Global Ranger

[dragogt]

Its the older model, but I still thought you guys might like to see it. This is an Iraqi Police truck at our station:

I wanted to pack one up in my luggage and bring it home!

Thats hot, I'd drive the piss out of it...

But then I also like the CC Nissan Frontier's...

 

[Fordzilla80]

Chris, if Ford wasn't in it to make money, the F150 would be $14,000.

 

[Blue Goose]

Lest we not forget....the 2011 Ranger for the U.S.

 

[john112deere]

^^Boy, does that look familiar.

 

[Blue Goose]

Its the older model, but I still thought you guys might like to see it. This is an Iraqi Police truck at our station:

I wanted to pack one up in my luggage and bring it home!

Here ya go Josh, I just saw this on Jalopnik:

Have the Taliban Abandoned Toyotas for American Pickup Trucks?

 

[LEB Ben]

I'm not saying engineering changes aren't necessary, I'm saying trying to appeal to such a wide spectrum is dangerous. Sometimes when you try to make everybody happy, you don't make anybody happy. I don't think it's a good idea for the same truck to appeal as a grocery getter as well as a construction truck. The grocery getter doesn't need to be as stout as as the construction truck and the construction truck doesn't need as many bells as whistles...and eventually, finances will rule and the construction company won't be able to afford the luxuries and the soccer mom won't be able to afford the chassis.

To clarify this point...in 96, Thunder had every option checked off except for leather interior and a diesel...the truck cost $27,000. That was the truck of choice for tough work, and only wackadoo's like my family wanted something like that. Now (according to the Ford build and price anyway)...the very bare minimum 350 2wd with ZERO options and a regular cab is 28,500. Sure there is an inflation factor that you need to keep in mind...but as Ernie pointed out in another thread somewhere, 60% of Ford's truck business revolves around commercial use. I don't see how that 60% will be able to afford the prices that the soccer mom's a pushing the sticker prices to. I also don't believe the affect will be instantaneous, and who knows...maybe the the soccer moms will become 60% of business.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Sorry benny, but Ford is the only company that's really dialing in on what the markets want. I mean you complain about maintaining two platforms... That's a positive to most people and probably one of the reasons they sell more trucks than anyone else. You can still buy a truck with a rubber mat interior and has no glitter features.

Be fair to them. Look at the vehicle, look what they offer. Look at what you're paying for. You're paying for a vehicle with an enormous amount of engineering to improve fuel economy, power, and size. You're paying for raw materials. You're paying for extra equipment mandated by .gov. You're getting a product that lasts longer (could be considered a part of the engineering though).

If you don't like the truck, don't buy it. But I'll tell you one thing - I love the hell out of my 2005 F150. And maybe I shouldn't mention this... But I really enjoy being comfortable and having my creature comforts in it.

Ryan

 

[LEB Ben]

^^^So you don't think there's a ceiling that will affect the sale of new vehicles? You think the window stickers can just continue to grow exponentially and have no negative feedback? In this particular argument, I'm not saying updates/engineering/etc aren't necessary, I'm more or less wondering where the ceiling is to where those things will begin to have a negative impact. As I said before, Thunder was $27,000 in 1996 and was optioned to the hilt...to get a similarly optioned truck from the 2011 line up (per the Ford Price & Build), you're talking $42,500 (which appears to be a mildly optioned 350 XLT CC 4x4). Sorry, but I just don't see $15,000 worth of engineering and inflation difference.


Edit...just did a fully optioned out 450 for $73,400. I get it, you don't like it, or can't afford it...don't do it. But c'mon, really? How much is too much, just seems like someone is too proud of their stuff to me.

As I've said many times, I'm a cheap bastard and I much prefer simplicity...but $73k for a truck is just absurd to me. And I realize that's not the every day truck, but to get a new version of what I have is still $42k.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

I just did a quick inflation calculator based on the CPI and 27,000 1994 dollars is now worth about 39k.

Ryan

 

[LEB Ben]

From 96 it's roughly $37,500

 

[O'Rattlecan]

So the price point is relatively moot. When you consider CAFE and safety standards, it's a wash.

Ryan

 

[Fordzilla80]

You're getting a product that lasts longer (could be considered a part of the engineering though).

Ryan

Don't tell that to all the individuals who had red based cruise control deactivation switch equipped vehicles and lost them in spontaneous fires.

I'm sorry, but none of these newer vehicles have gotten to be older than 30 yet, so until then, I don't see a valid basis for the claim that new vehicles last longer. In 2027, when I see the majority of 1997+ vehicles on the road, then I will believe that.

But with consumers driving more and more these days, it's nearly impossible to see a vehicle older than 6 years old with less than 70,000 miles. That's quite high mileage in just 6 years compared to the mileage of vehicles in the 80's. It took 30 years for my F100 to hit 189K. I've seen 2006's with that same mileage.

As far as better quality goes, ERRRRR wrong. Both of my Rangers have had transmission problems in their short life. My 2003 is already flashing the O/D off light at 43K. If that's not poor quality and faulty engineering, then I don't know what the true definition of quality is any more. By now, with the price we have to pay for new vehicles, they should be flaw proof. But in reality, engineering has not improved, and vehicles are made just as bad today as they were in the 70's, except that the new vehicles probably won't last as long.

All that is just opinion. So nobody get upset over it.

 

[5.0Flareside]

So the price point is relatively moot. When you consider CAFE and safety standards, it's a wash.

Ryan

i didnt know the math... but that is exactly what i was thinking it would come out as..

 

[LEB Ben]

So the price point is relatively moot. When you consider CAFE and safety standards, it's a wash.

Ryan

And do you really think you're getting that much more product, or paying pricey salaries.

 

[5.0Flareside]

And do you really think you're getting that much more product, or paying pricey salaries.

its purely inflation...

 

[LEB Ben]

its purely inflation...

So you think 15 years from now, it'll be perfectly ok for mildly optioned trucks to be 75k? And 15 years from then, they'll be 100k? Where is the ceiling. You guys can argue inflation all you want, but in order to sell things they need to remain affordable. Or do you think there will be a vehicle crash, just like there was a housing crash to bring things back in to balance. Sorry, but I thought the most recent Detroit bailout might be a wake up call. Everything returns to what the market will bear. Might not be now, but I don't see every truck on the road with a sticker price of 100k 30 years from now.

 

[5.0Flareside]

until inflation stops well then the prices will continue to rise, just like the amount of money people make...

 

[LEB Ben]

until inflation stops well then the prices will continue to rise, just like the amount of money people make...

News flash...inflation rises faster than most wages. Secondly, as I stated, the market will bring itself back to equilibrium, it's ridiculous to think you can sell something and have the price increase faster than what their wages increase. As I said earlier, they'll only be able to sell as long as the market can bear it...be that when people decide the price is too high, fuel issues, etc.

 

[Fordzilla80]

I just built a 2011 F150. I couldn't make it any cheaper than 23,000. All I did was click F150 XL, and paint it Oxford White.

A few things I noticed in the selections that it wouldn't let me get.

-No Bench Seat
-Center Console that I don't want/need
-No V6 option
-Full moldings all around the truck that I don't need.
-No Radio delete option
-No A/C delete option

I'm pretty sure just deleting that stuff right there would cut 2k off the MSRP.

 

[Blue Goose]

It's all relative, Ben. You're just realizing it at this stage.

I ordered my '68 F100 Ranger (top of the line) for $2808.00 out the door!