R.I.P Ford Ranger

[mikedanner]

http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/news...anger/rip.html

[mymarklt]

what a shame but the ranger didn't change or 14-15 years or so.

[buckin150]

the truck i had before my present one. was a ranger tough little mule. but i needed more room... so R.I.P Ranger

[azmidget91]

ford must be blind to think compact pickups are not wanted, the only reason they think that is because the new rangers are not new they havnt had a "new" rnager in a very long time if they would redo them or replace them like chevy did with the s10 and colorado they would be selling like crazy

or just bring the falcon ute from austrailia over here, with its optional turbocharged i6 or 5.4....

[buckin150]

^^ x2 they need to done some updatin'. cause they are a tough little truck.

[F151]

With the fuel prices what they are, Ford would be nuts not to come up with something. The market share in the small pickup catagory will climb.

[Barrett]

bye bye ranger, rip

[stuckiniraq]

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...08/212663.html

They need to just bring those to the states, they are sweet and take a hell of a beating

[ChrisT]

I agree that the Ranger is in need of a new design. I think it would do much better if they would add a crew cab model to compete with the Tacoma and the Dakota. However, maybe the Sport-Trac was supposed to do that? The Ranger's are tough lil trucks, had a few of them in my family over the years.

[02XLT4X4]

The Tacoma is the only compact that really outsells the Ranger, it trades places every once in awhile with the Colorado, and easily outsells the Frontier. The Dakota isn't even in the running in the top 10 in sales anymore. Personally I think the whole compact truck market went soft.

I got this out of a post in GD.

Top 10 Pickups Sales Figures
Year-to-Date (YTD) Oct 2007

Ford F-Series
588,952 -12.5% YTD
Oct 2007: 51,741
Oct 2006: 55,947

Chevrolet Silverado
526,575 -2.4% YTD
Oct 2007: 48,716
Oct 2006: 52,409

Dodge Ram
301,689 -1.0% YTD
Oct 2007: 24,711
Oct 2006: 28,251

GMC Sierra
174,621 -1.8% YTD
Oct 2007: 17,417
Oct 2006: 18,080

Toyota Tundra
162,348 +59.2% YTD
Oct 2007: 17,868
Oct 2006: 10,046

Toyota Tacoma
147,964 -0.4% YTD
Oct 2007: 12,449
Oct 2006: 14,121

Chevrolet Colorado
64,878 -18.4% YTD
Oct 2007: 5,753
Oct 2006: 7,151

Ford Ranger
62,209 -20.9% YTD
Oct 2007: 4,775
Oct 2006: 6,471

Nissan Titan
55,960 -9.7% YTD
Oct 2007: 5,001
Oct 2006: 5,972

Nissan Frontier
55,696 -17.2% YTD
Oct 2007: 4,959
Oct 2006: 5,063

[pmason718]

I wish I could talk to someone at Ford. I dont beleive the decision that they have been making lately. Ford is losing it. Wait until the new camaro comes out, the Mustang is going to be in trouble. I wish I could really help them. I have really good taste.

[dbhost]

Originally Posted by mymarklt

what a shame but the ranger didn't change or 14-15 years or so.

Try 10 years. 1997 was a somewhere just below major update to the Ranger with larger cabs, redesigned suspension, and improved drivetrains.

All that being said, the Ranger is WAAAAAYYYYY overdue for a major overhaul. I think in the time the current iteration the Ranger has been in production, the Tacoma has seen 3 major changes...

I owned a 2000 Ranger Trailhead, and it was an AWESOME little truck. But I needed more space than it could offer in the cab, knowing I was going to be having family in the next couple of years, holding on to the Red Ranger was not really an attractive idea...

One thing to note though. The V-6 Rangers don't get that good of gas mileage compared to the F-150. I know 4cyl 5 speed models are gas sippers, but those are few and far between...

Heck, if I had the scratch to buy a little truck to shoot back and forth to work in, I would buy a 4cyl 5 speed Ranger XL or STX regular cab and just run it to death.

As far as the mini truck market being soft, it has been, but gas prices keep spking higher and higher. I guarantee that the mini truck will be getting more and more attractive. A fresh Ranger design, with possibly a small, reasonably powerful turbo diesel, and a good price tag will snare a LOT of buyers. Many people have had great experiences with the Ranger nameplate over the years, and will happily pony up the bucks for another one, especially when fuel costs are high. Much better to drive a mini truck than a Mini Cooper...

[02XLT4X4]

I think the big reason to keep the Ranger around is that it helps feed the F-150. It is amazing the # of people on here that got a Ranger when they were younger (highschoolish) and were impressed enough by it when they got the money and a reason to get a bigger newer truck they went with the F-150. If they knock off the Ranger sized truck, I think it would hurt the F-150 too after awhile.

[ATOM]

i've had 4 rangers in my life so far and now a f150 screw. the thing that i dont get is the price on this little guys. last year after i rolled my ranger, i had my heart set on a fx4 level II, im sorry but 25grand is insane for a extended cab compact truck. and the fuel mileage is only 19 mpg on the highway? and my screw is supposed to get 17 and so far i'm hitting that right on the money. its too bad they are gonna pull the plug, a ranger crew was my dream. theres alot of ford guys who dont need a fullsize truck and no way are they gonna drive a sport trac, i guess its ford's loss. now if ford would have added coilovers in the front and made a crew cab, i would have bought that rather than my screw

[Octane36]

^I agree. Who wants a compact truck when an F-150 only costs $5,000 more, gets about the same fuel milage and is a lot more truck?
Rumor has it that Ford is coming out with a new small truck, but I'll believe it when I see the press release from Ford.