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Ford Ranger Sales off to a Slow Start—It's Even Being Beaten by the Nissan Frontier


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I think their TV spots are excellent....promoting the active lifestyle people, showing off-roading, power-sliding through snow, etc.  They show the terrain management system, locking differential, and bash plate.    At the end of the spot, they say, (paraphrasing) "for going to the grocery store, any truck will do.....for those looking for adventure, there is only one choice - the Ford Ranger." 

It is almost as though they realize that for a daily driver, grocery getter, the Ranger may be lacking some features and ride quality.   However, for those that use it as a fun truck, it is great.

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1 hour ago, akirby said:

Those “lifestyle” ads spur an emotional connection that can be far more effective than an ad that just gives towing specs, etc.

You mean they're showing real people doing real things?  Not "real" people like Chevy?

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2 hours ago, brucelinc said:

I think their TV spots are excellent....promoting the active lifestyle people, showing off-roading, power-sliding through snow, etc.  They show the terrain management system, locking differential, and bash plate.    At the end of the spot, they say, (paraphrasing) "for going to the grocery store, any truck will do.....for those looking for adventure, there is only one choice - the Ford Ranger." 

It is almost as though they realize that for a daily driver, grocery getter, the Ranger may be lacking some features and ride quality.   However, for those that use it as a fun truck, it is great.

I strongly agree that the ads are excellent - especially here in the Mountain West where cubical dwelling weekend warriors wish in their hearts that they are like pro extreme athletes.  Ford is not going to change the brainwashed minds of the the Toyota and Jeep guys, but they are offering a highly competitive product, with a unique and superior drive train that does a lot of things really well.  While C&D roasted the Ranger, the guys at TFL(State of Colorado boys!) seem to like it more and more as they put it through its paces.    I think the Ranger will make a steady climb as it proves to be the most versatile vehicle in its class. 

Maybe add some cool colors to go along with power sliding in the snow,.  The guy trying to balance on the line over the gorge - 'that guy' does not want to blend in with a bunch of silver trucks in the rush hour traffic jam.

Keep up the great work on the line Fuzzy!

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 Maybe a bit of context on inventory versus sales versus production build up is needed here to understand that dealers need decent head feed of correct trim mix  to  get sales moving

Month..............Inventory (1st)......USA Sales...Canada Sales....Mthly Production.....YTD Production
January...............1,300...................2,153................201....................6,848........................ 9,775
February..............5,300...................2,899...............173.....................9,890.......................16,738
March................10,100...................4,369 ..............381...................12,325.......................29,063
April...................18,100...................5,748...............522...................11,970.......................41,033
May....................23,800..................................................................................................................

 

 

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4 hours ago, jpd80 said:

 Maybe a bit of context on inventory versus sales versus production build up is needed here to understand that dealers need decent head feed of correct trim mix  to  get sales moving

Month..............Inventory (1st)......USA Sales...Canada Sales....Mthly Production.....YTD Production
January...............1,300...................2,153................201....................6,848........................ 9,775
February..............5,300...................2,899...............173.....................9,890.......................16,738
March................10,100...................4,369 ..............381...................12,325.......................29,063
April...................18,100...................5,748...............522...................11,970.......................41,033
May....................23,800..................................................................................................................

 

 

It's still very early, I don't think the sweet spot has been determined yet for what will move best. I've seen more Lariats driving around than I thought I might though so that's something.

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It seems there are more and more Rangers available at the dealerships in northern Michigan, but they're still at low numbers.  Some, like my local dealer, have none in stock.  A few dealerships  have two.  Excuse the "geek" calculations, but best I can tell, there are about nine Rangers available over eight counties (covering about 4,000 square miles).  Not a lot.

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6 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

It's still very early, I don't think the sweet spot has been determined yet for what will move best. I've seen more Lariats driving around than I thought I might though so that's something.

Yes, we saw this with the alloy body Expedition, Ford kept building a rich trim mix for the first nine months or so and then started making more XLTs to fill out inventory and dealership requests. That's when sales began to increase

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On 5/7/2019 at 11:25 PM, Bob Rosadini said:

 Snooter.  trust me I understand what you are saying (I own a class 8 truck)  But unless the 7500 lb figure is another bogus number, it is impressive  and I would hope that Ford has done enough testing to justify that figure in real world applications.   And obviously , everything in that drive train including suspension, brakes as well as  engine, transmission has to be up to the task.  Now real world, if given the choice, would I rather tow 7500 with an f-250?  For sure but Ford is making the claim and I would hope they have the testing info to support that number.

And for sure, if it was a matter of day in day out use at that rating, not a good choice-unless you have a big maintenance budget?

Yes they reduced weight to 5000 lbs VS. the max of 7500 lbs for two reasons, altitude(owners manual talks about reduction in weight based on altitude in all trucks even the heavy duty ones) and the Tacoma's max, but it lets you know the midsize truck can do what it claims.  The biggest concern is making sure you have trailer braking!!  But I agree if towing 7000 lbs daily go with something bigger.

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On 5/12/2019 at 8:07 AM, fuzzymoomoo said:

It's still very early, I don't think the sweet spot has been determined yet for what will move best. I've seen more Lariats driving around than I thought I might though so that's something.

Yeah, most I've seen have been Lariats.  But as jpd pointed out, higher trims are pushed out first.

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21 hours ago, bluerangerlariat said:

Yes they reduced weight to 5000 lbs VS. the max of 7500 lbs for two reasons, altitude(owners manual talks about reduction in weight based on altitude in all trucks even the heavy duty ones) and the Tacoma's max, but it lets you know the midsize truck can do what it claims.  The biggest concern is making sure you have trailer braking!!  But I agree if towing 7000 lbs daily go with something bigger.

Turbocharged engines are less affected by altitude where as the atmos can lose around 30% of their power. There were a lot of concessions built in to that test just to keep the Tacoma in the game.TFL alsoinsist on running Ford's EB engines on 87 in towing tests and wonder why the FE is less than expected.

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4 minutes ago, jpd80 said:

Turbocharged engines are less affected by altitude where as the atmos can lose around 30% of their power. There were a lot of concessions built in to that test just to keep the Tacoma in the game.TFL alsoinsist on running Ford's EB engines on 87 in towing tests and wonder why the FE is less than expected.

Using 87 octane is simple, that's what probably 90% of owners will use since it's the cheapest option. 

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6 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Turbocharged engines are less affected by altitude where as the atmos can lose around 30% of their power. There were a lot of concessions built in to that test just to keep the Tacoma in the game.TFL alsoinsist on running Ford's EB engines on 87 in towing tests and wonder why the FE is less than expected.

I drive that hill all the time - make no mistake it is brutal.  I agree there were concessions to keep America's favorite mid-size in the game - I think the Toyota was maxed out, could not have done that run one second faster.  The Ranger on the other hand was constrained by the TFL ground rules that they are not allowed to exceed the speed limit - and per their own rules they have to back off at a certain speed.  The sound meter was the give away -the Ranger was barely breathing heavy and could have gone up that hill 75 mph or better.

One thing for sure it proved something I have always wondered about all Toyota trucks - low gears!  3:91 rear, are you kidding me?  That Toyota V6 was right at the red line all the way up!

When I tow my camper (2500 lbs + internal load) up that very same hill in my 2008 Explorer 4.0 V6 5R55W, 3:55, I just go manually to 3rd gear and run it up till the tach is 3500-4000 and keep to the right hand lane out of the way.  The old Ford maintains around 55 mph all the way up.  I could push it a bit harder but I don't see why I should. 

 

Edited by Kev-Mo
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6 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Using 87 octane is simple, that's what probably 90% of owners will use since it's the cheapest option. 

Here is fact not known in other parts of the country:  In the Inter-mountain West - Regular is 85 octane, Mid-grade is 87, and Premium is 91.  The octane is lower but the price is the same as if you were buying 87 regular, etc.  So, if you want to run 87 up that climb you have pay the equivalent price of mid -grade.

The notion of this - as explained to me, is the compression at altitude is lower inside the cylinder, so octane can be lower to get equal performance.  I'm not buying that, I just figure it is one of those areas where you get taken for a ride and you make your choices accordingly.

 

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1 hour ago, Kev-Mo said:

The notion of this - as explained to me, is the compression at altitude is lower inside the cylinder, so octane can be lower to get equal performance.  I'm not buying that, I just figure it is one of those areas where you get taken for a ride and you make your choices accordingly.

 

You might not buy it, but it is scientific fact. Octane slows the combustion of fuel. There is less oxygen at higher altitudes so combustion happens slower so you don't need as high of an Octane to achieve the same burn rate.

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1 hour ago, jasonj80 said:

You might not buy it, but it is scientific fact. Octane slows the combustion of fuel. There is less oxygen at higher altitudes so combustion happens slower so you don't need as high of an Octane to achieve the same burn rate.

Not questioning the science - I am questioning the price.  I don't 'buy it' that in Denver 85 Octane should cost the same as 87 does in other similar markets.  

Now explain that with science...probably not.  And yes, I understand economics, and that the market will do what it can get away with until people stop questioning it.  

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My question is: why are they even selling midgrade? Nothing in my fleet or friends and family cars need that fuel. It basically a hold over from the switch to unleaded. Leaded regular was 89 octane. Todays cars need regular or premium. If not, fuel isn't your issue.

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4 hours ago, 351cid said:

My question is: why are they even selling midgrade? Nothing in my fleet or friends and family cars need that fuel. It basically a hold over from the switch to unleaded. Leaded regular was 89 octane. Todays cars need regular or premium. If not, fuel isn't your issue.

Mid-grade doesn't cost the station any more--they just mix the premium and regular at the pump to get the desired mid-grade octane--and the 3-octane pumps are probably the cheapest they can buy, seeing as how they're everywhere, so I can understand why they still have them (plus, ain't nobody gonna rip out a perfectly good pump and replace it just to get rid of that mid-grade setup). 

The bigger question is why do people buy it? Or does anyone actually buy it?

Maybe it's for the people who want premium but can't afford it. "I'd buy that premium gas, but, man, I just can't afford that extra dime a gallon for it. Guess I'll settle for mid-grade..."

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5 hours ago, 351cid said:

My question is: why are they even selling midgrade? Nothing in my fleet or friends and family cars need that fuel. It basically a hold over from the switch to unleaded. Leaded regular was 89 octane. Todays cars need regular or premium. If not, fuel isn't your issue.

It can depend where you live. Where I live regular is only 85 octane which is considered too low for any modern vehicle. Mid-grade is usually 87-88 octane and is usually E10. Mid-grade here actually costs a little less with the ethanol blended in then the regular. Premium is usually 91 octane here. So basically you are forced to either use the mid-grade or premium. I usually just use the mid-grade. I'm not sure who even uses the regular here? Maybe old low performance vehicles?

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22 minutes ago, 2005Explorer said:

It can depend where you live. Where I live regular is only 85 octane which is considered too low for any modern vehicle. Mid-grade is usually 87-88 octane and is usually E10. Mid-grade here actually costs a little less with the ethanol blended in then the regular. Premium is usually 91 octane here. So basically you are forced to either use the mid-grade or premium. I usually just use the mid-grade. I'm not sure who even uses the regular here? Maybe old low performance vehicles?

 If regular is 85 then that’s probably all you need, not 87.

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