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Is the Ranger not returning for 2012?

polarbear

just growing older not up
12,878
607
Boring, Oregon
True. But for that few month period where Americans will want smaller pickups, Ford will be screwed.

Historically, when the gas bomb hits the fan, big pickup peeps didn't gravitate towards small ones. They buy economical cars- which makes sense, because no pickup gets anything resembling great gas mileage.

Short term maybe.....but long term.....America is America....we're spoiled and we spend money. Ford will continue to sell those beasts....

Yep- but I bet we'll barely recognize the technology- or the efficiency- of a full-size pickup in a decade. We live in a day and age where a 200 mph sportscar (Corvette Z06) is capable if getting close to 30 mpg- expect to see similiar breakthroughs in trucks.
 

BKW

Ford Parts Guru
Roughly 300,000-500,000 F150's to 50-75,000 Rangers, depending on the year. Huge difference.
The figures are more like 500,00/750,000 F150's to 50,000/75,000 Rangers per year.

The F150 has been the best selling truck for 33 straight years...and for many years has been the best selling of all vehicles sold in the US.

The YTD sales were just posted, over 500,000 2010 F150's have been sold thru August, while Ranger sales are circa 46,000.

The Ranger is ancient, old, old, old. The basic design dates back to March 1982 when it was first introduced.

It has a poor crash test rating, the reliability is so so. The interior is cramped, the Super Cab rear seats are barely adequate for kiddies.

It's been far outclassed by the Tacoma, since Ford has neglected it for decades.

The bottom line is: Ranger sales have slipping for over 20 years, it's no longer profitable. Only one plant assembles it = Twin Cities MN which Ford is planning to close.
 
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Fordzilla80

Ranger Lariat
6,372
262
Narnia
You keep saying your truck is a Ranger Lariat I'm not familiar with the options on the 80 but I'm pretty sure some of those things you listed that your truck does not have were standard features on real Ranger Lariats.

Read up buddy. Left side of the Page.

http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/ford/81fp/bilder/4.jpg

The only thing at this point in time that says my truck is not a true Ranger Lariat is the lack of a tailgate panel, blue seat, lack of the bezel, blue carpet, and original Ford/Marti records.

Back in the day, trim levels were mainly for appearance. Today, they're for comfort. Any option that could be had on a Ranger Lariat could be had on a Custom too,with the exception of woodgrain stuff and seat trim. Here's a small pic of a factory 81 Ranger Lariat w/black interior, no clock, and no a/c.
 

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
Historically, when the gas bomb hits the fan, big pickup peeps didn't gravitate towards small ones. They buy economical cars- which makes sense, because no pickup gets anything resembling great gas mileage.

Yep- but I bet we'll barely recognize the technology- or the efficiency- of a full-size pickup in a decade. We live in a day and age where a 200 mph sportscar (Corvette Z06) is capable if getting close to 30 mpg- expect to see similiar breakthroughs in trucks.

Companies are already producing hybrid suv's and trucks in the low 20's for mpg's.
 

blacksnapon

Moderator
Staff member
They're still gonna produce the Ranger, just not here! September 20, 2010

Subject: Debut of Global Ford Ranger

Earlier today, we confirmed plans to officially unveil an all-new Ford Ranger at the Australia International Motor Show in Sydney in October. The Ranger model to be unveiled in Sydney has been designed and developed to support key markets outside of North America; these are markets that currently do not have access to our F-Series pickups.

In case you receive customer questions, please remember that production of the North America Ranger will cease in 2011, when the Twin Cities plant will close, and the new Ranger to debut in Australia is not intended for our market.

For customers in the U.S., we’ll continue investing in and further growing our F-Series lineup with new powertrains and improved performance.

For the 2011 model year, the F-150 features four new truck engines and a new six-speed transmission that will deliver best-in-class towing and horsepower. In addition, the entire 2011 F-150 lineup will be at least 20 percent more fuel-efficient than today’s F-150 lineup. This is the most extensive powertrain overhaul in F-150's history.

We also are offering the 2011 F-150 XLT Custom Package with the all-new 3.7-liter V6 engine aimed at the entry-level personal use buyer. This new F-150 series will be ideal for Ranger owners interested in a pickup. For Ranger customers interested more in affordable transportation than an entry-level truck, we now either have or soon will offer many new affordable vehicles including the Fiesta, Focus, 7-passenger Grand C-MAX and the Transit Connect.

It is also important to note that the new Ranger is bigger than our current product and moves much closer in size to the current F-150. Its use in the U.S. would become even more limited, especially when compared to the increasingly fuel-efficient F-150.

Please continue to reinforce the benefits of our unprecedented upgrades to our F-150 powertrain lineup and availability of alternative product offerings, so your customers are aware that we have the right solutions to meet their needs.

Thank you for your support and business.
 
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I never had a fullsize pickup. I did have some vans. Now I prefer the narrower body of a Ranger. If I ever have the money to buy new, I would look for a pickup car, like a Ranchero/El Camino, with a 6 or smaller engine, and find nothing on the market. My options would be wagons, import trucks, and old used Rangers.
 

BKW

Ford Parts Guru
Read up buddy. Left side of the Page.

http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/ford/81fp/bilder/4.jpg

The only thing at this point in time that says my truck is not a true Ranger Lariat is the lack of a tailgate panel, blue seat, lack of the bezel, blue carpet, and original Ford/Marti records. [confused]
Marti Reports only cover 1967/79 FoMoCo vehicles, as that is the only data he has.

When Ford planned to THROW AWAY all this data, Marti found out about Ford plan and got ALL of it.

A build sheet and all the other info is avaliable from FoMoCo for 1980 and newer vehicles. A build sheet (it's free) can also be ordered from Ford for 1967/79's, but it takes 6-8 weeks to receive it, cuz Ford has to get the info from Marti.

1980/83 F100's were advertised by Ford as a Light Truck. Many features and accessories that were available on F150's were not available on F100's.

No Super Cabs or 4WD was offered, just 2WD Regular Cabs. Most F100's were strippers, because most (like the current Rangers) were sold as fleet vehicles.

Some 1980/83 F100's have Swiss Cheese frames, 5 lug 4.50" bolt circle wheels, 10" rear brakes, different suspension and shocks than were used on other F100's and F150's.

The largest available V8 was the 302, the awful 3.8L (232 cid) V6 was available for two years, the only full sized truck to offer it (thank God!).

btw: Since people tend to swap parts around, is your truck a true Lariat...or not? The only to know, is by the BODY code as the VIN, other codes on the Certification Label do not decode to a Lariat, XLT or anything else.
 
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Fordzilla80

Ranger Lariat
6,372
262
Narnia
LOL Bill, that was a really old post. I've grown up a little since then.

I've already ordered my info from Ford, they sent me a nice little sheet listing the options my truck was ordered/built with.

My F100 decodes as a Custom, as that is what it was from factory. However, I'm in the process of adding all the Ranger Lariat options to the truck. I have noticed that the majority of F100's are base models, 1980-1981's being Customs. Most of what you put there i've already figured out. My F100 is a funny little bugger though, as it has the larger brakes and lug pattern, since it has power brakes and a 5,000+ GVWR. Usually, the only F100's to get the smaller lug pattern and brakes were those F100's with power brakes and a GVWR below 5,0000. All manual brake F100's got the larger F150 brakes and lug pattern. As for the swiss cheese frame, that was not limited to the F100, that was across the board from F100-F350. That argument gets tossed around on the other forum. As for the engines, from what i've read, the base engine for California F100's, which is where my F100 is from, was the 302 V8. The 300 had to be special ordered. My truck was one of these special order F100's. The way I see it, my F100 is an F150 with horrible suspension, and a horrible rear gear ratio. After I swap the D44 TTB in, as well as swap to the wider shackles/hangers/rear leafs, and add the extra leaf the F150's had, my F100 will be an F150 in every aspect except for the emblems and the truck's documentation/vin code. Thanks through Bill for adding that info here for other members to find! It's definitely extremely useful for those who haven't researched these trucks as much as you or I.
 

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