closing the doors in the Twin Cities

[john112deere]

End of the line nears for Ford plant

After decades of rumors and three years of reprieves, the last Ford Ranger pickup will roll off the line at the Twin Cities Assembly Plant around Friday, ending an 86-year run of high-wage jobs cranking out everything from the Model T to armored World War II vehicles to Country Squire station wagons along the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minn.

 

[smokey]

Sad to hear they are shutting down one of the old plants.

 

[john112deere]

^^Yep.

My old boss sent me the link, and I got thinking about it. Pretty sure I've driven more miles in vehicles built in that plant, than built everywhere else put together.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Sure is a sad piece of history, but it's another casualty to cafe standards and an aging platform.

Ryan

 

[john112deere]

Sure is a sad piece of history, but it's another casualty to cafe standards and an aging platform.

There was a time when they retooled American plants to build new cars, though...

 

[O'Rattlecan]

They can't afford to build cars here... costs a fortune.

Ryan

 

[polarbear]

They can't afford to build cars here... costs a fortune.

Ryan

Don't tell Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Acura, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, BMW, or Volkswagen that. Or any of their suppliers. They seem to have figured this puzzle out.

VW just got their brand new plant in Chattanooga, Tn up and running. This starts their transition to manufacturing north of the NAFTA border. Just the latest player.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Ask Ford if they would have to drag the UAW with them. Better yet, ask Boeing.

Ryan

 

[polarbear]

Yeah, that is an issue, isn't it?

 

[Fordzilla80]

I'm sad to see the NA Ranger go, but at the same time I'm glad it's no longer available here in the states because it was only a matter of time before Ford brought that ugly piece of garbage global Ranger to our shores.

Coincidentally, both the day before, and the day of the Twin Cities plant closing, my Ranger developed a squeal from the engine compartment. However now the squeal has disappeared. I guess it was just retaliating for a little while.

 

[racsan]

<a href="http://bit.ly/s7Q9xc" target="_blank" />Check out this image!</a>
guess that link didnt work, maybe this one will:
http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...:_Ford_Ranger_Production_Comes_to_an_End.html
its a shame that the ranger has been axed, although i prefer the older ones anyhow.

 

[racsan]

found a neat video of "the last one". at about the 1:30 point, a woman is driving it off, for some reason she hits the wipers, then pops the hood (maybe she thought the parking brake was on and grabbed the wrong lever) then casually drives out, id have done a smoky burnout all the way out the door, lol. (and she need safty glasses to drive?!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9j0qLzo-CU&feature=player_embedded
i think the ranger was given the axe just to keep the F150 a "best seller", the ranger hadnt had much of a ad campaign in years, it had gotton a bit big and expensive, dont you wish you could get a ranger "s" for under 10K like you could way back in the day? i think they were about 7 or 8 k back in '82-'85. my '93 was arond 15k new, the cloesest equipped truck today is over 26K, kinda silly for a compact truck. i personally dont care much for the newr F150's, the cam phaser issue alone will keep me away from any 5.4, guess im just too old-school, i actually prefer mt ttb front end and old-style steering vs the power rack & pinion. at least there will still be many more years of used rangers out there. funny enough though, when i had my '88 and the ranger line was revamped for the '93 year, i hated the look of the '93, now i have one, have had it for almost 10 years now, and the gen 3 chassis is my prefered choice. ( though id love to find a mint gen 1 )

 

[Blue Goose]

Ford Sales Jump 10 Percent in December, Up 11 Percent for 2011

Within the above linked article is the following tidbit:

.....the now-defunct Ranger sold 70,832 units last year, up 27.9 percent on the year and enough to edge out the iconic Mustang.

There was also another short article with allot of commentary:

Snap Judgment: Do We Still Need Compact Pickups?