I'm 6'-2" and have driven a '99 & '03. I also drive an '03 Civic and fit fine it all three, but that doesn't mean I don't want them to be more spacious...

 

Here's the problem - like 8' beds, the average truck buyer wants something other than what the Ranger offers. The 8' bed used to be 80% of truck production - who used trucks? Construction workers, farmers, etc. Not the 8' bed is 10% of production - the average buyer doesn't want one.

The Ranger will have to grow and get more power to equal it's brethren. If it doesn't, it will die. But then, why buy a Ranger? It gets the same mileage as the F150 and doesn't have nearly as strong a resale value... seems like an obvious choice.

 

Yeah- kill it...

Sport Trac and Ranger- same truck (essentially).

Dress it (The Sport Trac) down- sell a cheap version, and go on upscale 4.6L V8, with all the trimmings, and a 4WD version. Not AWD, 4WD, for you rock crawler types. AWD for us city slickers who deal with slick roads from time to time.

The Sport Trac is more competition for the Frontier than a Ranger, or Crewcab Ranger will ever be.

 

Redesign it with a retro-flavor ala the late-60's Broncos or F-100 trucks and that thing will sell like crazy!

Were it not for my daily driver Ranger, I would not even be a Ford man. I bought it brand new back in '97, simply because I needed a small vehicle to beat around from jobsite to jobsite. It turned out to be such an awesome truck that it has led directly to (3) additional Ford purchases -- my wife's '05 Escape, my '05 F-150, and the '08 Mustang I will be ordering this fall.

The importance of a reliable, entry-level vehicle like the Ranger is not so much the profit on the individual line of cars, but the young new buyers it will introduce to a manufacturer's products!

 

Strong point...

I also think Ford needs to offer a lunch-bucket version of the Mustang, with a V-8. I'm talking engine, steering wheel, cloth seats, AM/FM Radio with maybe a CD player, roll-up windows, and a 5-sp manual, for $17,000.00.

They'd sell liek hot cakes, and be affordable by the demographic with whom that car has legions of fans who can't afford the car, and insurance.

 

Is it even possible to to order a bare bones V8 Mustang?

I agree on the entry level truck!

 

Sport track is not the same as a Ranger, it has the fully independant running gear of the newer Explorer, I think they changed it from being Ranger based to Explorer based a couple years ago when it got the 4.6. If you go rock crawling or much offroading at all neither the Ranger or Explorer chassis is very desireable. Lift kits are expensive and don't really do much other than let you run bigger tires, like most independant suspension lift kits. (unlike the TTB sysems they replaced in the 1994 in the Explorer and 1997 in the Ranger that would actually flex) I like the 7' bed my '85 Ranger has and the 6.5' bed my F-150 has, no way I would trade either for one of those afterthought things that are all the rage now. I am 6'-3" and I don't think my little standard cab Ranger is all that bad inside either...

Like back in the day when the GT was the fancy V-8 Mustang, and you could still get a V-8 in them with less options for less money. I like the idea.

 

In the 90's you could get a Mustang GTS... Which is exactly what you guys are referring too... Not sure why they killed it. I guess guys like me would rather save up for a GT, than not get all the goods...

http://www.quannet.org/corey/gtsinfo.html

 

Problem with most of the goodies, they add weight and/or steal power. But for Ford, they are a good deal, the companies make little on bare bones models, the options are where the money is.

 

Crew Cab?

You can get one over here.
There is a supercab and a double cab version.
I am not sure if double cab is the same as crewcab.

Does this look like a crew cab to you?



Check out the commercial on this page.
http://www.ford.nl/ranger

2.5 L Diesel 143 HP

4-door double cab €21,856

http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/ranger/-/-/-/-/-/168465#

 

Ford already killed the Ranger. After this year they wont be making it anymore.
I personally think that Ford should bring the Ranger back as a midsize. GM, Toyota and Nissan all moved from compact to midsize trucks, but Ford has left the Ranger mostly unchanged and thats why the Ranger's sales are down.
I dont know what Ford is thinking by not having a compact/midsize truck in their lineup. Perhaps they think that everyone will just buy F-150s.
IMO, Ford is going to be really missing the boat with no small truck in their lineup.

 

I really liked the 98 ranger that my company gave me to drive, but the V6 got the same gas milelage that my F150 gets. Also I was at the stealership the other day when my fiance bought her fusion and they had a new extended cab ranger on the showroom floor. I really liked it, but when I sat in it there was absolutely no head room, I am 6'3". Also when I looked at the sticker price of around 26K, why in the world would anyone want to spend that on a mid/small sized truck?? When you can get a full size for relatively the same price. Ford is not the only manufacturer that needs to look at their midsize lines. Chevy/GMC also have the same problem. The US automakers are really going to have to step it up if they expect to compete with the foriegn guys.....

 

I had an 03 FX4, 4.0, Stick. That was a badass truck, dropping it in first the LS would kick in and get all sideways. I think the Ranger would be better in a Dakota size. Little more room in both the interior and bed. Those jump seats are a joke, my friends that would sit in the back called it "the hole".

 

I don't remember the GTS, but I do remember the Mustang 5.0 LX, that was actuay FASTER and QUICKER than the GT. Mercury had a Capri back in the mid/late 80's before they neutered it, and made the "girl-car" variat of the 1990's. Mustang's were REAL popular in the military... At Fort Hood, on sundays, it was damn near like living in a Fast Fords magazine shoot...

 

Keep it. Offer a small-block V8, a Lariat trim level, and a crew cab. That one above looks a lot like a Frontier...

Oh, and make it bigger. Like Honda Ridgeline size...