2018 Ford Ranger a real possibility now...

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/what-the-new-ford-ranger-and-bronco-reports-really-mean-1726616636

“Why would a new Bronco be better than a new Ranger?”

"The mid-size truck segment is a cool idea, but for reasons I’ve outlined above (every truck on a dealer’s lot turns into a luxomobile) the MSRP on a nice Chevy Colorado gets dangerously close to a full-size Silverado, which might not have as many toys but sure would have a lot more capability.

There’s also the issue of a Ranger stealing sales from the Ford F-Series, the “best-selling” status of which has been a favorite marketing message for the company for years. Jeopardizing that would be a tough sell to Ford brass who put food on the table, no small thanks to the F-Series’ success.

Now a Bronco would be shaking up a segment of one: off-road, pure bred small SUVs. The Jeep Wrangler is the king and sole-resident of this market. And it’s incredibly popular.

Meanwhile Ford’s done a great job maintaining off-road cred with the Raptor. The Wrangler may have divine “iconic” status, but it’s expensive and inefficient and rides rough. If Ford could hit the Wrangler selling points that appeal to the everyman (convertible, removable doors, the idea of off-roadability) I think they could have a real shot at grabbing a big bite of Wrangler sales and maybe even getting some old Ford fans excited about the brand again.

They’d just have to watch out they didn’t make the same mistakes Toyota did with the FJ Cruiser: not make it a convertible, not make it remotely practical, and, uh, not making it look all that great.

Maybe we have cool things to look forward to. I hope so."

 

This one?

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/the-2016-ford-bronco-is-not-happening-shut-up-about-it-1673301945

 

Yup that one...

 

This is actually happening. Ill be working on the plant redesign at some point

 

http://www.ford.mx/camiones/ranger2015

 

The 2.7L Ecoboost and 2.3 Ecoboost would pull me into the Ford dealership for sure. Aluminum body wouldn't hurt either.

 

Simple...

Toyota's 3.5L -
270hp/261lb-ft

Ford's 2.7L -
310hp/330lb-ft (380hp/420lb-ft with a $500 ECU tune)

Any other questions?

 

Yup. Only had my Taco 8 months but now a future Ranger is at the top of the list as a future replacement for the same reasons.

 

Honda Ridgeline.

 

Reliability, refinement, resale value?

Don't get me wrong Fords been in the truck business for ages I'll give em that.

 

So far I haven't heard of any issues with Ford's EcoBoost engines, even the ones people are modifying to put out some pretty crazy numbers.

Ford is also working on a 10-speed transmission, which should result in some impressive fuel economy numbers, and I think they're planning to offer it in the 2018 F-150. However, that is one thing I'd have to see on the road for a while before I'd even consider it. If the truck is good enough I wouldn't care about resale, but safe to say that no truck will beat Tacoma's resale figures...ever.

 

Resale on an F150 is pretty darn good. It's in the top ten for retained value. Refinement is great on the F150s I have had. Reliability will be much like the 2016 Tacoma, uncertain for thr first few years. That being said if they use a current Ecoboost engine and transmission from the F150 in the global platform most of the parts will be proven by the time the Ranger hits our roads.

 

While I find the possibility of a new Ranger interesting I'll probably keep my Tacoma until the wheels fall off. It is a great truck for my needs and I'm hopeful that it will live up to it's reputation for reliability. My plan is to pick up a lightly used Focus RS in a couple of years and make the Tacoma my play/winter vehicle. The new Focus RS is going to be a BEAST, as is everything that Ford's new Performance Division is cranking out.

 

You ever read that fake article that came out a few years ago about a concept Ford Broncho? Thing looked drop dead gorgeous. It'd be awesome if they made a manly SUV. My wife wouldn't mind having an SUV, but she hates the soccer mom, rounded out puss mobiles that all the car companies make now. We like SUV's with a good stance and appeal...not a blown up car.

 

That 2.7L ecoboost motor intrigues me. That small of an engine pushing a full size truck to 60mph in under 7seconds... Pretty awesome

 

Makes my 2.7 feel like a 20R

 

It will be interesting to see if Ford ends up making a business case for a ranger. It won't be the global ranger. It only makes sense to make it a proper compact truck so it doesn't compete with the F150. The only question is if there is a big enough market for truly compact trucks to keep that plant busy, ie at least 100k trucks per year.

if they are stupid enough to just bring over the global ranger it will spark a price war in the midsize market and destroy any profitability. That'll be nice for consumers, except for resale. but the players will exit the market again and it will be a midsize desert for another 10 years.

 

I'd be up for a fresh looks Ranger that's cheaper and smaller than a Tacoma. A truck like that would be even more capable offroad.

 

It seems like a lot of people, me included, could get by with a smaller truck (1st gen size), but this is 'murica, home of the fat and lazy, so everything needs to be bigger for status reasons. I would love to see a small Ranger again, but Ford would have to build it from scratch, since the global Ranger is already mid-size. I just can't see them convincing the general populace that a smaller truck would be better.

 

I'm 6'3" / 230 LBS.

I'm not Mr. Universe, but I'm by no means a lard ass.

My Gen1 Taco fits, but, car seats don't.

My knees are in the dash if the seat isn't all the way back, to which it makes it tough to reach the steering wheel if my seat back isn't almost upright. If I do this, my head with probably touch the ceiling.