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Is it time for a new Sport Trac?


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Now that the Explorer is back on a RWD based chassis, would a new Sport Trac make sense?  Something for people who want truck like features, but not an actual truck.  Honda's latest Ridgeline has been selling at a rate of about 35,000 per year and there will be unibody-SUV based trucks from Hyundai, Kia & VW in the near future.  With Ford's powertrain choices & hybrid options, I think it would do well and.  And I don't think it would cannibalize F150 or Ranger sales either as it would be a truck alternative.  An ST version would be a lot of fun to drive, might even make a great Lightning.

Image result for sport trac adrenalin concept

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29 minutes ago, akirby said:

But the old Sport Trac was BOF not unibody. 

What would it buy you over a new Ranger supercrew?

I understand the old Sport Trac was BOF, but it had IRS and was very different from any other BOF trucks.  A new Explorer based truck would have many more powertrain choices, should ride & handle better, be wider and easier to get in & out of than the Ranger.  People that are buying Ridgelines are doing so because they want an SUV/Minivan with a bed and would have no interest in a Ranger or F150.  There are going to be new unibody trucks coming to market and I think Ford could set the standard with the rumored C2 based Courier and an Explorer based Sport Trac.  I know personally that I would replace my Fusion Sport with a Sport Trac ST but I would never consider a Ranger (FWIW - I love the Ranger and think it'll do great, it's just not for me).

Edited by NLPRacing
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A CD6 truck-ish sort of thing could be cool. I have no idea how much of a market exists. Could be one of those whitespace vehicles.

I personally see it ranking somewhere below a new Excursion (which you all didn't like the idea of) on the priority list. A CD6 Sport Trac would seem to require more engineering than slapping a new Excursion together out of the Super Duty and Expedition parts bins.

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I’d definitely consider a new sport trac. I’m not hauling plywood sheets over here so I don’t need a big bed. I just occasionally might move a few boxes, a lawn mower, etc and a small bed works great for that. It also makes the truck shorter so it has a better chance of fitting in my garage. If it had a nicer interior and better ride while getting better mpg, and maybe a few extra inches of legroom, i think it might do pretty well.

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A CD6 sport trac would essentially be the same size and configuration as a Ranger Supercrew with the same drivetrains and probably the same performance and fuel economy at a higher price.  Why bother?

 

The smaller C2 based unibody pickup should offer much better mpg and a lower price.

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Just now, T-dubz said:

I’d definitely consider a new sport trac. I’m not hauling plywood sheets over here so I don’t need a big bed. I just occasionally might move a few boxes, a lawn mower, etc and a small bed works great for that. It also makes the truck shorter so it has a better chance of fitting in my garage. If it had a nicer interior and better ride while getting better mpg, and maybe a few extra inches of legroom, i think it might do pretty well.

 

But I don't think it would have a much better ride or get better mpg or a better interior than a Ranger Lariat Supercrew.

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26 minutes ago, akirby said:

A CD6 sport trac would essentially be the same size and configuration as a Ranger Supercrew with the same drivetrains and probably the same performance and fuel economy at a higher price.  Why bother?

 

The smaller C2 based unibody pickup should offer much better mpg and a lower price.

 

25 minutes ago, akirby said:

 

But I don't think it would have a much better ride or get better mpg or a better interior than a Ranger Lariat Supercrew.

The CD6 Explorer has HEV and PHEV options as well as the 3.0EB.  I'm willing to bet a pint of your favorite beer that the CD6 Explorer will have a much better ride than the Ranger and the Limited interior will be much nicer than the Lariat.

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14 minutes ago, NLPRacing said:

 

The CD6 Explorer has HEV and PHEV options as well as the 3.0EB.  I'm willing to bet a pint of your favorite beer that the CD6 Explorer will have a much better ride than the Ranger and the Limited interior will be much nicer than the Lariat.

 

Slightly better ride, yes.    But Ford can easily bolt the F150 or Explorer hybrid/phev drivetrains to the Ranger and easily add a Platinum or Limited interior just like F150.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be slightly better, I'm saying that it wouldn't be so much better to make it worth an entirely new model.

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1 hour ago, NLPRacing said:

I understand the old Sport Trac was BOF, but it had IRS and was very different from any other BOF trucks.  A new Explorer based truck would have many more powertrain choices, should ride & handle better, be wider and easier to get in & out of than the Ranger.  People that are buying Ridgelines are doing so because they want an SUV/Minivan with a bed and would have no interest in a Ranger or F150.  There are going to be new unibody trucks coming to market and I think Ford could set the standard with the rumored C2 based Courier and an Explorer based Sport Trac.  I know personally that I would replace my Fusion Sport with a Sport Trac ST but I would never consider a Ranger (FWIW - I love the Ranger and think it'll do great, it's just not for me).

As cool as it'd be (especially an ST version), I'm with akirby on this one.  I see a tough business case for it with Ranger around again.  Not saying it wouldn't be interesting.  I'd be happy to do a photoshop of it once we see the full Explorer revealed (it'll be a better chop than trying to do one of the pics we've seen thus far).  Heck, with how low Explorer appears to potentially be, it's almost a Ranchero redux, but modernized (4 doors).

1 hour ago, akirby said:

A CD6 sport trac would essentially be the same size and configuration as a Ranger Supercrew with the same drivetrains and probably the same performance and fuel economy at a higher price.  Why bother?

 

The smaller C2 based unibody pickup should offer much better mpg and a lower price.

As I pointed out above, it'd be neat, but I think you're right.  That'd be a lot of trucks fighting over a similar market.

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I agree... seems like Ford can make more money just adding more lux trim and new powertrain to Ranger, rather than doing another Sporttrac.

Also about that IRS on the Sporttrac... it was because it is based on the Explorer platform. The first Sporttrac did not have IRS and actually sold better than the 2nd one with IRS. People didn't buy Sporttrac for the good ride... they bought it because it was the only Ford 4 door compact/midsize pickup truck.

Ford made a conscious decision to develop the Sporttrac rather than selling the 4 door Ranger (which already existed in Mexico and South America for a long time) in the US market. The reverse is true now... Ford made a conscious decision to go with 4 door Ranger so I don't see them hacking up the Explorer to make it into a truck.

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_XLT_2.5_Crew_Cab_1998_

 

2004-2009_Ford_Ranger_Ranchera_Serrana.j

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_Double_Cab_01.jpg

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_XLT_2.3_2006_(15432677

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_Heritage_2.3_XLT_2010_

Edited by bzcat
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1 hour ago, bzcat said:

 

I agree... seems like Ford can make more money just adding more lux trim and new powertrain to Ranger, rather than doing another Sporttrac.

Also about that IRS on the Sporttrac... it was because it is based on the Explorer platform. The first Sporttrac did not have IRS and actually sold better than the 2nd one with IRS. People didn't buy Sporttrac for the good ride... they bought it because it was the only Ford 4 door compact/midsize pickup truck.

Ford made a conscious decision to develop the Sporttrac rather than selling the 4 door Ranger (which already existed in Mexico and South America for a long time) in the US market. The reverse is true now... Ford made a conscious decision to go with 4 door Ranger so I don't see them hacking up the Explorer to make it into a truck.

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_XLT_2.5_Crew_Cab_1998_

 

2004-2009_Ford_Ranger_Ranchera_Serrana.j

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_Double_Cab_01.jpg

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_XLT_2.3_2006_(15432677

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_Heritage_2.3_XLT_2010_

They used to build them at Edison for overseas markets-remember seeing them in the parking lot about 18 years ago.

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3 hours ago, bzcat said:

 

I agree... seems like Ford can make more money just adding more lux trim and new powertrain to Ranger, rather than doing another Sporttrac.

Also about that IRS on the Sporttrac... it was because it is based on the Explorer platform. The first Sporttrac did not have IRS and actually sold better than the 2nd one with IRS. People didn't buy Sporttrac for the good ride... they bought it because it was the only Ford 4 door compact/midsize pickup truck.

Ford made a conscious decision to develop the Sporttrac rather than selling the 4 door Ranger (which already existed in Mexico and South America for a long time) in the US market. The reverse is true now... Ford made a conscious decision to go with 4 door Ranger so I don't see them hacking up the Explorer to make it into a truck.

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_XLT_2.5_Crew_Cab_1998_

 

2004-2009_Ford_Ranger_Ranchera_Serrana.j

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_Double_Cab_01.jpg

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_XLT_2.3_2006_(15432677

 

800px-Ford_Ranger_Heritage_2.3_XLT_2010_

That 4 door Ranger could NOT be sold in the United States due to crash requirements. 

 

 

A new Sport Trac, though fun, would not bring in enough cash to justify its existence. 

What would make much more sense is a Bronco truck to supplement the Ranger. It would warrant higher ATPs, sell like hotcakes (much like the new Gladiator will), and be a smaller investment due to its sister-Ranger. 

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3 hours ago, ausrutherford said:

A new Sport Trac, though fun, would not bring in enough cash to justify its existence. 

What would make much more sense is a Bronco truck to supplement the Ranger. It would warrant higher ATPs, sell like hotcakes (much like the new Gladiator will), and be a smaller investment due to its sister-Ranger. 

Hi ausrutherford, great to see you back.:)

So just adding to your thought of a Bronco pick up (Ford Gladiator?), thats a great idea and I hope Ford is watching and listening to Jeep Wrangler...

Instead of a CD6 Explorer Sport Trac, what about another Lincoln, a Crew Cab truck based on  CD6 Aviator as a way of adding divergent product?

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1 hour ago, jpd80 said:

Hi ausrutherford, great to see you back.:)

So just adding to your thought of a Bronco pick up (Ford Gladiator?), thats a great idea and I hope Ford is watching and listening to Jeep Wrangler...

Instead of a CD6 Explorer Sport Trac, what about another Lincoln, a Crew Cab truck based on  CD6 Aviator as a way of adding divergent product?

A Lincoln Aviator based truck would be cool too.

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Ford already has 2 1/2 pickups, soon to be 3 1/2. How about spending this theoretical $$ bringing an already on sale in other markets Focus to North America. This would give them or retain more buyers than a stupid pickup that would cannibalize about 85% of its buyer from other Ford products.

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13 minutes ago, AGR said:

Ford already has 2 1/2 pickups, soon to be 3 1/2. How about spending this theoretical $$ bringing an already on sale in other markets Focus to North America. This would give them or retain more buyers than a stupid pickup that would cannibalize about 85% of its buyer from other Ford products.

Because sales of sedans have fallen and continue to slide as we speak...the business case for bringing a sedan to market is getting smaller and smaller... Ford WAS going to being new Focus to NA from China, but then POTUS decided to start slapping tariffs on everything coming out of China.

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10 minutes ago, AGR said:

Well, there's certainly a better business case for the new Focus than there would be for another Sport Trac, which was the point of my post.

Not really if you look at the numbers-
 

Honda Civic 21,890 31,181 -29.8 299,376 345,880 -13.4
Toyota Corolla 21,105 19,287 9.4 278,293 309,227 -10.0
Hyundai Elantra 18,148 19,060 -4.8 185,339 176,860 4.8
Nissan Sentra 12,721 17,565 -27.6 195,479 201,617 -3.0
Kia Forte 9,756 8,363 16.7 94,181 109,674 -14.1
Volkswagen Jetta 9,207 8,362 10.1 80,533 108,574 -25.8
Kia Soul 8,742 8,121 7.6 94,581 108,102 -12.5
Subaru Impreza 5,481 6,684 -18.0 70,520 78,006 -9.6
Ford Fiesta 5,238 3,035 72.6 47,421 42,592 11.3
Nissan Versa 5,122 7,274 -29.6 69,074 99,647 -30.7
Ford Focus 4,481 13,226 -66.1 110,384 147,148 -25.0
Mazda 3 3,974 4,708 -15.6 59,361 69,349 -14.4
Volkswagen Golf 2,488 4,276 -41.8 39,846 64,449 -38.2
Mini Cooper 2,353 2,499 -5.8 24,500 29,169 -16.0
Hyundai Accent 1,957 3,624 -46.0 25,260 53,750 -53.0
Kia Rio 1,671 1,533 9.0 21,367 15,142 41.1
Mitsubishi Mirage 1,522 1,208 26.0 22,568 21,363 5.6
Toyota Yaris 1,436 2,751 -47.8 25,957 42,269 -38.6
Hyundai Veloster 853 781 9.2 9,710 11,903 -18.4
Fiat 500 707 782 -9.6 4,952 12,018 -58.8
Honda Fit 678 2,799 -75.8 34,262 44,213 -22.5
Volkswagen Beetle 548 1,066 -48.6 13,494 14,331 -5.8
Smart ForTwo 100 130 -23.1 1,154 2,905 -60.3
Fiat 500L 47 127 -63.0 1,374 1,553 -11.5
Dodge Dart 5 128 -96.1 387 9,943 -96.1
Honda CR-Z 1 0 0.0 29 0 0.0
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