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2019 Ford Ranger First Drive Review


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2 hours ago, akirby said:

I love Motorweek - most of their reviews are honest and seem less biased.   But Pat Goss needs to retire.

 Hey man, that old codger can stay as long as he wants. Growing up, I watched MW on Saturday mornings. Goss's Garage taught me a lot of useful things. Some of it seemed a little advertisey but most was solid advice. It's amazing that for Pat and John are still doing the show after 30 plus years. As far as their reviews go,  I always thought they tried to put a positive spin on them. They did highlight the bad but none were over the top negative such as what you would find in the magazines.

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Sorry, OP, but you lost me at "MotorTrend." They so completely trashed their credibility with me back in the '90s that I don't even bother clicking on their links. They're like TTAC with a printed version. I guess that puts them a half step ahead of TTAC, as you could use MT as kindling to get a fire started.

The English language lacks the verbiage to express how disappointed I was to see that Velocity changed its name to Motor Trend TV. Seeing the commercials with the show hosts praising MT just makes me glad to be a cord cutter...

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1 hour ago, ford-boy said:

Two things......  is the new Ranger nearly a half second slower to 60 than the Colorado as Motor Trend states?  Everything that I have found suggests that they are about equal in acceleration.  Second, does the ecoboost 4 have balance shafts to smooth out vibration?  

Good questions ford-boy sir.

1.) 2018 Chevy Colorado LT 4x4 3.6L V6 8-speed Crew Cab 0-60 tested by Motor Trend had 0-60 mph time of 6.3 seconds. Car and Driver got an even faster number for that Colorado version, 6.1 seconds. Other versions of Colorado tested by Motor Trend are slower than 2019 Ranger though.

  • 2018 Colorado ZR2 3.6L V6: 0-60 in 7.1 seconds
  • 2018 Colorado ZR2 Diesel: 9.7 seconds
  • 2016 Colorado LT Diesel 2WD: 8.6 seconds
  • 2016 Colorado Z71 Diesel 4x4: 9.5 seconds
  • 2015 Colorado Z71 3.6L V6 4x4: 7.4 seconds
  • 2015 Colorado WT 2.5L I4 2WD: 9.3 seconds

2.) Yes, Ecoboost 2.3L uses balance shafts. Here's a diagram of the engine with the balance shaft shown.

Mustang_EcoBoost_Engine.jpg

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1 hour ago, SoonerLS said:

The English language lacks the verbiage to express how disappointed I was to see that Velocity changed its name to Motor Trend TV. Seeing the commercials with the show hosts praising MT just makes me glad to be a cord cutter...

I took most of their shows off of my DVR record list. Several shows were ruined when they switched.

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1 hour ago, 351cid said:

I took most of their shows off of my DVR record list. Several shows were ruined when they switched.

 

How were the shows ruined?  I didn’t notice any changes.  Bitchin Rides and Fantomworks are still the best although Fantomworks is dead now.

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6 minutes ago, akirby said:

 

How were the shows ruined?  I didn’t notice any changes.  Bitchin Rides and Fantomworks are still the best although Fantomworks is dead now.

I watch lots of Velocity/Motor Trend HD shows and don't see the changes as mentioned either. I do see the hosts promoting/praising the new channel name though which I'm guessing is part of their agreement they may have signed on to now that Motor Trend HD is their new employer. I don't watch Bitchin Rides as much as I used to but it is a good show. FantomWorks is good and I like how Dan gets all dramatic every time he or his worker finds something else wrong with the car project (such as additional rust spots, shoddy jobs done by previous mechanics, etc.) and the looks on his face. lol I didn't know the show is done with as I hadn't been watching the new ones for awhile. Did he end it by choice or was canceled? The show I really like watching is Graveyard Carz even though they only do old Mopar cars. I like how they restore old Mopars back to how they left the factory and explains how to decode VIN, etc. And of course the on set antics with Mark pulling pranks on his employees and his goofy playful insults. Like 'Bi-Curious George'. lol! I wonder about Wheeler Dealers as I don't watch that much anymore since Edd departed the show (or was fired, depending on who you believe). Nothing against Ant who is good too but I actually like how Edd explains mechanics and even provides good helpful tips on how to simplify and speed up car repairs.

I no longer subscribe to my many car magazines as I used to in the 90s and 00s due to articles being online for free as well as social media. But I was irked by Motor Trend years ago and was the first magazine that I unsubscribe, for reasons like many here share. Too much bias and the fact that the _OTY awards are based on advertising rather than merit. But I still think the Ranger is a good truck even if I hadn't even seen the new one. I won't need a magazine to tell me if it's bad or good.

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I don’t know why Dan is ending Fantomworks - I assumed he was just tired of it.  I’m sure it gets ratings just as good as the other shows.  I didn’t even know until the advertisement a few days ago that said “final episode” next Wednesday.  I like that both he and Dave Kindig are not only damn good builders and fabricators and designers, they genuinely enjoy their jobs.  And they seem like good guys.   Unlike the Gas Monkey asshat.

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11 minutes ago, akirby said:

I don’t know why Dan is ending Fantomworks - I assumed he was just tired of it.  I’m sure it gets ratings just as good as the other shows.  I didn’t even know until the advertisement a few days ago that said “final episode” next Wednesday.  I like that both he and Dave Kindig are not only damn good builders and fabricators and designers, they genuinely enjoy their jobs.  And they seem like good guys.   Unlike the Gas Monkey asshat.

I met Richard Rawlings once at the Woodward Dream Cruise. The guy is a total dickhead. 

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47 minutes ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

I met Richard Rawlings once at the Woodward Dream Cruise. The guy is a total dickhead. 

 

You can tell that just watching him on TV for 2 minutes.   I do like the garage rehab show though.  Not him but the work they actually do.

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1 hour ago, akirby said:

 

How were the shows ruined?  I didn’t notice any changes.  Bitchin Rides and Fantomworks are still the best although Fantomworks is dead now.

The ones I watched were the old Power Nation shows. They seemed to loose focus on my interests and everything went LS  engine based or Pro Touring. I know that's what is hot, but I have little interest in seeing another LS build or a 68 Charger with 22" wheels. 

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4 minutes ago, 351cid said:

The ones I watched were the old Power Nation shows. They seemed to loose focus on my interests and everything went LS  engine based or Pro Touring. I know that's what is hot, but I have little interest in seeing another LS build or a 68 Charger with 22" wheels. 

 

Those weren’t on Velocity/MT.   They were on Spike and now they’re on History channel.  

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3 hours ago, akirby said:

 

Those weren’t on Velocity/MT.   They were on Spike and now they’re on History channel.  

Really? I thought they were on Speed/Velocity/MT. 

 

History Channel is another one that has gone down hill. They used to have real history. Now it is all Pawn Stars & crap like that. 

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They started on The Nashville Network which turned into Spike which turned into Paramount but they moved to History a few months ago.

 

My favorites were Kevin Tetz and Ryan Shand on trucks and the original horsepower guys (Joe and ???).

 

Edit:  Chuck Hanson was the other guy on Horsepower

Edited by akirby
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6 hours ago, akirby said:

I don’t know why Dan is ending Fantomworks - I assumed he was just tired of it.  I’m sure it gets ratings just as good as the other shows.  I didn’t even know until the advertisement a few days ago that said “final episode” next Wednesday.  I like that both he and Dave Kindig are not only damn good builders and fabricators and designers, they genuinely enjoy their jobs.  And they seem like good guys.   Unlike the Gas Monkey asshat.

I was disappointed when I saw the “final episode” announcement.  I also like Kindig and just cannot watch Gas Monkey Garage. 

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1 hour ago, akirby said:

They started on The Nashville Network which turned into Spike which turned into Paramount but they moved to History a few months ago.

 

My favorites were Kevin Tetz and Ryan Shand on trucks and the original horsepower guys (Joe and ???).

 

Edit:  Chuck Hanson was the other guy on Horsepower

Kevin operates a shop 75 miles north of me last I heard. 

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11 minutes ago, akirby said:

You'd like Chasing Classic Cars with Wayne Carrini.

Yep, he finds lots of neat old cars.

The thing I like about Fantomworks and Kindig (aside from the positive attitudes and the way that Dan and Dave both apparently look after their employees) is that they don't just default to sticking a lump of Chebbie crap in the engine bay. 

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4 minutes ago, SoonerLS said:

The thing I like about Fantomworks and Kindig (aside from the positive attitudes and the way that Dan and Dave both apparently look after their employees) is that they don't just default to sticking a lump of Chebbie crap in the engine bay. 

Exactly and they don't cut corners.  You can tell the employees love working there.

Although Dan does love his Camaros and Corvettes.

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5 minutes ago, akirby said:

Exactly and they don't cut corners.  You can tell the employees love working there.

Although Dan does love his Camaros and Corvettes.

That's also what I like about Texas Metal. I'm not necessarily fond of all his designs, but he recently built an early Bronco. I don't recall his exact wording, but he said something to the effect of not cheaping out and using a Chebbie engine, instead using the Coyote, 6R80, and transfer case out of a wrecked F-150.

Contrast that with the Gas Monkey guy who built a '55-ish F100, then blew it by shoving a Chebbie turd into the engine bay. Ugh.

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