[timeless2]

 

Just recently, Ford made the official announcement that the St Paul, MN, plant will be closing at the end of 2009.  This means the Ford Ranger, which is produced at the Twin Cities plant, will be no more after 2009.  The modern day Ford Ranger as we know it has been around for almost 15 years, so it's a branded nameplate in the Ford stable.  It's hard to believe the trusty little truck will soon be at an end.  External assessments indicate that the production cessation is a result of consistently declining sales volumes.  A mere 92,000 Ford Rangers were sold in 2006, a 24% drop from the prior year.  It's not just the Ford name being dinged here, either; Mazda's B-series compact pickups are dropping off as well, with over a 28% decreases in sales versus last year.  Foreign truck makers are continuing to penetrate domestic market sales and the figures Ford and others are posting is a testament to this very fact.  It will be interesting to keep an eye on the truck market, let alone the entire domestic manufacturer market.

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[walter]

The Ranger's sales were seriously handicapped from a start by the lack of a V8 or at least High performance V6 option. If you look at other comparable models that are relatively successful they all offer some kind of potent powerplant under the hood to boost their appeal.

Just my 2c

[fobra559]

Originally Posted by walter

The Ranger's sales were seriously handicapped from a start by the lack of a V8 or at least High performance V6 option. If you look at other comparable models that are relatively successful they all offer some kind of potent powerplant under the hood to boost their appeal.

Just my 2c

Agreed, they should have produced that Ranger with the lightning engine in it(read it in MM&FF). Would have been cool but it was just a special project. I think it was would steal some thunder from the F-150 Lightning major time. Oh well, I'm sure going to miss the Ranger. It was cool little truck My old man is going to be disappointed, he owned 2 rangers.

[CatmanJJ]

That stinks but I knew it was goin to happen eventually, I love my '95 Ranger.

[DBMSTNG]

the main reason for the declining sales is that it's the same freakin truck as it was 15 years ago!!! they have only done some minor updating ever since. if they came out with an "all new" Ranger like they were supposed to 6-8 years ago, sales would be higher.

[MEandmyKB]

Originally Posted by DBMSTNG

the main reason for the declining sales is that it's the same freakin truck as it was 15 years ago!!! they have only done some minor updating ever since. if they came out with an "all new" Ranger like they were supposed to 6-8 years ago, sales would be higher.

I for one like the way the Ranger has only made minor changes. My '08 arrives at the end of this month, which looks very similar to the '04 Ranger loaner I'm driving now. Every time I'm next to a new S-10, I'm mean Colorado, I'm glad I picked the Ranger. And as for the lack of power....I'm not sure that will matter nearly so much when gas is $6.00/gallon.

[my500hp99gt]

I think that it is the lack of updates and the lack of power BOTH. Look at the other small trucks Titan and Tacoma they pack a good bit more power and the styling has changed to keep up with the times.

[MEandmyKB]

Originally Posted by my500hp99gt

I think that it is the lack of updates and the lack of power BOTH. Look at the other small trucks Titan and Tacoma they pack a good bit more power and the styling has changed to keep up with the times.

As for the "Titan" I think you're thinking about the Frontier which does have a nice 260ish HP V6, but the Tacoma only betters the Ford's 4.0 by about 30 HP - both of the Japanese 4 cyl engines only beat the smaller Ford 4 cyl by 10-15 HP. The Ranger is probably 500 lbs lighter than the Nissan and about 200 lbs lighter than the Toyota - Performance could be very close to the same, for these NON-performance vehicles. The "official" reason for the Ranger's demise could be due to the fact that the plant where it's built is being closed. Isn't the new "Ranger" due to be released about a year later as the new F100?

[my500hp99gt]

I did mean the Frontier, thanks. There has to be a torque difference to because I have driven all three within a couple of weeks of one another and I am sorry to say the Ranger felt sluggish in comparison.

[MEandmyKB]

Originally Posted by my500hp99gt

I did mean the Frontier, thanks. There has to be a torque difference to because I have driven all three within a couple of weeks of one another and I am sorry to say the Ranger felt sluggish in comparison.

Yeah it must be the lower torque because in a pound/horsepower comparison, the Ranger may do better. Unless the Toyota salesman wasn't giving me correct information on the Tacoma, it seems that you can't even get basic power options unless you opt for a larger cab. I'll probably just use the Ranger for light hauling and if I thought I'd be doing heavy hauling or towing I wouldn't even be considering a small compact truck.

[slvr00gt]

Unfortunately, Ranger is being discontinued precisely for the reason I like it!

1) Model had no major updates for 15 years, but the upside of this:
a) the parts are the same, they are abundant and cheap!
b) The truck is simple, simple, simple! Easy to understand and repair at home.
c) Keeping investments low allowed Ford to keep very low entry price point!

2) Luck of power:
a) I mustang to satisfy my power urge! I bought 1999 Ranger for $1300 to do
hauling around the the house. 4cyl 5 speed manual does the job perfectly!

[timeless2]

Maybe it's not going to be dropped after all.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...358/1148/rss25

['68StangGT]

I put close to 190,00 miles on an 84 Ranger I had, and just did normal routine maintence kinda things to it - I seem to remember the "biggest" part I ever replaced was the starter !

[SVTCobra306]

Sad to see it, I had a hand-me-down 83 Ranger 4-banger 4X4 that my parents bought new (and still own), and liked it enough that in 96 I bought an 89 ranger supercab v-6 as my high school truck. I beat on that thing for 70K miles even put a lift on it. Broke the motor and tranny and a couple front driveshafts but it always got me home. I didn't sell it until 2005 when I absolutely needed an F-150 to be able to tow my car trailer.

I always wished Ford would have put in a V8. All they had to do was the same setup as the V8 Explorer and they'd have been good!

New F100 eh? OK...

[MEandmyKB]

Originally Posted by timeless2

Maybe it's not going to be dropped after all.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...358/1148/rss25

Would be a smart move, IMO, with the price of gas getting so high. After waiting 6 weeks on my Ranger, I'm picking up mine today.

[Redline_351R]

I used to have a 97 Ranger and I now have a 2000 4X4 w/ an extended cab. Good truck over all Ive had to fix a few things but cant complain to much for it being 8 years old. Still a tick under 100,000 miles.