Now this from Ford....OMG

[Scotty J.]

It's likely that 90% of Ranger owners don't use the bed for anything and will dump the trucks for a car that gets twice the mileage.

Yes, they have already discovered what the jump off point is, $4.00/gal for gas. Now that the Feds own the car dealers (this is where Ford could REALLY corner the market), expect another spike in gas prices and everyone will flock to the smaller cars.

Myself, I have an X-Terra and my Ranger (horrible gas mileage, but not a tin can), my Miata that gets about 30/mpg (not real comfortable, but it's sporty and fun to drive), when things get REAL tough, I also have a Honda 750 Shadow, great gas mileage, fun to ride but limited to weather.

I pretty much have things planned out LOL.

 

[dixie_boysles]

I was on CarDomain, on their blog page, they had an interview with J Mays who is Global Executive Vice President for Design at Ford. He had this to say about the Ranger at the NAIAS:

Once again, any hope of a new Ranger was dashed: “the market isn’t here for it. Even the smallest trucks, like Tacoma, are getting close to full-size. And smaller SUVs and CUVs are nearly as big as a Ranger. Small trucks have basically been squeezed out of the market.” Mays seemed to chide us for our mini-truck love. “It won’t work. No matter how you slice it.” Can’t blame us for trying!

Link: http://blog.cardomain.com/2010/01/19/j-mays-the-good-stuff-is-coming/

Last year on January 15, 2009 he had this to say at the same place interviewed by the same guys:

So then to follow up on some of your feedback, I asked him about the Ranger. Mays said that Ford has not abandoned the Ranger, that they are in fact working on a new one, and that Ranger fans “will not be disappointed.” Bronco fans will be disappointed, though, cause according to Mays the Bronco isn’t gonna happen any time soon. Sorry guys

Link: http://blog.cardomain.com/2009/01/12/grea-conversation-with-j-mays/

A TOTAL backtrack! This is bull****! I've seen articles everywhere like the one on pickuptrucks.com or whereever and such, but this is coming right out of the horse's mouth!

 

[Alex FX4]

if ford eliminates the ranger ill be moving to nissan or toyota. at least toyota make nearly all their cars in the US. The tacoma kills the ranger just because it has double cab and a better off road package. For could make the ranger so much better than everyone else's but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[Jason]

if ford eliminates the ranger ill be moving to nissan or toyota. at least toyota make nearly all their cars in the US. The tacoma kills the ranger just because it has double cab and a better off road package. For could make the ranger so much better than everyone else's but it hasn't happened yet.

Because in order to do that, the Ranger would cost the same or more. Then who would buy it? Look around the site, people buy Rangers because they are a good, cost effective compromise.

 

[Dar70]

It's likely that 90% of Ranger owners don't use the bed for anything and will dump the trucks for a car that gets twice the mileage. And it's also likely that an F150 gets close enough mileage to a Ranger that people that actually need a truck bed will just buy an F150 instead. The F150 is the best selling truck for 33 years, not the Ranger. If I were Ford and had to pick a truck to keep, I'm going to try to move the Ranger people into F150s and the truck-fad Ranger owners into a Focus.

Not true. While I use my bed several times a year, even it i didnt its a joy to drive. Great gas mileage and enough cargo space when you need it. Its very versitile. Especially for those who dont want an suv, dont want a car and dont want a huge truck.

 

[Mr08ranger]

I am really liking my little ranger. due to the bad economy it has replaced my full siize 07 chevy 2500HD desiel and my 06 chevy box van. This ranger is the only truck I have now and it is a great truck...great on gas, I got up to 23.84 on my last buisness trip. It has the 3.0 v6. Easy to park. When I need to carry extra equipment I tow a 5 x 8 trailer. I am learning I can do a lot with a little truck and don't think I will swith back to anything bigger even it I can afford it. I think Ford is making a big mistake if they drop the ranger.

 

[zukirider21]

Now this takes the cake. Read his comments carefully. If ya do the math the base Ranger gets 28% better fuel economy over the F150 and he says there's no advantage????

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/18/report-ford-undecided-on-ranger-replacement/

Just give us a new Ranger for Gods sakes!

wow reading this really pisses me off...

ford bitches about not selling alot and "not much better than f150" gas mileage, and what effort have they put into improving it??? the ranger has gone basically unchanged for a long ass time, and its STILL the #2 seller in its class. its not a big class, but ford sure as hell better be able to cover that class! replace with a fiesta or focus? is this some kind of joke? and just think what sales they could steal from toyota if they offered an I4 diesel or even an I4 ecoboost maybe. BAM, insane mileage, and a major new feature to push. if they drop the ranger for the reasons stated in that link, i will loose a little respect for ford. and thats coming from the biggest ford guy you will ever meet.

i wish there was some way to direct ford's attention to trs or any other place supporting the ranger.

 

[Frank The Tank]

I wish they would just read these threads......

I am angry at Ford for leaving the Ranger to fend for itself by not upgrading it, and it's still freaking number 2.

The city buys new rangers every year for their service truck, because they are safe and low/no maintenance.

A Ranger is an unstoppable force that cannot be replaced, copied, or forgotten to time.

They need to upgrade, or yes, they will have a truck they cant sell because for 2012 we're offering new fun sunglass holders....... its the same thing harley did to run into the ground, they offered new fun hand grips with the exact same bike when they had that rough time.

Frank

 

[human5]

I think Ford is making a mistake with axing the Ranger. I'm with a few people on this board and would go to Nissan for the Frontier if Ford got rid of this truck. I love this truck, it works perfectly for me. I don't always need the bed but I do use it quite frequently. I love that I can throw stuff in the truck and go fishing, camping or use it for big purchases. Plenty of times my friends have called me asking to meet them at sears, best buy or where ever cause they just bought a fridge, sofa or something too big to use a car for.

Ford has been hitting everything out of the park with thier new vehicles and now they need to focus on the Ranger. I would love a double cab version with a small v6, manual trans and 4wd. The Frontier or Tacoma are great trucks (even if I'm not a Toyota fan) but the Ranger could top both of those and Ford knows this. The size of the Frontier and Tacoma are great, even though it's a little big but if Ford could make one a little smaller and have a good price they'd have a hard time keeping the truck instock. Let's all hope and pray that Ford does something right with the truck.

 

[ozziemo27]

God, If they drop the ranger, i'm going to write lots of nasty letters to Ford.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

even if they drop it, Rangers are tough, mines gonna be with me for a long time, and if not i can find plenty of em and in good shape.

but that means that im not gonna be able to acomplish 1 of my dreams: gettina brand new Ranger.
this sucks i wish Ford wont kill Ranger, lest hope that all that stuff is just empyt words

 

[Toms01PSD]

How about everyone on TRS has a big ass meet and greet at Ford HQ in Michigan? Maybe then they'll be convinced not to pull the plug on the Ranger. There are so many diverse Rangers on here they don't see on a daily basis and they may realize how many people love these little trucks.

 

[The Luigiian]

Just today PickupTrucks.com ran a feature called "Detroit Snubs Compact Trucks."

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/0...le-guys-small-pickups-snubbed-in-detroit.html

From an anonymous Ford source:

“We’ve done a lot of background work here, and everything we’ve collected tells us the majority of people buying these vehicles are looking for a commuter car. In fact, the vehicle they cross-shop are all economy cars. From an investment point of view, we don’t like having one global midsize pickup and a different U.S. midsize pickup. That’s likely to change, but not very quickly. We haven’t done a lot to the Ranger in over 15 years, and it still sells quite well.”

Hmmm... And yet it's going to be cancelled... Doesn't sound like it's over yet.

If there's a Mustang-type fuss over this, where people write a campaign to Ford to keep the Ranger, it's beginning to look like the truck could be saved.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If there's a Mustang-type fuss over this, where people write a campaign to Ford to keep the Ranger, it's beginning to look like the truck could be saved.

Sorry, but I doubt that the Ranger's following is quite as big as the Mustang, nor is the model as iconic for Ford.

Ford is screwed either way, if they do come out with a new style of truck I doubt very many people on here will like it anyway. If they don't, everybody will be mad because they didn't design a new truck that they wouldn't probably like anyway.

 

[mjonesjr]

It's likely that 90% of Ranger owners don't use the bed for anything and will dump the trucks for a car that gets twice the mileage. And it's also likely that an F150 gets close enough mileage to a Ranger that people that actually need a truck bed will just buy an F150 instead. The F150 is the best selling truck for 33 years, not the Ranger. If I were Ford and had to pick a truck to keep, I'm going to try to move the Ranger people into F150s and the truck-fad Ranger owners into a Focus.

I bought a Ranger for the fact that I do use the bed, but never haul anything large enough to justify the cost difference of an F-150.

The F-150 is the best selling full size, and the Ranger has been the best selling compact/mid-sized truck for a number of years.