Had to get a new 2011 Ranger..

[schlepper65]

Well, I finally had to break down and get a new Ranger before they shutter the plant over in St Paul in December. I did some searching and found a nice Ranger that my local dealer did a trade for, and I picked it up tonight. Its a black XLT Supercab 4DR 4x4 with manual tranny and the rear slider window and the Payload Package 2. Exactly what I wanted (though skid plates would have been nice). It has a build date of Aug 29th. Drove it home tonight- very happy with it! Yeah, they havent updated the design on these things in years, but its perfect for what I am looking for. All the Ford and dealer rebates out there now are just insane so I had to get one of the last ones off the line. Very sad to see the Ranger line shutting down!! Also unhappy with Ford for bringing the new 2012 Ranger to the rest of the world, but not the US .. I guess the mighty F150 market share was too important to them ... (the F150 is a great truck, but why get out of the compact truck market because of it?!)

Oh well, at least I have a great locally-made truck that will last a long, long time ..

 

[schlepper65]

p.s. I still have my trusty '97 Explorer XL 4-door manual tranny 4x4 too... that thing will just not give up, even with over 193k miles ...

 

[RangerX]

Congrats! What engine does it have?

 

[schlepper65]

The new Ranger has the 4.0 6cyl engine ... same as my '97 Explorer, though with a lot more HP!

 

[LONO100]

pictures please!

 

[Brutus93]

You should read Ford's excuses about not bringing the new ranger to North America. You can find it online easily. I just posted something to that effect on another thread on this site about a half hour ago. It makes me sick. Very comical in a bad way, good for both a laugh and a cry. It may also make you angry like me, LOL!

 

[Brutus93]

I also used to have an explorer that I named Dora... it was a '92, and it was my second one, LOL!

 

[Brutus93]

Here's the link to my post. As I said, you can get it from the horses mouth online... not hard to find...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226949&page=7

 

[Brutus93]

This was not the entire article I read, however it is the closest thing I could find right now. The articles that were helplessly easy to find have somehow 'disappeared' (imagine that). Almost every hit now has been fabricated in the last few months. I think 'somebody' is not receptive to bad publicity. Here is the link that best reflects what I read a year ago:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/official-next-ford-ranger-not-coming-to-north-america.html

 

[Brutus93]

Here's another one... again... not the original...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/01/ford-replacing-ranger-with-f-150-focus-fiesta/

P1$$3s me off!!!

White-collars should run banks.
Engineers should run trains.
Practical hands-on blue-collars should run the auto industry.

Get your head out of where it shouldn't be! If you can't make a smart decision then don't. Plain and simple... Ford just sat back, ignored it and let it die. That is what happened. They just won't ever admit it.

 

[schlepper65]

Ranger buyers would be better suited and steered to a Fiesta or a Focus... are they INSANE?! Gee... let's see, I bought my Ranger for the decent sized pickup box for tossing stuff in to, the 4x4, the Class III trailer hitch and payload package for heavy stuff, and the fact that it was a Minnesota-made, reliable, old-school pickup truck. Why in God's name would I want to be "steered" towards a Focus or Fiesta?! Don't get me wrong, I am sure the Fiesta and the Focus are solid cars for their market, but really/!? For a Ranger buyer?!

 

[Brutus93]

...I believe you and I are on the same page. A solid time-tested rugged platform is nothing to sneeze at. Easily serviced by a capable person, almost 20 years without any major changes (save for the front suspension and front frame... improved!), not to mention everything we have already discussed.

If it were up to me it would be a mutiny...

Engineers should stick to running trains, car-guys should be designing cars. Management should be slapped upside the head. A Ford Fiesta would not survive a month of what my Ranger does every day. I wonder how the warranty department would handle that... wait, I know. The vehicle was not intended for that purpose...

...I digress...

 

[Brutus93]

...one more thing... don't get me started on why the F-150 has not been offered with a stick-shift since 2003. That's right! Only automatics. I have no use for an auto tranny either! What is this world coming to???

 

[unclemeat]

It was engineers that designed the Ranger, not a car guy. I love my 04 Level II. I may still try to buy one before they disappear.

 

[schlepper65]

I have been trying to get a pic posted, but there seems to be a lack of ability to copy/paste a photo, or add an attachment, to get one on here... I dont remember it being like that before, so I must be missing something?

 

[schlepper65]

It was engineers that designed the Ranger, not a car guy. I love my 04 Level II. I may still try to buy one before they disappear.

By all means, get out and get one... the good new ones are going pretty quick, most dealers have used up their allotments to order anything now and what they have is the last of what they will get.. The official closure date of the plant is Dec 19th, and I dont even know if they will still be in production to that date ..