Ford Motor Company: Are You Listening???

[TrainTrac]

FCA Sees Potential for Two Midsize Pickups



At the New York auto show, Jeep and Ram boss Mike Manley told The Detroit News that a second midsize pickup could eventually be offered alongside the confirmed Wrangler-based pickup destined for the Jeep brand. The executive didn't confirm plans for a midsize Ram truck, but said that there's "opportunity" in the U.S. and in global markets for the brand to expand into that segment.



"I think there's opportunity there in the U.S. if you look at what's happened in the midsize segment here significant growth last year," said Manley in an interview with The Detroit News. "I think that space is big enough, certainly, to have two offerings there." The executive also stated that he's been encouraged by recent growth in the midsize truck segment in the U.S. with GM's Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon and Toyota's new Tacoma.



Manley, however, wouldn't provide a time frame for the trucks or confirm if both Jeep and Ram will have a midsize pickup by 2020. The executive did say that Bob Hegbloom, the new head of Ram International, is traveling to Brazil to discuss opportunities for Ram to work with their colleagues at Fiat, and that there's potential for Ram to use a Fiat platform for a truck. In global markets, Fiat offers compact pickups including the Toro, which was recently launched in Brazil.

In the U.S., Manley doesn't believe a Ram midsize truck would compete for the same customers as a Jeep pickup, which was recently confirmed for production at the Toledo, Ohio plant alongside the old- and next-generation Wrangler.

 

[Mark K 2]

Umm... Hello? The new Ranger comes out this fall.

 

[TrainTrac]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that that has been officially announced/confirmed by FoMoCo. There have been plenty of rumors floating around, largely based on language in the latest FoMoCo/UAW contract. But if there's been an official announcement from Ford regarding a new small/mid-size truck, then I guess I missed it.

 

[Robert Howell]

Dream truck for us would be a full boxed frame midsize pickup, 4 door with rear seats that lay perfectly flat (like the Gen 1s), 4 or 5 foot bed (we'd add canopy), 4 or 5 cylinder intercooled turbo diesel pulling 325+ foot lbs (prefer an engine without cooled EGR), exhaust brake, remote start, diesel engine heater, 5 or 6 speed manual transmission, limited slip or locking rear axle, 32 or 33" tires, ~7000 towing capacity, stability control, some form of indestructible paint that is near impossible to scratch or chip (I'd even take RhinoGuard or similar), real front and rear bumpers with actual metal in them, front and rear tow hooks and receivers and maintenance points that are easy to get to. Basically a mid-sized real work truck and dog carrier.

Ahhh, chances are slim

 

[Mark K 2]

The Ranger is happening. The announcement was in the newspapers.

 

[Richard L]

Mark K,

Perhaps Andy (Train Trac) does not read the same newspapers as you do? Or perhaps, like many other people, he does not even subscribe to newspapers anymore since you can get all the information on the Internet.



Let it go.............:btddhorse:



...Rich

 

[TrainTrac]

I've read the newspapers, internet, etc. articles referencing the section of the new FoMoCo/UAW contract that discusses the possibility of building a new U.S. Ranger at the Michigan Assembly Plant.



But there's been no official announcement from FoMoCo regarding a new U.S. Ranger thus far.



Since discontinuing the previous generation of Ranger in 2012, Ford's official position has pretty much been, "The F150 gets just as good (if not better) MPG than the Ranger, so you stupid consumers don't need a smaller truck. It would cut way into our ginormous profit margin on the F150 if we produced a smaller truck, so STFU and buy an F150. Because EcoBoost." :banghead:

 

[blksn8k]

TrainTrac, I agree 100%. Ford is notoriously tight lipped about upcoming product. I personally do not understand their logic since it has the tendency to drive customers to other brands especially when the consumer doesn't want or need what the self-proclaimed truck gods (Ford) are trying to push on them (F-150) in the interim. Smells of corporate social engineering. :sad:



Although I will say that Ford helped me make one of the best decisions of my life. They pissed me off so badly with the whole Ranger situation in 2012 that instead of buying my dream car (2013 Boss 302) I bought my dream property where I plan to live when I retire at the end of this month. :grin:

 

[TrainTrac]

I personally do not understand their logic since it has the tendency to drive customers to other brands especially when the consumer doesn't want or need what the self-proclaimed truck gods (Ford) are trying to push on them (F-150) in the interim. Smells of corporate social engineering.

Yeah, they just keep pushing the better MPG ratings of the full-size trucks, thinking that that's the main thing that buyers want. They can't seem to get it through their thick skulls that there are many of us out here that just don't want a full-size truck. Hell, an F150 will barely fit in the garage of most contemporary suburban homes. That's why I (and I know many here) have liked the Sport Trac. Functionally, it does everything we need it to in terms of towing, cargo/payload hauling, etc, and it (fits) our homes and lifestyles.



And it seems that FoMoCo isn't the only one that is suffering from cranial rectumitius regarding mid-size trucks. I read something a while back about Ram trucks pushing the better MPG of their full-size trucks and having no plans to revive the Dakota.:banghead:

Ram will not build a competitor to the new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. CEO Bob Hegbloom told AN he can't make a business case for building a smaller pickup. Hegbloom said buyers look for four things in the mid-sized truck market: less capability, a smaller foot print, a smaller price tag, and better fuel economy. He said that while he's able to deliver on three of those four, besting the Ram 1500's fuel economy is an expensive proposition.



Right now, the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is good for 29 mpg highway. In order for Ram to make a mid-sized pickup, the truck would need to land in the 35 mpg highway range for it to make sense.