Lets all try and save the ranger!

Ok... So in 1993 Ford had this horrible plan to stop building the mustang because they believed no one wanted it and customers were going to move to the probe, escort or taurus SHO if I remember correctly... sound familiar?

If it doesn't it sounds just like what Ford is saying about the ranger right now... people are going to move to the Fiesta, Focus, or to an F-150...

Well I don't know about any of you but I really like the size of the ranger... maybe it could be a little bigger in the second row, but that would be my only complaint. Only reason I didn't buy one in 10 was because it looks like it is an old design and I want something fresh and new that has SYNC and the new quality interiors we see on the other ford cars like Taurus and Fusion.

Back to what I started with though... in the early 90s with the announcement that Ford was going to kill the mustang, thousands of people wrote into Ford in protest, which eventually woke up the executives of the mistake they were about to make.

So... My thought is that we need to do this again... Lets write in and save the Ranger!

Ford has actually made it even easier than before as we don't have to buy stamps or anything now. They have a website setup for customer suggestions. I jumped onto one of already many threads that say save the ranger. http://www.thefordstory.com/your-ideas/ I just went to search ideas, typed in ranger and thumbed up all the "save the ranger" type threads that were already there. I've also started on that maybe everyone can jump to... it is just under review by Ford right now before being posted.

You can also e-mail ford at newideas@ford.com and send them a nice note saying to save the ranger...

My hope is we can do what mustang fans did 20 years ago and save the ranger!

Ochen said:

Ok... So in 1993 Ford had this horrible plan to stop building the mustang because they believed no one wanted it and customers were going to move to the probe, escort or taurus SHO if I remember correctly...

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Ford never planned on killing the Mustang nameplate. Its plan was to move the name to the front-wheel-drive V6 Probe platform, and purists screamed bloody murder in fear of a second Mustang II.

The reason Ford wants to kill the Ranger is really just because it thinks compact truck buyers are too cheap to buy a fullsize. Ford thinks if it kills the Ranger and replaces it with an F-150 with the same mileage and price, Ranger buyers will go to that. Quite a few will, but many won't, and Ford will realize this quickly and bring the Euro Ranger over within two years of killing the current model. The new model won't sell as well because the Euro Ranger is like Jay Leno to the current model's Johnny Carson, but it will be newer, and probably safer and higher quality too.

Interestingly, Ford still sells as many Rangers as Mustangs, within a few thousand units. If Ford really believed that those people would defect to Tacomas and Frontiers, it would keep the truck. Back in the thread I started asking what vehicle people would buy if Ford killed the Ranger, it sounded like most people either plan on keeping the one they have for as long as possible or would buy an F-150, so Ford may be on the right track.

I wouldn't buy an F-150 its too big for my tastes, and even though it is really nice and I do enjoy driving them and they have plenty of power... it doesn't have a STICK! Grrrr...

Original_Ranger84 said:

I wouldn't buy an F-150 its too big for my tastes, and even though it is really nice and I do enjoy driving them and they have plenty of power... it doesn't have a STICK! Grrrr...

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You hit the nail on the head there with the lack of manual transmission. I like to be in control of the whole vehicle, not just the velocity and direction.

It's like Henry Ford is at the helm of the ship again but this time he's saying "They can have any pickup they want, as long as it has a V8, automatic transmission and is larger than they need".

I'm on the other side.... when ford offers an F-150 with a 6.2L V8 and 6 speed auto I'll be trading the Ranger in. I'll shift gears on my banshee or bike, but for a towing vehicle or daily driver I'd rather have an auto. While others are burning clutches or lugging their engine to save their clutches, I'll be touching into my engine's torque curve thanks to that torque converter and the newer 6 speed's low first gear.

On top of that, my 4.0L gets 19-20 mpg. Most of the full size trucks built today see that or better.

I agree that Ford needs maintain a presence in the compact truck market. GM and Dodge abandoned the compact market and their mid-size trucks are not doing as well as the "old" Ranger. I would like to see Ford update the Ranger with some styling cues from my favorite, the 56 Stepside; just not as drastic and useless as the Chevy HHR. How about a 4 cylinder turbo diesel that gets about 40 mpg. The rationale for buying the Datsuns, Toyotas, Couriers and othe compact pickups in the 70's still exists and a 40 mpg pickup could remind that we don't need a full size pickup to do most of the jobs that they are used for.

How a mini-Lightning sporting the SHO engine and a 4 link rear suspension.

Ford could also reduce cost by getting rid of some engines. I would eliminate the 4 liter V6's, both ohv and sohc, and substitute the 4.2 liter V6 from the F150.

boisdarcpost said:

Ford could also reduce cost by getting rid of some engines. I would eliminate the 4 liter V6's, both ohv and sohc, and substitute the 4.2 liter V6 from the F150.

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2 of those engines are already discontinued. The other (4.0 sohc) is already planned to be discontinued next year.

The 4.0L and the 2.3L need to be in the Smithsonian their sooo outdated.

They won't kill the Ranger.

Marketing-wise, it's the best name for a truck there is.

But it's tiny inside. It has a weak top-level engine. The transmissions are baulky and bad.

The name comes back on something that looks like a Ridgeline, but is rear-drive based. It will have an aluminum, 4-valve, variable cam timing V6 that makes 270+ hp, no manual option on the top engine and a 6-speed auto.

I don't think it will be a little Euro, Asia, S. Africa or South America version with a diesel. Americans are too fat to fit in those. We don't go 3-across in a 70" wide vehicle. We need 80" to do that. You have to design to the 80% and our 80% line is fat. And you need to design for 5 passengers.

Enter the Ford Range-line.

The market for the current Ranger doesn't seem big enough to me. The Ranger probably could not be changed much without eating the F150's sales. A diesel ranger would be great, but we'll probably never see it. In terms of owners not moving to the Frontier or Tacoma, they are both very nice looking trucks and if my Ranger needed to be replaced with another truck (that's not a Ranger) it would probably be the Tacoma or Frontier.

Manual transmissions are going away in the US. I enjoying having them and will probably never buy an automatic for myself for as long as manuals are offered/I am not physically impaired. More people are buying automatics, less people know how to drive manuals and the demand is dropping.

I like Ford's vehicles, their quality far exceeds what it used to be, but I have no need for a vehicle as large as the F-150. If the Ranger is dropped Ford has nothing to offer that I'd want. I like manuals, which leaves the focus (don't want), fusion (built in mexico, therefore don't want), Escape (don't want), and mustang (impractical where I live).

My main gripe about the Ranger has already been said; bigger trucks achieve better gas mileage. Somebody needs to find a way to make the Ranger more efficient without dropping power.

They could easily improve the fuel economy and power at the same time. The problem is this would cut into F-150 sales.

The Luigiian said:

They could easily improve the fuel economy and power at the same time. The problem is this would cut into F-150 sales.

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Ford has a stout V6 that has yet to be put into a "ranger"... one hint, it is in the 2011 v6 stang. Odds are that they've already debated on it. I can only assume we are at the "wait and see" point. 2011 is coming quick...

darkspork said:

My main gripe about the Ranger has already been said; bigger trucks achieve better gas mileage. Somebody needs to find a way to make the Ranger more efficient without dropping power.

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Thats one of those things that defies logic. Red flags should go up in everyones mind that figures that out. And the people who believe that a stock vehicle gets about the best mileage it can get. No, somethings not right there. Maybe the engines have been tuned for this, to make bigger trucks more appealing and sell better. I know the current Ranger engines are somewhat modernized older engines compared to alot of newer engines in full size trucks, but even so...

A mole working at the plant told me there is a chance Ford will extend production of the Ranger 1, 2 or more years,,, or extend year by year. Since the renegotiating of their contract many workers on the line are getting only $15.00 an hour and the Ranger has the best profit margin of any Ford right now. I'm not the mole so don't PM me and ask for more info as this is all that I know.