Due to the impending death of the American compact truck market, Ford has officially decided to not sell the next generation Ford Ranger in the States after 2011. Instead, the Blue Oval will concentrate on making its half-ton F-150 an all-around contender with a broader engine range. Apparently Ford doesn't think the compact pickup truck market in the States is too important (and at 2%, it really isn't).
Ford's decision to kill its American compact pickup has a couple reasons behind it: competitors offer better options that would cost too much to compete against, and more importantly, the segment is simply dying and not worth investing in. By canceling the US Ranger, Ford will be shutting down its St. Paul, Minnesota assembly plant.
The bottom line is that Ford can and has justified spending its money elsewhere. One example is moving some of its former Ranger fleet purchases to Transit Connects, which makes a lot of sense.
For all those compact pickup fans, there is an upside: markets that make use of small trucks will be getting a new Ranger very soon. The next, more efficient compact pickup will debut at Sydney's Australian International Motor Show. The truck was designed in Australia, which has been on a roll lately with great designs and ideas (e.g. the new Falcon GT and Cruze Hatchback).
The world's next Ranger should come with EcoBoost power and four and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines. As soon as we get some more info closer to its debut, you know where to come.
By Phil Alex
Source: USA Today
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