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Ford Sport Trac successor


rperez817

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I test drove a 2nd gen Honda Ridgeline recently and was impressed at how well suited it is for personal use pickup truck duties. It's a class above anything else in the midsize truck segment, and it's also better than any full size half ton pickup when it comes to ride quality and maneuverability. The rep at Honda of Fort Worth says the new Ridgelines usually sell almost as soon as they're delivered to the dealership. Here in the DFW Metroplex, it's laughable to see all these full size pickup trucks used as personal commuter vehicles. Talk about overkill!

 

Anyway, Ford had its own Ridgeline-like entry with the Sport Trac until 2010. Ford should consider creating a pickup version of the next generation Explorer to compete with Honda Ridgeline. Incorporate a unibody design, four wheel independent suspension, etc.

 

 

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Ahh, another poster than thinks he knows what's best for other people to drive. The best thing about today's trucks is they are multi-use in vehicles. Perhaps you should worry more about your own personal vehicle use and less about other people's "personal commuter vehicles," since you really don't know anything about those people or what they actually use their trucks for.

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Thanks y'all. My Ranger is still running strong with about 217k miles on the odometer; it will be another couple years at least before I replace it. A smaller sport utility pickup from Ford would work very well for me.

 

The Ridgeline's impressively smooth ride and secure handling, compared to "regular" pickup trucks including my old Ranger, convinces me that unibody + independent suspension is the way to go for personal use pickups.

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Thanks y'all. My Ranger is still running strong with about 217k miles on the odometer; it will be another couple years at least before I replace it. A smaller sport utility pickup from Ford would work very well for me.

 

The Ridgeline's impressively smooth ride and secure handling, compared to "regular" pickup trucks including my old Ranger, convinces me that unibody + independent suspension is the way to go for personal use pickups.

Personal use yes, unless you need to tow something. IRS can't handle as much as a solid axle can.

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Personal use yes, unless you need to tow something. IRS can't handle as much as a solid axle can.

 

My Ranger's 1,600 lbs. max towing capacity has been more than sufficient for my needs. New Ridgeline is rated to tow up to 5,000 lbs. Folks who need more than that will get a full size truck anyway.

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The Ridgeline's impressively smooth ride and secure handling, compared to "regular" pickup trucks including my old Ranger, convinces me that unibody + independent suspension is the way to go for personal use pickups.

 

The Ridgeline is basically a Pilot with the top cutoff to make it into a semi-pickup. It uses the same interior parts/platform.

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The Ridgeline is probably the right truck for most retail customers but I think Ford wants to stick with a formula that suits a larger global audience. Ford also has the largest fleet business in the country and nearly a 1/3rd of Ranger will likely go to fleet business where it needs to be cheap, scalable, and durable. The other problem with Ridgeline is that the bed capacity is restricted by the high load floor for the more sophisticated suspension, trunk not withstanding. And ultimately the Ranger exists entirely because of the success of the GM Twins so they really are in Copy/Paste and hurry up mode. There is no question you can thank GM for the return of Ranger, Ford openly stated it was in a "Wait and See" position when GM launched their trucks.

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The Ridgeline is probably the right truck for most retail customers but I think Ford wants to stick with a formula that suits a larger global audience. Ford also has the largest fleet business in the country and nearly a 1/3rd of Ranger will likely go to fleet business where it needs to be cheap, scalable, and durable. The other problem with Ridgeline is that the bed capacity is restricted by the high load floor for the more sophisticated suspension, trunk not withstanding. And ultimately the Ranger exists entirely because of the success of the GM Twins so they really are in Copy/Paste and hurry up mode. There is no question you can thank GM for the return of Ranger, Ford openly stated it was in a "Wait and See" position when GM launched their trucks.

 

All good points! Yup, Ford seems to be in "Copy/Paste and hurry up mode" with the upcoming Ranger and other cars and trucks. If the Ridgeline continues its initial sales success like the GM midsize pickup trucks have, perhaps Ford will take that approach a step further and introduce a unibody sport utility pickup. Maybe something smaller than new Ranger, as akirby mentioned.

 

Glad to see Ford's return to the midsize pickup truck market here in the U.S.A. Thank you GM, thank you Honda, and thank you Ford!!

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The thing you have to remember with Ridgeline is a fair number of those sales are Hondaphiles or Japanese brand loyal who aren't going to consider a Ford no matter what. Ridgeline is a great product for Honda but I don't think a similar vehicle would work better for Ford than Ranger.

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My Ranger's 1,600 lbs. max towing capacity has been more than sufficient for my needs. New Ridgeline is rated to tow up to 5,000 lbs. Folks who need more than that will get a full size truck anyway.

You're also talking about a truck that was developed in the 80s and never got any major updates all the way until the last one was built vs. one that was just developed this decade.

 

It's not really a fair comparison.

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The Ridgeline is probably the right truck for most retail customers but I think Ford wants to stick with a formula that suits a larger global audience. Ford also has the largest fleet business in the country and nearly a 1/3rd of Ranger will likely go to fleet business where it needs to be cheap, scalable, and durable. The other problem with Ridgeline is that the bed capacity is restricted by the high load floor for the more sophisticated suspension, trunk not withstanding. And ultimately the Ranger exists entirely because of the success of the GM Twins so they really are in Copy/Paste and hurry up mode. There is no question you can thank GM for the return of Ranger, Ford openly stated it was in a "Wait and See" position when GM launched their trucks.

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Ford has done the "wait and see" approach with small trucks before...Chevy came out with their S-10 in 1982 and Ford introduced the Ranger in 1983...

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Ford has done the "wait and see" approach with small trucks before...Chevy came out with their S-10 in 1982 and Ford introduced the Ranger in 1983...

 

 

Considering the development time for vehicles, it's more likely that Ford and Chevy saw the trend coming and Ford was just a little slower to execute. When confronted about GM's midsize truck plans, Ford executives said they will respond if needed. And the 4-year gap between the Ranger and Colorado/Canyon is pretty significant.

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GM had a plant they could use. Ford did not until they decided to move Focus out of MAP but that has to wait until the new Mexico plant is ready for the new platform.

Not exactly true. Most of the old Wayne Assembly is still empty. There is some stamping there, mostly for Focus and C-Max so I assume it is moving also.

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Ford has done the "wait and see" approach with small trucks before...Chevy came out with their S-10 in 1982 and Ford introduced the Ranger in 1983...

After the global Ranger came out, the "corporate line" was "the costs are too close". There was (and likely still is) a concern that the Ranger will steal sales from the F150 and it would lose it "best selling pickup truck" crown.

 

I know Ford held the price line on the first aluminum F150s, but has the price on the base model recently crept up, leaving more room for the Ranger ?

 

On that note, don't expect to see any "high end" trim packages (Raptor, King Ranch, Platinum, Limited) on the Ranger for a few years after Job #1.

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I think GM disproved the theory that it would cut hard into full sized truck sales - much to my surprise. There is more pricing room below F150 now and F series sales have almost doubled from what they were in 2008.

 

They also have platform mates to help share the cost now and it can go into an existing factory. A lot of things changed from 8 years ago.

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