TD headers="un_14 un_2 un_3">30.3
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_15>2003</TH><TD headers="un_15 un_0 un_3">46.8
</TD><TD headers="un_15 un_1 un_3">14.0
</TD><TD headers="un_15 un_2 un_3">30.1
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_16>2004</TH><TD headers="un_16 un_0 un_3">47.9
</TD><TD headers="un_16 un_1 un_3">13.4
</TD><TD headers="un_16 un_2 un_3">33.8
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_17>2005</TH><TD headers="un_17 un_0 un_3">48.2
</TD><TD headers="un_17 un_1 un_3">14.3
</TD><TD headers="un_17 un_2 un_3">32.0
</TD></TR><TR><TH class=un_normalize_header id=un_18>2006</TH><TD headers="un_18 un_0 un_3">48.2
</TD><TD headers="un_18 un_1 un_3">15.2
</TD><TD headers="un_18 un_2 un_3">33.6
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>Source: Statistics Canada, special tabulation, Distributive Trades Division.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

As you can see, foreign producers to a beating in the mid ninety's, and they're just cycling back to as strong a share as the late eighty's when the big three were finally getting their act together. Note that for 2006 for instance, 48.2% of vehicle sales were trucks and out of that 15.2% of those trucks were foreign made. North americans still love the big three.

Here's the link it came from http://www.statcan.ca/english/resear...MIE2007054.htm

I've run across other articles that show a substantial slip in Ranger sales. However, vehicle sales are down across the board. High consumer debt load is blamed.

Marketing is a huge factor. Ford has been accused of abandoning the Ranger in this respect. Although it has not had substantial redesign for some time, it has had improvements. The seats IMO are awesome. Taken from some other model improvement? I dunno. New and exiting is the catch phrase for the pundits, reviewers, and critics. The lack of such can be damaging in the least to a model.
The Ranger has been consistently touted, arguably mind you, as reliable as its competition. The only thing that I can see as a problem, through all the research that I've done, is the lack of a 4 door crew cab. Refinements in chassis and drivetrain as seen in the Sport Trac, which is often misconstrued as a 4 door version of the Ranger, I found would detract from the Rangers position in the small truck market for which it had remained a leader for many years. People do want a small pickup truck. Many people defer to the growing 'crossover' market or opted for an import that gave them that 4 seater flexibility.

I'm in residential construction, and I can tell you for sure that most small operations that need heavy gear for their activities, also need transportation for personnel and incidental small equipment and supplies(a gofer vehicle). Guys typically buy a full size crew cab because its the only size that'll do the job. Ford would do well to capitalize on this market. Although fleet sales would benifit IMO, the small contractor market is quickly outpacing it.

If Ford wants to, and they'd better, they would re-envigorate the great Ranger era with the introduction of a crew cab Ranger aimed at people looking for an economical, flexible, and RELIABLE 'Truck' for family and work. Offer a high level interior trim package to those with money to burn, and advertise the snot out of it. If ad campaigns can convince my mother that real butter is bad for you and margerine is actually healthy, then Ford can advertise the Ranger back to the head of the pack.

I've researched the Tacoma also. Good reviews, bad reviews. I've even read it called a 'Girly Truck' (Arnold Schwartzenneger accent added). The user reviews were either excellent or absolutely horrible. The absolutely horrible reviews consistently hinged on dealer service. It broke under warranty and the dealer would'nt fix it for this reason or that. The internet being what it is, who knows who writes these user reviews, but applying a little logic, considere this. The glowing reviewers never had to bring it back to the dealer for anything but an oil change. If the dealer can 'off' a complaint as an 'abuse/misuse by owner' issue, the stats come back as 'low factory defects'. That being said, the imports may bread down a lot less, but from what I've read over and over again, when they do, the service seems to really suck. Ford dealers, from personnal experience and referals/etc. have excellent service for the new vehicles they sell and service.

I'm sure many import owners could chime in with examples of good service from their dealers, but who knows what arrangements the import manufactures have with their dealers as to what's paid for and what's not. Simple, common issues, no problem. Major uncommon issues, look out. We all know that the domestic dealer associations have negotiated book prices for warranty repairs that they charge the factories, but we do have a long history with domestic manufacturers and dealers.

When I bought my new truck, I considered all issues. Reputation, reliability(reputation again), style(I didn't like the look or feel of the competition), serviceabillaty(including the availabilaty of cheap, accessible used and aftermarket parts), and economy. The biggest one was dealer reliability. Mine checked out as excellent for customer service and has been in business for 30 years. Consistent with Fords rep and corporate ethic.

Sorry for the verbal diahrea fellas, but I've been doing a lot of reading lately regarding this issue, and I thought I'd relate what I've found.

Fred
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