Ford Ranger owners turning to competition
8/20/12, 01:19 PM
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Ford Ranger owners turning to competition
Now that the U.S.-spec Ford Ranger has been discontinued, many owners of the small pickup are leaving the automaker for midsize entries like the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier, The Detroit News reports. Ford hoped Ranger owners would turn to the larger F-150 to replace their Rangers, but it appears many are looking elsewhere.
While truck buyers who don’t want a full-size pickup can choose among the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, and leftover Chevrolet Colorados, not all Ranger owners are abandoning Ford. Some who don’t turn to the F-150 are driving away from Ford dealerships in an Escape crossover and compact Focus, the report says, which could be due to the automaker offering Ranger owners big incentives to stick with the brand.
Ford decided to discontinue the Ranger pickup after sales of compact pickups shrunk to just 2 percent of the overall American automotive market. Between 1983 and last December when the last truck rolled off the assembly line, Ford built 6.6 million Rangers. While Ford sells a Ranger-badged midsize truck overseas, we don’t expect to see that truck – or Volkswagen’s similarly sized Amarok truck – here.
While high incentives and improving mileage make it easier for some midsize truck buyers to consider a full-size truck, some Ranger owners no doubt prefer the pickup’s compact size, which makes it more maneuverable than the larger F-150. For comparison a Ford Ranger SuperCab is 203.6 inches long compared to the 231.9-inch long F-150 SuperCab. A Toyota Tacoma Access Cab is 208.1 inches long while the Nissan Frontier King Cab is 205.5 inches long.
http://wot.motortrend.com/report-for...#ixzz247EjnmO5
While truck buyers who don’t want a full-size pickup can choose among the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, and leftover Chevrolet Colorados, not all Ranger owners are abandoning Ford. Some who don’t turn to the F-150 are driving away from Ford dealerships in an Escape crossover and compact Focus, the report says, which could be due to the automaker offering Ranger owners big incentives to stick with the brand.
Ford decided to discontinue the Ranger pickup after sales of compact pickups shrunk to just 2 percent of the overall American automotive market. Between 1983 and last December when the last truck rolled off the assembly line, Ford built 6.6 million Rangers. While Ford sells a Ranger-badged midsize truck overseas, we don’t expect to see that truck – or Volkswagen’s similarly sized Amarok truck – here.
While high incentives and improving mileage make it easier for some midsize truck buyers to consider a full-size truck, some Ranger owners no doubt prefer the pickup’s compact size, which makes it more maneuverable than the larger F-150. For comparison a Ford Ranger SuperCab is 203.6 inches long compared to the 231.9-inch long F-150 SuperCab. A Toyota Tacoma Access Cab is 208.1 inches long while the Nissan Frontier King Cab is 205.5 inches long.
http://wot.motortrend.com/report-for...#ixzz247EjnmO5
rangers are good little trucks...
8/20/12, 01:33 PM
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sales of compact pickups shrunk to just 2 percent of the overall American automotive market.
Personally, the Ranger didn't have good enough mileage for me to accept the small bed.
8/20/12, 02:18 PM
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8/20/12, 06:22 PM
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I am on my 3rd Ranger (2003) and wish they would have kept it going.
It would have been great to be able to get one with the new 3.7 instead
of the hog 4.0. I would have bought that combo in a heartbeat (hoofbeat ?)
It would have been great to be able to get one with the new 3.7 instead
of the hog 4.0. I would have bought that combo in a heartbeat (hoofbeat ?)
8/21/12, 03:47 PM
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I think Ford fell back to some old school Detroit Big-three thinking that Americans just want simple size/quantity and that Ranger buyers were little more than poor, frustrated F Series wannabuyers if they could chop the price enough.
However, perhaps the truth lies closer to being that Americans are indeed a bit more discerning than simply weighing the worth of their vehicle on a lb/$ scale but rather, include a high qualitative quotient too. In that light, the stolid little Ranger was seen for basically what it was, a stolid but very dated truck and that given the option of a high quality, up-to-date design would be quite happy to by such a smallish pickup rather than a decontented big F-Series.
Sometimes, a smaller package is an advantage in and of itself, especially to more urban buyers or those who simply don't like the inherent bulk, girth, clumsiness and thirst of a big, heavy full sized truck and don't need to haul three tons of lead ingots or tow dead M1 tanks back to their garage.
I guess vestiges of this old-Detroit bigger-is-better mantra still echoes in a few corners, even in Ford.
However, perhaps the truth lies closer to being that Americans are indeed a bit more discerning than simply weighing the worth of their vehicle on a lb/$ scale but rather, include a high qualitative quotient too. In that light, the stolid little Ranger was seen for basically what it was, a stolid but very dated truck and that given the option of a high quality, up-to-date design would be quite happy to by such a smallish pickup rather than a decontented big F-Series.
Sometimes, a smaller package is an advantage in and of itself, especially to more urban buyers or those who simply don't like the inherent bulk, girth, clumsiness and thirst of a big, heavy full sized truck and don't need to haul three tons of lead ingots or tow dead M1 tanks back to their garage.
I guess vestiges of this old-Detroit bigger-is-better mantra still echoes in a few corners, even in Ford.
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