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The problem with the Sport Trac was its bed was more or less too short to do anything useful with. It was what 4 foot long?

 

The 2nd gen Sport Trac bed was 49" which is 4 feet.

 

Tacoma bed is 60" which is 5 feet.

 

I'm not a "truck guy" so I can't say that 1 foot difference means in practical terms but clearly the bed capacity was compromised.

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Actually, since reg cab and supercab sell in roughly equal numbers on f150 (they make up about 20% combined, I'm told), maybe Ford will try something different and offer Ranger with just a reg cab and a full crew cab. A super cab on a compact/mid-size truck basically equates to nothing more than a little extra storage. One can see the argument where that minor extra storage is not worth what it costs to make, in which case buyers are better served by just a cheap reg cab and a full crew cab with ample rear seat room.

Edited by Sevensecondsuv
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Actually, since reg cab and supercab sell in roughly equal numbers on f150 (they make up about 20% combined, I'm told), maybe Ford will try something different and offer Ranger with just a reg cab and a full crew cab. A super cab on a compact/mid-size truck basically equates to nothing more than a little extra storage. One can see the argument where that minor extra storage is not worth what it costs to make, in which case buyers are better served by just a cheap reg cab and a full crew cab with ample rear seat room.

there will be a super cab. Launch team guy told me. They're wanting to use a little bit of a unique (for Ford) process to build those doors in final assembly.
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I still have a 2007 Sport Trac that I bought new. If I need to haul anything over four feet long, which isn't very often, I have a 8'x12' Aluma utility trailer that weighs about 540 lbs and is rated to carry 3500 lbs. Perfect size truck for my needs and extremely versatile. The 4.6L V8 and six-speed auto also work very well in this size vehicle.

 

IMG_0751.jpg

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Actually, since reg cab and supercab sell in roughly equal numbers on f150 (they make up about 20% combined, I'm told), maybe Ford will try something different and offer Ranger with just a reg cab and a full crew cab. A super cab on a compact/mid-size truck basically equates to nothing more than a little extra storage. One can see the argument where that minor extra storage is not worth what it costs to make, in which case buyers are better served by just a cheap reg cab and a full crew cab with ample rear seat room.

Agree on your definition of a super cab compact. I have a Ranger super cab. Rarely does anyone occupy those jump seats. Frequently however it is loaded with tools and or luggage.

Bzcat makes the claim there is no market as evidenced by the fact Toyota no longer offers a regular cab. Perhaps, but IMO I say there is a difference from a fleet perspective when you are comparing Ford to Toyota. Anma again I say, the auto parts houses alone are the best example of an operation that needs a low cost delivery vehicle. Keep in mind these guys survive on responding to the customers request for a given part when they need it-not on their "regular delivery day". And the part house does not wait to "build a load" before the truck is dispatched.

 

And from a cost perspective (ATP), how can you possibly not save significant build cost by eliminating two doors, seating etc.???

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It seems to me the most efficient process would be to have a minimally equipped super cab for fleet purposes. Perhaps have some special features on it that would be useful fleets.

 

Exactly. Same approach they've been taking with other vehicles. Sell to fleets but don't make them stripped down no option cheapies just to drive fleet volume. Let them buy a base supercab XL.

 

F150 can get away with it due to the much higher volume (and strange people from Oklahoma) but I don't see Ranger approaching those kinds of volumes.

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We'll see. I'll be sort of surprised if there isn't a reg cab offering.

 

I'm in rural Illinois, and there's plenty of retail reg cab trucks around here too. It's not just Oklahoma lol

 

Sooner or later the credit bubble driving sales of $50,000 crew cab half tons is going to pop. Once that happens, the demand for $25,000 trucks that most buyers can actually afford will increase. I think Ranger is coming at the perfect time. Ford has really done a lot with the F150 but its best in class everything is not particularly cheap to produce. Having a nice cheap-to-produce Ranger will be a good diversification strategy in the event that credit bubble bursts and fewer buyers can afford / qualify for credit for the expensive F150s.

Edited by Sevensecondsuv
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Agree with the diversification and having a cheaper option. But with F150 regular cabs there is huge volume (and competition) on the fleet side which makes it viable to produce. Given that overall Ranger volume will be a fraction of F series and the reduced payload/towing capability the volume may not be big enough to support a separate regular cab option.

 

Not saying there won't be a less expensive XL fleet option - just that it might be a supercab instead of a regular cab.

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there will be a super cab. Launch team guy told me. They're wanting to use a little bit of a unique (for Ford) process to build those doors in final assembly.

 

Hm, I wonder what's unique about it.

 

And from a cost perspective (ATP), how can you possibly not save significant build cost by eliminating two doors, seating etc.???

 

In a vacuum, yes, you're right. But where that advantage can go away is in the volume because you have to tool up to produce the unique panels for eliminating those doors, seating, etc. And if the volume is too low, you'll lose the savings of eliminating things by having to add the other tooling.

 

We'll see. I'll be sort of surprised if there isn't a reg cab offering.

 

I'm in rural Illinois, and there's plenty of retail reg cab trucks around here too. It's not just Oklahoma lol

 

Sooner or later the credit bubble driving sales of $50,000 crew cab half tons is going to pop. Once that happens, the demand for $25,000 trucks that most buyers can actually afford will increase. I think Ranger is coming at the perfect time. Ford has really done a lot with the F150 but its best in class everything is not particularly cheap to produce. Having a nice cheap-to-produce Ranger will be a good diversification strategy in the event that credit bubble bursts and fewer buyers can afford / qualify for credit for the expensive F150s.

 

Rural Illinois isn't representative of sales as a whole.

 

And your argument doesn't make sense. Even if/when the bubble pops, and they'll need a cheaper vehicle, you expect them to go from a crew cab F-150 to a regular cab Ranger? As if that would suit their needs? I'd venture to say many would move into a crossover before moving to a regular cab truck, which is not conducive to carrying passengers.

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Hm, I wonder what's unique about it.

 

it's not really unique per se, but it's something that to my knowledge Ford hasnt ever really done. For the shorter rear doors of the super cab models, they want to build those doors on one of the trim lines instead of sticking them on door line like they normally would. It's similar to how Tesla builds their doors actually.
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In a vacuum, yes, you're right. But where that advantage can go away is in the volume because you have to tool up to produce the unique panels for eliminating those doors, seating, etc. And if the volume is too low, you'll lose the savings of eliminating things by having to add the other tooling.

 

 

Rural Illinois isn't representative of sales as a whole.

 

And your argument doesn't make sense. Even if/when the bubble pops, and they'll need a cheaper vehicle, you expect them to go from a crew cab F-150 to a regular cab Ranger? As if that would suit their needs? I'd venture to say many would move into a crossover before moving to a regular cab truck, which is not conducive to carrying passengers.

I was speaking of people who were buying a truck because they need a bed and/or something to tow trailers with.

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F150 can get away with it due to the much higher volume (and strange people from Oklahoma) but I don't see Ranger approaching those kinds of volumes.

Hey, I'm not that strange.

 

I think there is a market for a regular cab Ranger, I just don't know if the juice is worth the squeeze from Ford's point of view. Yeah, there are places like parts houses and exterminators who want small, efficient, cheap trucks, but are there enough of them--and will enough of them come back from the imports and GMs they bought during Ranger's absence? And does Ford want to give up profits from the ones that would move back from the (presumably) higher-margin Transit Connect and F150?

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it's not really unique per se, but it's something that to my knowledge Ford hasnt ever really done. For the shorter rear doors of the super cab models, they want to build those doors on one of the trim lines instead of sticking them on door line like they normally would. It's similar to how Tesla builds their doors actually.

 

Are you talking about the assembly of the door itself, or the build-out process of installing the glass, speakers, etc...?

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it's not really unique per se, but it's something that to my knowledge Ford hasnt ever really done. For the shorter rear doors of the super cab models, they want to build those doors on one of the trim lines instead of sticking them on door line like they normally would. It's similar to how Tesla builds their doors actually.

If I may with regards to Ranger, the short rear doors and access panels in Super cab are considered add-on panels and

attached as a separate action to the doors, it's a way of streamlining the build process across the three different body types.

Edited by jpd80
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Just because there is a regular cab mule does not mean there will be regular cab trucks offered for sale. Manufacturers use quite a variety of vehicles for mules, including vehicles only used in other parts of the world. We've seen it plenty of times.

 

But who knows?

Any chance regular cab = Bronco wheelbase?

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