RSS Rumormill: Ford talking unibody Ranger replacement

[Ringo64]

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/trucks/" rel="tag">Truck</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag">Ford</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-ranger/#photo-3467320/"><img alt="Ranger Tail Gate" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/02/ranger-tail-gate-628.jpg" style="margin-top: 4px; margin-bottom: 4px; width: 628px; height: 424px;" /></a><br /><br />Now here's some welcome news. <em>Car and Driver</em> reports <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/ford/">Ford</a> is seriously mulling a replacement for the recently deceased <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/ranger/">Ranger</a>, but the successor to the compact pickup's throne may not look anything like what we've seen from the nameplate in the past.<br /><br />While speaking at the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/chicago auto show/">2013 Chicago Auto Show</a>, Doug Scott, marketing manager for Ford Trucks, said there's still a market for a smaller pickup, but that buyers expect to see a larger differentiation between the smaller utility vehicles and their full size counterparts in price, capability and fuel economy.<br /><br />According to Scott, that means a vehicle with a payload capacity of around 1,000 pounds paired with a towing capacity of 3,000 pounds and "a dramatic reduction in fuel consumption." But the biggest piece of that recipe is the price tag, and Scott says to keep the MSRP far enough away from the already cheap <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/ford/f-150/">F-150</a>, the answer could come in the form of a unibody design. Scott says target customers in this market don't care whether the truck has a traditional frame or not, so long as it's tough enough to do the job and has the capability they need.<br /><br />We should be clear here: Ford hasn't approved such a vehicle for production, but the company is working on developing a business case for the model. Even so, it could be years before buyers see another small pickup on dealer lots.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/18/ford-talking-unibody-ranger-replacement/">Ford talking unibody Ranger replacement</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Mon, 18 Feb 2013 18:58:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/18/ford-talking-unibody-ranger-replacement/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/20465381/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/18/ford-talking-unibody-ranger-replacement/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><div class="feedflare">

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[Ringo64]

Good, went to look at a Ranger with my brother-in-law about 2 yrs ago. I was lost between how the early models looked like the new at the time models and pretty much functioned the same.

[notallthere]

So Ford is going the same way as the Honda Ridgeline. That may not be useful.