This Is Why Ford "Gave Up" On The Ranger & Sport Trac

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
TrainTrac

TrainTrac

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2002
Messages
6,262
Reaction score
36
Location
Mahomet, IL
Ford's profit margin on F150's has been pretty good for quite a few years, and that's basically why they've abandoned the small/mid-size truck market and poured all of their resources into development of the F150. And this recent news pretty much validates that strategy. So once the current Ranger ceases production, I'm guessing it'll be a long time before we ever see a small/mid-size truck again from Ford; given the MPG and power being achieved by the new V6 F150's.



I still don't like it, because I, like many others, don't want or need a full-size truck. But I do understand Ford's decision from a business stand point.



Fords F150 V6 models outselling other V6 pickups and V8 F-150s



Posted: Aug 10, 2011



Ford was hard at work advertising their latest EcoBoost V6 in the current Ford F150, especially with their little webisodes where Discovery Channels Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs worked with Ford to test the durability and capability of the F150 EcoBoost against the competition. And so far, it looks like everything is working out as Ford has just announced that the F150 V6s are outselling all of the other V6 full-sized pickup trucks and even the F150s own siblings with V8s.



According to J.D. Power and Associates, both new Ford truck V6s accounted for nearly 79.5% of the V6 full-sized trucks sold in July. The Chevrolet Silverado took second place with 12.1% market share, then the GMC Sierra with 4%, Dodge Ram rings in at 3.5%, and the Tundra with 0.9%.



Both of our new V6 powerplants are changing the way customers think about truck engines, said Doug Scott, Fords truck group marketing manager. The 3.7-liter has more horsepower than two of the three V8 engines we offered in last years F-150. The 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine, at 365 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. torque, is in a class of its own no one has anything even remotely close to this engine, which can tow as much as 11,300 pounds and deliver 22 mpg.



This skyrocket in sales even gives the new F150 EcoBoost the title for the highest volume vehicle in Fords global family.



- By: Chris Chin
Click to expand...
 
Still, :sad: I think it will hit Ford on how much people are going to complain about the missing cog in Ford's line-up. I will also bet when Chevy releases their new Nova Chevy S-10, Ford will probably want to at least bring back something that will compete within the same class again. Although Ford did reinvent the Truck when they released the Ranger and Sport-Trac. But in the time the Ranger and Sport-Trac will be no longer made, I will salute a couple of the best vehicles Ford has ever made.



Till the time they make a grand return, they will always be in a garage and carport of those that won't ever let the Best of the Best die.
 
Regardless, I feel that the ST was cutting in to the F-150 profit margin. The F-150 is to much truck for us, and the new Explorer is to much like a station wagon which neither of us want. I personally will be hanging on to our ST as long as we can make the repairs or it gets really totalled, I mean really totalled. We won't be buying a Ford truck unless we really have a need for one, and we get a bigger place to keep it.

:sad:
 
Maybe the "skyrocket in sales" was due to the fact that the Ranger and ST were not available anymore?



If that is the case, even partially, you can't necessarily justify the decision to discontinue those models by the increased sales of the "only real remaining choice" for a loyal Ford buyer. Maybe if Ford continued to sell and evolve the Ranger and ST, and increased the prices to make them more of a premium brand and the F-150 more a a work brand, then they "might" have been money ahead.



Their marketing guys and gals know doubt know more and have more data than I (and most others here), so second guessing is fun but kind of pointless.



TJR
 
Yes - second guessing is fun. What would have happened if they put that new powerplant into the ST platform? 24-25 mpg? The mpg is the only ding I have on the ST line. If that were corrected, my guess is sales would have also improved. The 150's are just too big and family unfriendly.



2cts.:eek:nline:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ford could have offered the EcoBoost V6 in the Explorer and Sport Trac models. The Sport Trac died because of the "Explorer" reputation with the exploding firestone tires and rollovers.



I think the only reason it survived this long was because of this website and the fact that the Gen-1 models sold so well. When they went to the New Explorer suspension on a truck is when many pickup truck people parted company. This all happened right after gas prices shot up and people were looking for more fuel efficient vehicles.



Perhaps if for had marketed the EcoBoost V6 engine in the Explorer and Sport Trac when the Gen-2 was introduced, things might be different now.



But I also can see where the Sport Trac and the F150 were a little too similiar, and that they might compete with each other. I think that was the demize of GM...Too many vehicles built off of the same platforms with only cosmetic trim and option differences between divisions.



...Rich



 
The F150 and Sport Trac were never competing, IMO. The latest carnation of the ST was for those that wanted a big comfortable car with a bed.



Where I live, there are very few Gen2 STs. Farmers and construction workers just can't use them. Not to say that those are the people trucks need to appeal to strictly, but the Gen2 certainly appeals more to the city crowd. It looks good on the streets, that's for sure. But the market isn't that big for "street" trucks, like it or not.



Go onto an offroad site and mention a ST. See what happens.



My opinion is that they screwed up with the independent suspension in 2007 and then were getting even farther away from a truck with the new Explorer. The money probably just is not there to reinvent the Ranger and then also create a four door version.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Then again, these crossovers are flying off the assembly lines.



Maybe they'll add a bed to one and the ST will be reborn.
 
Hugh said:



Then again, these crossovers are flying off the assembly lines.



Maybe they'll add a bed to one and the ST will be reborn.
Click to expand...



A wagon-like, SUV-like (aka cross-over) with a bed for hauling small stuff.



Did't GM already try that and wasn't it butt-ugly?



Jog my memory...



TJR



 
This just simply amazes me. You can see why this is the currently 'it' truck.



"The 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine, at 365 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. torque, is in a class of its own no one has anything even remotely close to this engine, which can tow as much as 11,300 pounds and deliver 22 mpg."
 
Me,

You are correct. Now just imagine that same engine in the lighter Sport Trac as an SHO special edition or even a Harley version??? 365 HP and 22+MPG,...Now that would have sold a lot of Sport Tracs...:grin:



....Rich
 
It's ironic to me that the 3.6L EcoBoost V6 on the F-150 is more expensive than the 5.0L V8.
Click to expand...



All new R&D. The new block and heads from the ground up, turbo technology and direct injection.

The 5.0L coyote engine is built off of the 4.6L 3 and 4 valve. Not as much R&D in the heads and such.

Plus I suspect with the power to mpg. They believe people will pay it.
 
A wagon-like, SUV-like (aka cross-over) with a bed for hauling small stuff.
Click to expand...



Ford did it, too. In 2007, they introduced the new Sport Trac. Although, not ugly, it's still not useful off the pavement.



 
If I remember correctly, the Sport Trak was originally to have been a 4 door Ranger. But to have a higher price tag, Ford put the Explorer name on it because that was the hot model of the time. Gen I STs were NOT Explorers but 4 door Rangers!

It is my opinion the Ford doesn't give a good sh*t about the American market. These "eco-boost" V6s have been available in Europe for years! They make a 4 door Ranger for the Euro market! They even make it in right hand drive for the Brits...I have seen them on TV!!!

While I think anything GM makes is crap...and the Krauts ruined Chrysler...so we Ford buyers get abused by the Gen Xers running things these days..



End of rant....:banghead:
 
The reason the ST was discontinued was because Ford only sold around 4,000 of them in 2010.



It had nothing to do with the Explorer name. If it did, the new Explorer would not have been called an Explorer.





Tom
 
Caymen is right. Ford quit make the SportTrac because the sales volume had shrunk way too much. Same thing for the Ranger. Buyers weren't buying small trucks any more.
 
I hate to say it, but the fact that the F-150 with the V-6 EcoBoost is selling well validates their logic.



Maybe they will bring the Trac back in a few years...like GM did with the Camaro...:smack:
 

Latest posts

Top