Ranger sales flat in October, Ford reports

Ford makes a nice Ranger. It isn't for me though.

Is it a surprise to anyone that the Ranger is not a big seller? Ford hasn't redesigned the Ranger in 20 years. It is still looks basically the same as it always has while the F series has been redesigned at least five times. Ford has little interest in actually selling this vehicle.

Close the Ford plant and start making windmills to save the planet-do it now before we all die!

Brad wrote:

Is it a surprise to anyone that the Ranger is not a big seller? Ford hasn't redesigned the Ranger in 20 years. It is still looks basically the same as it always has while the F series has been redesigned at least five times. Ford has little interest in actually selling this vehicle.

I have to agree with you there. One other thing, I used to own a 2002 Ranger....it was the worst gas hog ever. My 2002 Explorer gets better milage that that truck did. It was a great work horse though. We put it through work that an F150 should be doing, and it was great. But I agree the design needs to be upgraded.

I wanted to buy a Ranger but I thought it was way too expensive. I bought a Chevy S-10 for thousands less.

Just close the place already , why is this even news .

I am on my third Ranger...leased a 2000 and a 2002 when they were dirt-cheap to lease. The 2000 had a 3 liter flex-fuel engine and was 1)gutless and 2)terribly hard on gas. I tried the 2002 (dumb once, lets do it again anyway) with the 4 liter motor, the gas mileage was better and power at an acceptable level. Overall, I thought the 2002 was a decent vehicle for the money. I thought I'd buy out the lease on the 2002 since it was reasonable, but came to find out that Ford was still almost giving new ones away at lease-end time in 2005. I decided to buy new. To date, the 2005 has been consistantly delivering 20 MPG and has needed no repairs. Admittedly, the Ranger is cheap, basic transportation and not very exciting to drive..it is a low-end utility vehicle, not a Mustang. It would be a shame for Ford to quit producing this vehicle in my opinion.

If the Highland Park plant is on an overtime schedule for the rest of the year, making 2010 Ranger models, why is the plant slated to close in 2011? I hope the Ranger endures, as it's the only small truck alternative left against the imports and it would be sad to see an era begun by the old Courier to end. A lot of buyers like myself hate the idea of driving "Rhode Island on wheels" (Rams, Silverados) and will not buy a 2-story pickup (4-wheel drive) due to the nagging effort it takes to climb into the cab; so-called "down-the-road" visibility be damned. I hate those jacked-up-to-the-sky-max-groun d-clearance monstrosities that place vehicle mass high in the airstream for worse mpg when it really serves no beneficial purpose. I've had Rangers before, and also S-10s, and the main reason I bought them is because my truck needs are not industrial/construction level, and no one is making a smaller pickup. If they did, I'd be driving the smaller one in a hearbeat.