In this day and age, if you sell less than 50,000 of anything, it gets hard to justify the R&D, marketing, or certification costs. A few years ago, the Ranger was offered in so many models and configurations that it drove dealers crazy. It literally was impossible to order the right truck for inventory unless you went bare bones or full-on loaded. Nice to see them simplify the lineup. Believe it or not, too many choices just means confused customers, not increased sales.
re: Ford LS axle. Does anyone really think this is a great loss?
re: I-4 in a 4X4. In the last three years, I saw a grand total of one Colorado delivered with this powertrain choice.