Return of the Ford Ranger to America?

Don't know if you guys saw this report from The Detroit News, but amongst Ford's contract discussions with the UAW was the possibility of starting up American production of the Ranger pickup to replace the Cmax and another model whose production is moving to Mexico.

This is only one of a bunch of possibilities discussed, and even if they make it here it doesn't mean they have to sell it here BUT... This is the first official connection from Ford between the new Ranger and America, which makes me pretty excited.

The Ranger Wildtrak model they sell overseas is awesome. I'd absolutely be in line to buy a Ford competitor to the Colorado. I'd love to see a top-tier trim offered with the 2.7 Ecoboost V6 from the F150, and maybe a utility fleet model with a 2.0L Eco or maybe even the 1.6 Eco. I don't know if that's enough motor to push around even a stripped standard cab delivery truck, but it sure would make an attractive delivery vehicle from an economic point of view.

With the 2.7 you could have 345ftlbs that's rated for 24mpg in the larger F150 - it should tow well while returning competitive mileage in a smaller platform.

So, Ford, if you're listening, you'll sell at least one of these if you sell it here!

Oops nevermind. I was wrong and got my facts mixed up.

Wrong Ross said: The F150's V6 Ecoboost is a 3.7 liter. You must of mistyped it because of your excitement. I've been wondering when we would get the 'world' Ranger.

Did GM restart production of the Colorado?

RossD wrote: The F150's V6 Ecoboost is a 3.7 liter. You must of mistyped it because of your excitement. I've been wondering when we would get the 'world' Ranger.

No, he was right- there's a 2.7l AND a 3.5l Ecoboost option. totally different engines.

As for the Ranger- oddly enough, saw one driving through our campus yesterday.

(then a side comment to the current truck line up.... This other "midsized" trucks are the same size as full size normal trucks of the late 70's, or put into a different way, referencing the recent mini truck thread- '70's minis were to old full sized trucks as this truck is to current full sized. Kinda shocking how truck size has progressed, and in spite of that over 1.5 MILLION are sold in the US every year)

In reply to bentwrench:

um....where have you been?

And Ross - yes, there are TWO Ecoboost options. You can buy a Ford F-150 with a SUB 3 LITER engine! The 2.7 gets good reviews, still tows up to 8k lbs in some trims, is rated for 24mpg highway in other trims, and still gets 0-60 in sub 6 seconds. It's received nearly NO press, but it seems like a really good choice...until you look at the other engine's capability. The plus side is that you can buy a nicely optioned extended cab with a 2.7 locally for 27k right now at 0% interest.

bentwrench wrote: Did GM restart production of the Colorado?

There are new ones and the last item I read was that the plant is working 3 shifts and the workers are also working lunch breaks as overtime. They still can't keep them on the dealer lots.

Ya think Ford wants a little piece of that action???

Crazy Austrailians:

alfadriver wrote:

RossD wrote: The F150's V6 Ecoboost is a 3.7 liter. You must of mistyped it because of your excitement. I've been wondering when we would get the 'world' Ranger.

No, he was right- there's a 2.7l AND a 3.5l Ecoboost option. totally different engines. As for the Ranger- oddly enough, saw one driving through our campus yesterday. (then a side comment to the current truck line up.... This other "midsized" trucks are the same size as full size normal trucks of the late 70's, or put into a different way, referencing the recent mini truck thread- '70's minis were to old full sized trucks as this truck is to current full sized. Kinda shocking how truck size has progressed, and in spite of that over 1.5 MILLION are sold in the US every year)

I'd welcome the Ranger, but more so if it were smaller than the Colorado. The Colorado looks like a Silverado that got clamped in a vice to make it narrower. I guess that's OK, but it still feels ponderous. My old Toyota pickups felt like sports cars by comparison.

But this has all been said before......

Its the cmax and focus(which all the old focii were Mexican) which are moving to Mexico. If the Ranger is indeed built in the US, it will for sure be sold here. I was talking with one of the Ford spokesmen at NAIAS and he was hoping they could. Said something about a substantial tax for foreign built trucks here that made them uncompetitive in the market.

In reply to yamaha:

Wasn't that the Chicken Tax? Shouldn't that actually going away with the Pacific Treaty thinger that was recently done up?

The Ranger plant here in Mn closed in 2011. Even when it was in production I don't think it was very high on Fords priority list. Except for some relatively minor sheet metal changes, the Ranger was pretty much the same truck it's entire run here in the states.

Now the Twin Cities assembly plant is no more. The factory was razed, and it's just dead space now. All the progressives are licking their chops over what to do with the land. Somehow they think a dog park and bike paths are a step forward for this space.

I'd like to see an actual "compact" truck. Bring back the ford courier. Put the 3cyl turbo from the new fiesta and finally get some good gas mileage from a small truck.

I'd buy one with a small diesel for camping trailer towing.

I've driven a 2.7 ecoboost F-150 back to back with a 5.3 Chevrolet. The 2.7 will spin the tires and get up and go FAST.. Very Fast. Scary fast for a 4x4 crew cab.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: I'd buy one with a small diesel for camping trailer towing. I've driven a 2.7 ecoboost F-150 back to back with a 5.3 Chevrolet. The 2.7 will spin the tires and get up and go FAST.. Very Fast. Scary fast for a 4x4 crew cab.

The latter is why you will never have the former in the US.

NGTD wrote: There are new ones and the last item I read was that the plant is working 3 shifts and the workers are also working lunch breaks as overtime. They still can't keep them on the dealer lots. Ya think Ford wants a little piece of that action???

And all I've heard for years that if the great and omniscient powers within the Big 3 could actually sell enough smaller-than-the-ever-growing-full-size trucks in America to justify developing a decent one to sell here, they already would have. Things that make you go, hmmm...

alfadriver wrote:

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: I'd buy one with a small diesel for camping trailer towing. I've driven a 2.7 ecoboost F-150 back to back with a 5.3 Chevrolet. The 2.7 will spin the tires and get up and go FAST.. Very Fast. Scary fast for a 4x4 crew cab.

The latter is why you will never have the former in the US.

Yes... Understood. But I want one. I'm ok with slower for the torque and off-road ability of the diesel. I know the problems and cost sometimes do not make sense.

Driven5 wrote:

NGTD wrote: There are new ones and the last item I read was that the plant is working 3 shifts and the workers are also working lunch breaks as overtime. They still can't keep them on the dealer lots. Ya think Ford wants a little piece of that action???

And all I've heard for years that if the great and omniscient powers within the Big 3 could actually sell enough smaller-than-the-ever-growing-full-size trucks in America to justify developing a decent one to sell here, they already would have. Things that make you go, hmmm...

It's still true. But markets also shift.

For most of the life of small trucks, they were CAFE supporters of full sized ones- as trucks all got binned together for a CAFE target. Which always meant that small trucks had good deals out there- especially for big 3 makers.

Now that the equation has shifted, the job of the small truck is not to support the big truck, but to stand on it's own.

The rest of the world does fine w/o the full size trucks and with the mid size ones. So it's not as if the trucks don't exist. Just that its taking a while for a good business case to make them in the US.

(to me, if there's not a chicken tax for other countries- we should make them here and export them. but that's just me)

ultraclyde wrote: Crazy Austrailians:

The 2.7L EcoBoost will scoot! It is a genuine surprise and joy to drive. If I was doing a daily driver and had to feed one everyday, that is the engine I would go for.

What if Ford did a 2.3L Eco, 2.7L Eco, and a 5.2 in the F150.....yummy

Flight Service wrote:

ultraclyde wrote: Crazy Austrailians:

Concur.. now will it fit three wide in the back seat for emergency daddy duty.

That Raptor Ranger is a bit of homebuilt awesomeness.

http://www.topgear.co.za/news/fords-ranger-3-2-becomes-a-raptor-of-sorts-thanks-to-local-ingenuity/

And its on sale for $48K USD or 634K South African Rand... whoa that's spensive.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

Rear seat image: so...yes. Emergency daddy duty covered. Maybe not even emergency

As far as the diesel vs gas...It's only available diesel overseas. The top end is engine is the 3.2L I5

Specs on 3.2L I5 from Wiki --- 3.2 L Duratorq TDCi ("PUMA" P5AT) diesel engine (147 kW and 470 Nm) at 8.4 L/100 km[11] (33.6 mpg-imp or 28.0 mpg-US) with a six-speed manual or automatic transmission

Specs on 2.7L Ecoboost gas, also from Wiki --- 325 hp (242 kW) @ 5750 rpm and 375 lb·ft (508 N·m) @ 3000 rpm --- and it's rated at 24mpg in the F-150

So...the gas engine uses cheaper fuel, has more horsepower, more torque, and gets only slightly worse mileage.

Unless you just like the smell of diesel and the challenge of finding it at the pump, I can't understand why you'd want it. But if you still do, hey, that's cool.

My whole need isn't for a tiny truck. Those are about as useful as a hatchback to me (which is to sae useful and efficient for a limited usage set). My need is for a truck that can still tow my camper and haul all the stuff I need but is smaller than the houses currently wearing F-150 and Sierra badges. Something the size of my '69 F-100 is great, and that's about where the Colorado and the world Ranger fall. Eith gets better mileage than my Mustang or the V8 Explorer that I'd be replacing.

I'll believe it when I see it. I've heard "rumors" of the US getting this truck since before the old one left.

It is interesting to look at all the angles of compact vs mid vs full size trucks. Too small to be useful, vs full size just getting bigger and bigger. Ect.

well.. maybe ford should drop the F150 and concentrate on the 250 and up.. and move the ranger in to that slot