9/9/2004

THIS HAS NO TRUCK WITH US

So you think there’s no limit to America’s love affair with trucks and SUVs? Think again–Ford is cutting production on the Explorer and Ranger. Most notable is that Ranger sales have dropped 47 percent in recent months–the Ranger is far and away the best seller in the compact-pickup segment.

Part of the problem is that the Explorer and Ranger are getting a little antiquated, of course. But are American tastes moving away from trucks and SUVs, and towards cars and crossover vehicles? Who knows? I just know that I don’t see anywhere near the number of compact pickups I used to. That could be because the full-sizers are just a few bucks more, in most cases.

At any rate, there are lots of new entries in the compact-pickup class: GM’s Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon is already available, while Toyota’s Tacoma, Nissan’s Frontier, and Dodge’s Dakota will be available within a couple months. No word on when (or even if) a new Ranger will be forthcoming. I wouldn’t cry for Ford, though . . . they’re selling an F150 every 30 seconds, which is about as fast as they can build them.

Posted by Mark @ 5:11 pm | | Permalink
This post is filed under: Cars

4 Comments

  1. I had a Ranger back in the day (1994), then drove my in-law’s 2000 Ranger while they were cruising around Alaska. There was virtually no difference between the two trucks, and this is over seven model years. Controls were identical, handling was identical, everything was exactly the same. Problem was, the same problems I had with the ‘94 Ranger were in the 2000 Ranger. Handling came to mind — it wasn’t as nimble as you’d think a compact truck should be.

    I like compact trucks, and if I didn’t have a baby our next car would be a Ranger/Tacoma/Nissan truck. However, we do have a baby… so I’m looking at getting a VW diesel Jetta or Passat when the Contour turns 10 in 2006.

    Comment by dw — 9/9/2004 @ 7:48 pm

  2. I’m on my second Ranger, and I love my truck. That said, Chevy rolled out their new model last year; Nissan, Dodge, and Toyota roll theirs out this year, and all of those, maybe excepting Dodge, have had new models since the Ranger debuted in it’s present incarnation. No quad-cab - despite Ford’s fondest hopes, the SportTrac is not a Ranger. It just doesn’t stack up any more, and Ford doesn’t have a replacement planned before 2006 at least.

    Comment by Harry — 9/9/2004 @ 8:01 pm

  3. I’m on my second Ranger, and I love my truck. That said, Chevy rolled out their new model last year; Nissan, Dodge, and Toyota roll theirs out this year, and all of those, maybe excepting Dodge, have had new models since the Ranger debuted in it’s present incarnation. No quad-cab - despite Ford’s fondest hopes, the SportTrac is not a Ranger. It just doesn’t stack up any more, and Ford doesn’t have a replacement planned before 2006 at least.

    Comment by Harry — 9/9/2004 @ 8:05 pm

  4. Well, there are a lot of those larger SUVs out there now, and Ford seems to have a newer mid-size SUV that is probably replacing the Explorer. The ranger is probably getting squeezed out by bigger trucks and outback-style crossover vehicles.

    I see LOTS of new big twin-cab pickups.

    Comment by Bryan — 9/9/2004 @ 9:29 pm

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