http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/18/f...r-replacement/

Now here's some welcome news. Car and Driver reports Ford is seriously mulling a replacement for the recently deceased Ranger, but the successor to the compact pickup's throne may not look anything like what we've seen from the nameplate in the past.

While speaking at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show, Doug Scott, marketing manager for Ford Trucks, said there's still a market for a smaller pickup, but that buyers expect to see a larger differentiation between the smaller utility vehicles and their full size counterparts in price, capability and fuel economy.

According to Scott, that means a vehicle with a payload capacity of around 1,000 pounds paired with a towing capacity of 3,000 pounds and "a dramatic reduction in fuel consumption." But the biggest piece of that recipe is the price tag, and Scott says to keep the MSRP far enough away from the already cheap F-150, the answer could come in the form of a unibody design. Scott says target customers in this market don't care whether the truck has a traditional frame or not, so long as it's tough enough to do the job and has the capability they need.

We should be clear here: Ford hasn't approved such a vehicle for production, but the company is working on developing a business case for the model. Even so, it could be years before buyers see another small pickup on dealer lots.

 

Nothing wrong with a unibody Ranger. I think it was obvious to me that's what needs to be done. Now build the sucker and let's get some market share back!

 

Judging by Honda Ridgeline's sales, I don't think unibody is a solution.

 

Honda Ridgeline not selling has nothing to do with unibody, its ugly and looks nothing like a light duty pickup. Small truck people like the truck look and certainly buy the Toyota Tacoma.

 

Ford needs a small truck, I think they are giving away sales to Toyota and Nissan in the small truck arena. I would love to see the old Ranchero nameplate revived since Chevy is talking about a new El Camino.

 

They've got the engines to make this happen. Let's use the "One Ford" strategy to get the global Ranger here, either as a Ranger or an F-100, and be done with it. I'm glad to hear they're not firm on their original decision to push people into the F150, simply because the cost is too high and not everyone needs the towing capacity or size of the F150 for their daily hauling duties.

 

I've had an S10 and now a newer Ranger.
I like trucks, but i don't NEED or really want a full sized F150.
They've become MASSIVE. I can fit a ranger in the garage. I'd never be able to fit an F150 in there.

 

I don't think it has anything to do with looks. IMO, Tacoma doesn't look any better than the Ridgeline.
Ridgeline has slow sales due to multiple reasons ... It has a limited bed space, barely any towing and payload capacity and is available with only one style (4 door, 4x4 and V6) so its pretty pricey. Tacoma is available as Regular, Super and Crew Cab, 4x2 and 4x4 and I4 and V6 - therefore, its much less expensive for people that don't need a 4 door, V6 and 4x4.
Ridgeline is basically a minivan with trucks' body. Tacoma is not.

 

The ridgeline is very ugly. You cannot haul with it or put anything in the bed. You are right about it being costly. Also keep in mind most truck guys hate honda as a brand much less as a truck. so as we have both stated the ridgeline fails in all areas that matter to truck people. People like the toyota because they think they last forever and its still a small truck.

 

A new Ranger or F-100 would be nice XD

 

They're talking unibody pickup that is priced significantly lower than the F150. That's not Global Ranger, which would have pricing pretty close to if not overlapping the F150's low end should it come here. It's not a Ridgeline either, which is a $30K truck.

They're talking something very small, like this:

 

I always thought losing the Ranger sucked. This could be pretty sweet. That Bantam needs a bit of styling help, but I could see a vehicle like that doing fairly well. Can't wait to hear more

 

As long as it is medium priced and high mpg's, there is definitely a market. The previous Ranger was too expensive and not good enough mileage - not even way back when you could get the 2.3L.

And you have to be able to throw a camper shell on it and get 4x that can be freewheeling.

 

The issue is that if you bring over the Global Ranger, its roughly 7/8 the size of the smallest F-150. Too many people want "mission" creep saying they want the truck to do x,y,z and that extra capabilities is far better served by a low end F-150 then a small truck.

Think small, like a Escape based pickup that has enough grunt to handle Home Depot runs or get bulky items like washers and dryers. How many people truly need extreme towing or load capacities all the time? Trucks are extremely useful about 5-10% of the time when you need them and the rest of the capaciblites are wasted since its being used to transport a person to point a to point b

 

From the information I have heard, Ford might be bringing back the F150-F250 Common body style.
Meaning both bodies would be alike but one would be a F150 and the other with F20.
Kinda like the did in late 90s, as for the Ranger,CDYNACO is correct, the terrible gas mileage(within a mile of 2 of the F150, the Ranger wasent worth it

 

I really have to hand it to Ford, the ranger is one tough *** little truck. It's small, cheap, not strong, but tough as nails. We have two here at work along with 4 newer F-150's. The F-150's can't come close to holding up to the beating we put our trucks through. Pot holes, off road, extended idling, zero maintenance, these rangers won't die. You really see what a truck is made of when its a stripped down base work truck. Probably a big reason I don't care for the F-150's. I really hope the ranger comes back.

 

None of that will matter if Ford can't price it below the F-150. Meaning that it needs to cost below $23,500; otherwise, the customer will rather choose the bigger and more powerful F-150 over the "Ranger" for the same or less money.

 

I miss my little Ranger. If I would've been able to get a place with a garage, I'd still have it. 13 years old and it only had 70k miles on it. It's probably dead in Haiti by now.

 

I would love it if Ford built the ute concept, just a small light duty truck, good gas mileage and minimal options.
Kinda like the Mahindra pickup that never made it to the US, which is probably a good thing.