Ford Missed The Boat

[Ranger#5?]

You do have a point. However, the Ranger in general seems to be an afterthought in the minds of the driving public, from what I’ve observed. Everyone knows Tacoma, and Colorado has taken a strong portion of the market. Ranger, on the other hand, seems to be a truck that only Ford guys buy. I don’t have numbers to back this up, but that’s the impression I get.

Over on the Bronco forum - which is loaded with thousands of diehard Ford enthusiasts - there’s very little discussion of Ranger, yet people seem very excited about the new GM trucks and the new Tacoma. If Ford fanboys are underwhelmed by this rollout, is the general public going to be impressed enough to buy it?

I want to love this truck, and there are things about it I certainly like, but there’s nothing so far that says to me, “Oh yeah, this is the truck I want”. I won’t be in the market for another 3 or 4 years, so there’s plenty of time for me to see what they add to the line up, but there sure are some good-looking alternatives out there…

Numbers do contradict your personal observations and easily searched. Ranger 5G was consistently around or above 100k annual until Ford announced that it was being replaced. Even still, sales topped Ridgeline (consistent CR best buy) and Frontier. Also read a financial report recently mentioning that Ranger also topped 1 of the GM twins- Canyon I think?

It's hilarious to me so many people with knee jerk reactions stating they'll buy Tacoma now, or a GM product when those aren't any more proven or available than new Ranger. No shoot out comparisons yet, nor long term "living with" type articles, JD Power or other initial quality reports, etc. You don't have to be a fan Boi to know Ford has a specific way they roll out new vehicles over time. With all of these, the waiting is the hardest part.

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[Moto26]

Numbers do contradict your personal observations and easily searched. Ranger 5G was consistently around or above 100k annual until Ford announced that it was being replaced.

Okay, I easily searched and found this. Keep in mind, everyone knew Tacoma and the GM trucks were being replaced, too…

 

[rwolfcastle]

Okay, I easily searched and found this. Keep in mind, everyone knew Tacoma and the GM trucks were being replaced, too…

To be fair, everyone knew GMs and Toyotas were being replaced but it makes a difference when you say that vs. actually seeing the product. Neither of those trucks were revealed so you take what's there vs. an unknown.

Rangers weren't just announced, but they were actually released a year ago and shown nearly 2 years ago what they'd look like. When you can watch videos of the next truck being tested in AU and see how much better it is, I'd imagine all that impacts sales more than just knowing a new one is coming but no clue when or what it will look like.

 

[Wayfaring Ranger]

WRT The sales numbers: the USA Ranger was also introduced much later and with very little advertising/fanfare, and within 1-2 years it was already outselling the established trucks in that segment.

And lets be honest, if you compared the last-gen midsizes, the ranger was the clear winner in almost every category. My friends fell into the tacoma-trap after I told them both the ranger and colorado were better trucks and now I'm laughing when they complain about the transmission and seating arrangement.

 

[rwolfcastle]

While I agree the GMs look a bit better from the outside, I feel like there are fewer compromises with the Rangers. The Rangers have physical light controls, garage door openers, and automatic wipers to name a few basic things that GM doesn't have an answer for even in their top trims.

The Rangers still look great IMO, even with the weird bumpers. I'd buy a Lariat over a Denali all day every day. The interiors offer more features. I do really miss the ventilated seats but I'm still holding out hope it pops up as an option in the configurator when it goes live.

 

[Snkrjeff020]

I love the Raptor, but it’s not even on my radar as a possible purchase. I even blocked the Raptor section from coming up on my New Topics page, so I don’t have to filter through so many Raptor posts. I consider it a completely separate and different vehicle from the regular Ranger.

I agree the front end of the Ranger isn’t the toughest-looking out there, but it can look alright. I don’t mind this one, which I guess is the Sport trim? I dig these wheels, too…

Yeah this angle, its quite nice. There's nothing actually "bad" about it. It's just not what I was looking for in a new truck. But it is a handsome looking truck.

 

[Wayfaring Ranger]

While I agree the GMs look a bit better from the outside, I feel like there are fewer compromises with the Rangers. The Rangers have physical light controls, garage door openers, and automatic wipers to name a few basic things that GM doesn't have an answer for even in their top trims.

I knew there were some other options I was forgetting when I was talking about the QoL features across brands. Thanks for bringing these up as well. Small features but in the big picture, they are really nice to have.

Another thing I noticed is that the trailer brake on the GM trucks is near your left knee (and many videos complained about this location), but in the ranger it's located between the push-start and the info screen. This is just another small quirk that puts the ranger above the other two.

 

[zhuskers1]

I have a 2020 Ranger loaded with many custom options. I love it and will replace it own the next few months. I am waiting to see the 2024 TACO before I make any decisions.

 

[Tom_C]

WRT The sales numbers: the USA Ranger was also introduced much later and with very little advertising/fanfare, and within 1-2 years it was already outselling the established trucks in that segment.

And lets be honest, if you compared the last-gen midsizes, the ranger was the clear winner in almost every category. My friends fell into the tacoma-trap after I told them both the ranger and colorado were better trucks and now I'm laughing when they complain about the transmission and seating arrangement.

I have a 2020 Ranger loaded with many custom options. I love it and will replace it own the next few months. I am waiting to see the 2024 TACO before I make any decisions.

I am not a Toyota hater, and I owned a pre-taco 1993 extended cab when it was just called 'pick up'. It was a great truck and I kept it as my 2nd car for 20+ years and sold it when it started to show a bit of rust and I thought I should cut my loses. I bought it used for 13K and sold it for 8k, 20 years later.

When I decided I wanted to get back into a truck for 'reasons' I researched and never looked at anything beside the Ranger. I bought a 2020 5G lariat SCAB and I'm very pleased, but if they come out with a 6G PHEV, then I will take a look.

 

[Ranger#5?]

Okay, I easily searched and found this. Keep in mind, everyone knew Tacoma and the GM trucks were being replaced, too…

Absolutely. I didn't mention them because they are the run-away sales leaders at #1 and #2 and I expect that to continue. I don't think Ford has any illusions about that or believes they will challenge for market dominance any time soon. More realistic expectations would be to pull further ahead of Ridgeline and Frontier and try to pass Gladiator with sales around 100k this year.

 

[JKinPA]

Absolutely. I didn't mention them because they are the run-away sales leaders at #1 and #2 and I expect that to continue. I don't think Ford has any illusions about that or believes they will challenge for market dominance any time soon. More realistic expectations would be to pull further ahead of Ridgeline and Frontier and try to pass Gladiator with sales around 100k this year.

I don’t think a 100k is going to happen this year, I could be wrong but it seems capacity won’t be there sharing the line with the Bronco. Possibly next year…possibly.

 

[JustPassingBy]

I don't think Ford has any illusions about that or believes they will challenge for market dominance any time soon

Hah, if I were a Ford shareholder I'd be upset about that lack of ambition, if that is actually Ford's perspective. However, I suspect Ford has a more aggressive target fro Ranger and will want to replicate how Bronco seems to be catching and overtaking Jeep Wrangler, which was probably unthinkable prior to Bronco's launch.

 

[Moto26]

No grab handles for back passengers--I'm used to jumping in trucks/Wranglers, but not all my passengers are and a grab handle would help them a lot.

I just re-watched the TFL video, and there are handles above the rear doors. And this was in an XL...

 

[Ranger#5?]

I don’t think a 100k is going to happen this year, I could be wrong but it seems capacity won’t be there sharing the line with the Bronco. Possibly next year…possibly.

You absolutely could be right... But MAP was punching out 100k 5G Rangers before Bronco even showed up there. Probably comes down to parts availability, since Ranger and Bronco share so many parts?

Food for thought, Maverick shares a single line with Bronco Sport and exceeded 100k in 1st year. It could happen.

 

[Gator21]

I just re-watched the TFL video, and there are handles above the rear doors. And this was in an XL...

Ah didn’t catch the flexible ceiling one. I would have liked to see them on the pillar and be stationary. That way back passengers can grab it to help get into the truck. The current setup doesn’t help with that.

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