Zastava_101

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/11...road-test.html

07S197

I don'y see it happening here in the states, I don't think the US buying public will spend that kind of money on a mid sized truck.

Zastava_101

The global Ranger is how trucks should be build.

990 miles from 21 gallons tank, 3400 payload capacity and 13000 towing capacity.

No wonder Ford doesn't wanna sell Ranger in the USA. The Ranger has better numbers than any F-150.

I know the price is pretty high, but it would be lower in the USA due to lower taxes. Ford could also decrease a price for the USA by adding cheaper interior (which is what majority of companies are doing in the USA).
So the base Ranger 2.5L could start at $20,000, 3.5L at $24,000 and diesel at $30,000 ... Ford could easily sell over 100,000 of them per year.

VTXFrank

Had that Ranger of been coming to market here in the near future, I would have held off on buying my wife a truck. Since there was no real competition in the mid-size truck market, the Nissan Frontier SL 4x4 Club Cab was an easy pick.

We really wanted to buy a domestic truck in this segment, but the only thing out there was the Chevy and the front of that thing is pure ugly.

jsaylor

I would think that by this point everybody knows payload and towing numbers in Australia, and in foreign markets in general for that matter, are typically heavily inflated compared to what they would be in this market. Perfect example? Toyota kept those inflated payload and towing numbers for quite some time after bring their compact trucks to the US often giving the most basic, mid 80's Toyota conpect pickups rated payload and towing numbers that would rival the typical base F-250. That was one of the less stellar aspects of the early Toyota truck years in the North American market, and represents a strategy which they eventually abandoned.

If this truck ever does come to America those payload and towing numbers will easily drop by half and likely by even more than that. Throw in the fact that, with acceptable drivetrains, thie global Ranger would probably net about the same hwy mpg under our ratings system as an F-150 does (despite the hooplah that is always what happens in this segment) and would probably cost nearly as much to build as an F-150 does, if not more, and the mystery of why we aren't getting this truck is rather easily solved.

If Ford is going to introduce a truck to slot below the F-150 a smaller, less capable truck that costs more to build and which delivers barely if any better fuel economy arguably is arguably not the answer. My suggestion, let Broadmeadows design cars and keep truck design in Dearborn. In fact, I think the better question here is why the most lauded and successful light truck manufacturer in history did not in this instance call upon the American design and engineering capabilities that earned them those laurels in the first place?

My guess? Pre-Mulally decision.

I don't think that there is anything necessarily wrong here, but this truck seems unlikely to fare well in any lineup where it shares floor space with the F-Series and frankly, probably isn't as good for Ford as it would otherwise be were it designed here.

Moosetang

The word "game-changer" has been used a few times be Ford insiders lately when dropping hints about the next F-series. I think we're comparing the T6 Ranger against the current F-150's numbers while Alan compared it to the NEXT F-150's (or even F-100's) numbers when deciding not to bring it here.

Zastava_101

I think the USA and the rest of the world should keep their design studios separated. People have completely different tastes in design.
I think it would be so wrong to design the global Ranger in the USA. For an example, majority of people outside the USA think that a new SuperDuty is just too ugly. Imagine if the global Ranger is anything like that. Who would buy it in Europe or Asia?
There are other things too. In Europe interior quality is one of the most important things in a new car. I'm sorry to say this, but a 7,000 euros ($9,300) Ford Ka has a higher quality interior than a $65,000 Ford SuperDuty Lariat. In the USA its quantity over quality. In Europe its quality over quantity.
Or another thing - people outside the USA buy trucks just for works. Nobody buys them for family vehicles. They're too big for small European roads and not as economical compared to cars.
Meaning that people don't really care about how fancy they're all - all that matters is towing and payload numbers and fuel economy. And lets face it - Americans are completely different. The fact that the best selling small/mid-size truck is Toyota Tacoma with maximum towing of only 3,000 lbs pretty much tells us that truck buyers don't really care about what makes trucks - trucks.

So if Ford USA built a global Ranger it would be oversize, overweight, boxy and with bunch of stuff that buyers don't wanna.

jsaylor

I'm really looking forward to the next F-150. Personally, I hope that the truck loses both some size and some weight returning to something closer to the pre 2004 trucks in terms of girth.

As regards the Super Duty, they would be correct, unfortunately it is rather ugly.

As for what a global Ranger designed in North America would be like, I completely disagree. Dearborn has proven time and again that they will design exactly what they are told to design, the current Transit is the perfect example of this. I have no doubt that Ford Dearborn could have and would have delivered a superior truck to the T6 Ranger in every way were tey given the task. This is just an area where Broadmeadows is out of their depth IMHO.

Zastava_101

Were they told to copy Volkswagen Crafter? Because that's exactly what they did.

jsaylor

So the current generation Transit, which debuted in 2006, copied the VW Crafter, which also debuted in 2006? I actually agree with you regarding the fact that Ford is arguably taking the one Ford concept just a bit too far, at times it seems that Ford is going to have one model globally whether the residents of said globe like it or not.

That said, I think people in general continually underestimate the capabilities of Ford's Dearborn operations to produce great product when given the tools to do so.

Zastava_101

I'm sure they can, just not for global market.

I mean, during Ford's 108 years history how many global vehicles were designed and engineered in the USA? Not many since Model T.

ford20

It looks more like the Sprinter than the transit to me lol

3Mach1

im not sure what game changer means but have you driven a F series lately? They are huge. A regular cab short bed tips the scales at almost 5k lbs. Its way way too heavy and will never achieve any kind of gas mileage.

With all of the hype of the EB engine it does have the power no doubt. But, it might get 1 mpg better than the 5 liter. And, its worse when towing. The half ton trucks today are like three quarter tons of yesterday. I saw a 80's Ford in the parking lot the other day and it was almost the perfect size.

I think Ford is making a mistake unless they have something up their sleeve for the very near future. The Rangers are small but they will do a lot of work cheap. F series trucks are too expensive, too heavy, too thirsty, and a lot of people dont need the capability that they have. Give me a small 4 banger truck that can tow 3500 lbs and get 30 mpg.

I had an old 86 Toyota that I worked to death and I should be killed for ever selling it. It was dead nuts reliable and would get 30mpg and was rated to tow 3500 lbs and I did tow probably 2500 with it many times. It was not a power house but would get the job done. It did it cheap too. I miss those little trucks. Surely with todays technology we could do better than that.

jsaylor

The program to develop the current generation Focus was a Dearborn led program. That car is an enormously more practical vehicle when looked at as a global product than the T6 Ranger is.

Zastava_101

According to internet, the current generation Focus was designed and engineered by Ford Europe in Germany.

jsaylor

According to the internet every Ford produced vehicle short of the F-Series pickups, Mustang, and Falcon were designed in Europe. Actually, scratch that remark, as I can probably find internet sources that insist that those models were developed in Europe as well.

Zastava_101

Well, the internet is our only source here.

Unless we have member(s) on this forum who actually worked on development of the new Focus and can tell us where it was developed.

jsaylor

That it is your only source does not make it a good one. And bad sources aren't really a source at all.

At this point I have heard people suggest that all of the following cars were/are being developed in a foreign locale on the internet and more than once.

next generation Ka
next generation Fiesta
current generation Focus
next generation Fusion/Mondeo
next generation Taurus
next generation Mustang
next generation Falcon
soon to be released next generation Kuga/Escape
next generation Edge
next generation Explorer
next generation Lincoln MKS

I could go on, but you get the point. According to the internet Ford North America....which is larger than every other Ford design center put together and by a huge margin....apparently only works on F-150/Expedition, Transit, various reskins/updated of D4 based SUV's, and V-6/V-8 engine programs. I imagine that they must spend the other four days of every work week playing gin rummy.

Of course it's all nonsense, Ford's European and Australian design and engineering workforce are nowhere near as large as their domestic counterpart and yet, supposedly, that domestic counterpart doesn't do anything. Much of the global product that you are seeing right now has been primarily developed right here in America, to suggest otherwise is just nonsensical.

Zastava_101

What's your source for this statement?

jsaylor

Oh c'mon Zoran, I've never had a problem with your posts but this time you're pushing the bounds of reason. A source? I'll go with common sense.

Literally, unless you are suggesting that Ford Europe does well over half of Ford's engineering and development work despite being meaningfully smaller than Ford's North American operations what you are suggesting here literally isn't possible. With but a few exceptions every current Ford engineering program is global....Ka, Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo/Fusion, Mustang, Escape/Kuga, Edge..the list continues. Unless you are seriously suggesting that Ford Dearborn only works on F-150/Expedition, D4-based programs, and the present generation Taurus (which you could arguably lump into the same category as D4) they have to be working on global programs. There simply isn't anything else to work on.

Feel free to respond however you like, but if you do respond I request that you at least explain what exactly you suggest Ford's largest (by far) engineering and design operation is supposedly doing if they aren't working on any of these programs.