IDK John i see quite a few new gens everyday, i think i see more 02+ than older gens. but i drive alot each day.

it does need a revamping..but its always been a good seller, theres always those people that looked at the s-10 and were like umm nooo lets get a ranger, thats how i was. i was all about s-10 ZR2..omg i want one, back in the day...but as soon as i looked at its options and how it was built. it just seemed like the ranger was a stronger truck, kinda just a shrunk down fullsize. I think more motor options and MPG capabilities would make em sell alot...bringing the little turbo diesel into the mix in the US..mmmmmmm

 

I see a ton of them too, but I rarely see an 04+ and I rarely see 00- Seems like people jsut really liked the 01-03 and they sold a ton of them. It probably has alittle to do with the 180 dollar a month leases too. But My Car salesman Buddy says in about 01-02 he sold 1 a week, now he says he can count howmany he sold in the last six months on his right hand. Tousley Ford In White bear used to have two rows of rangers from one end of the lot to the other, I was there yesterday and they had three, not rows, Rangers! That sure doesn't look good to me.

~HJ

 

ouch..yea thats always a good sign.

 

That's what sold me on the Toyota! I still probably wouldn't buy one even though it is american made with 70%+ american made parts according to the sticker on the window. Because I feel having a Toyota in the driveways sends the wrong message. I did go in there thinking I would hate it, but I wanted to see and It was quite impressive. I didn't know small trucks Could be that good.

Yeah that has always bothered me too! LOL @ the Surrendering tranny!

I agree! If they start with less than 70% (about the best you can expect nowadays) US made parts on any car I am out!


I Firmly Believe they are being stupid to give up like this. Changing peoples attitudes might take a couple decades but it will happen if there is quality to be had. Maybe the government should get rid of thye tax incentives for foreign based automanufacturers to build here and let them compete with the big three. They are successful enough now to stand on there own. Because of this they can spend more on R&D and QC. But this is real life, and it is not fair. So I suggest they invest Milions maybe Billions into R&D and QC and maybe lose money for a few years, but without taking risks there are no rewards. If they start building competitively priced quality cars, people will buy them. The People who have sold out to imports will come back. It might take a decade or too, but they will. Heck 25 years ago noone thought Imports were any good, but they stuck it out and it paid off. It's time too tak a play out of there book.


Same here! The stuff in my garage would be safe, but that is about it!

~HJ

 

When I got my 2003 around 2/03, there were two long rows(prolly 30 a piece) of Rangers. I was at the same dealer two weeks ago. There were 6 new Rangers and 4 used rangers. The used ones were 01-03 style. Probably from lease.

It's that damn ugly 04+ front end and 06+ monster emblem on the tailgate killing sales =]

 

ford is selling aston martin to,saw it on the news this morning...wtf

 

i actually looked at the lil taco... nice truck, but the fact that they wanted full sticker for it turned me down some..... basically what I have now, toyota wanted $26K. and had i bought a taco, I wouldnt have met that nut from southbuffalo who is as stubbborn as my sister. heh...

I also looked at the chevy and the gmc, i wasnt impressed, the 5 cylinder engine seemed to me like the ngine would be unbalanced, and have problems.... not to mention, its front end is phuckin uglier than sin..... and then i went back to the ranger.... this is after dad talked me into a pick up, i wanted a CAR heh. so we looked at like prolly 500 rangers, i drove ALL over to every dealer with in 100 miles looking at rangers, and finally settled on mine, cause it was the only one that had everything i wanted - except 4 doors and LS rear.....

 

There's another Gen 2 Ranger up the street from me. And I'm always seeing 00- drivin around. Even some 1st gen Rangers around town. And Ford has kept the Ranger the same for so long because there was no real incentive to change it. Why change something that's been so successful. But it is time for a change. Better fuel economy, and I wouldn't mind a diesel option.

 

well I would like to see 4.6L engines and 4 real doors...doubt that will happen though with these gas prices :(

 

the 4.6l gets better mpg than the 4.0 haha

the fx4's need diesels!!!!!!

 

Originally Posted by HAZZARDJOHN
I agree with you on the Buy american thing, That is why I say tacoma. It is assembled in America I believe California, at least that is what I read on the UAW website.



come on guys...dont be naive, while it may be made in America, dont forget were the profit is going. I suppose its a double edge sword, but while you may be supporting American workers to an extent, your sure as hell helping them over there...

 

You could say the same about dailmler chrysler. It's owned by Mercedes. Maybe when you buy a dodge it's helping the **** war machine re-gain power.

No matter what brand of vehicle you buy alot of the profit is going overseas.

 

jaguar and aston martin are one of the biggest reasons for Fords downwards spiral. they need to cut the loose fat (AM and Jag) and re-organize.

they need a RWD 4 door sedan with some gusto (think merc marauder) and market it better.

they need a small diesel in the fukus/fustion/500 and a small diesel for the ranger/xploder. the small diesel for the 1/2 tonners may not be feaseible ATM.

they need to quit letting the bean counters run the show and give the power back to who should have it. and dammit, bring back SVT full force. and AVT fusion/fukus (reborn) would be killer. think bimmer killer...

they need another performance truck, the L was a good truck for the price. they also need a stripper version of the mustang and an optional 5.0 cammer.

the quality has been on the up @ Ford and they have had some good success lately with the fusion and trucks. ford itself needs to cut some fat in thier line up as well and drop those pathetic crossover SUVs (glorified mini-vans w/ AWD).

they also need to re-vamp the ranger...take a few cues from the super duty and F150 for a suspension...those work fantastic and are what the consumers want (handling and good ride but easy to lift and lower for those who want) and what about making more of the line up available with manual trans?

 

And that is probably what will happen. I wouldn't be surprised if ford just used the '07 explorer sporttrac as the model for a new midsized truck.

 

2010 will be the last year of the ranger

 

Yeah sad to say it, but I think the ranger will be cut by the end of the decade.... If ford's not bankrupt by that time, that is. They're already cutting production on thier light pickups (Ranger) & SUVs by 21% this year. I've also read they've lost 1.4 billion so far this year as well!! Part of the problem is Ford is currently paying thousands of retired employees pensions and retirement plans, that alone in draining millions. GM's got the same problem. Not lookin' good for the motor-city

 

The reason we (Minnesotans) don't see too many 00- trucks is We are in the Rust belt. A 00- Ranger will have at least 150K miles around here and will have serious corrosion problems. That is the Rule. There are exceptions but I rarerly see a second Gen Ranger anymore and I rarely see any 93-97's that aren't rusty and beat up. Same goes for most cars. My Explorer is Rusting and has some winter related issues that I idnore by turning up the radio.

~HJ

 

haha. When I moved to Minnesota in 99, I brought a 84 F-150 from PA with me. The 300 straight six finally gave out at 351k miles. I sold it to a guy for $800(more than I paid for it with 270k miles)who thought it was the bomb diggity. He was so excited, he was like "Wow, I'm gonna do this that and the other thing to this truck". I was like "Um, okay dude here's the title". haha It was in awesome shape except for the pass side fender lip was rusted out and bondo'd. I only wanted $500 but he offer $800, what was I to do?

 

Man. . . I like the way that you think! I couldn't have said it better myself.
What idiot decided to have the F150 without a manual tranny?

The only thing I would add is styling. A lot of folks buy cars/trucks because of looks. Most of Fords products are boring. Just look at the Focus, Fusion and 500. I wouldn't buy any of them simply because their styling is so bleeding boring!!!!

 

Meh. I love my Ranger, but if Ford wants to lose the mini-truck class, then go ahead. Everyone else upgreaded, but Foprd seemed to have the idea that upgrades aren't a good idea.

A deisel would do wonders now...especially with the gas prices.

I'm done worrying about the next Ranger. If it has a diesel, then I might think about it. I'm looking away from Ford right now...do you hear that Ford? Christ...you morons don't even listen to your customers. How do you expect to keep up.

 

Yeah, they need to stop trying to make every truck look like the damn super duties and get some originality going again. Every truck that they make has them stupid little side vents in the grille and the GINORMOUS emblems.

I won't be buying another new Ranger unless it comes with a diesel and a MANUAL transmission.

I really wish that Ford would do something like what Dodge did with the Power Wagon Model. I mean take a Super Duty DIESEL and turn it into an offroad beast. You can't get a Power Wagon now without ordering the darn thing. At least in my area.

I took my truck to the Ford Dealership to get some parts and they wanted me to trade it in and they said they would work a great deal for me but they couldn't work a good enough deal for me to jump on it. They say the sell trucks like mine as soon as they get them on the lot. They have about 15 rangers on the lot and he said that they rotate out about every other week from selling them so fast. So I don't know what to think on that situation.

 

ford did make a concept like the pow-wog...the big hoss. it spanked the pow wog in every category as well.

but they say u cant get a Cummins in the pow wog because its to heavy and will hinder its off-road use...?

 

thats true. they have lockers the lockers add so much stress to those axles that the torque, power, and added weight of the Cummins would prolly do them in. thats their reasoning behind it.

All i know is that my next truck is going to be a Dodge 4 door Cummins Ram 04+ 6speed hd