Who knew this about the Ford Ranger?

[Cmar]

What baffles me is that so many crew cab Rangers and Mavericks are sold. (yes I know the Maverick only has that option)
It seems that if you want a crew cab Ranger, you would be better served by another model of car/truck/SUV.
why did you buy a crew cab and not something else? Help me understand!

I bought a crew cab because now that the kids have grown up, and we have a caravan,
I :
Don't need to carry so much stuff in general so a smaller tub isn't really a problem
Now that the back seat is empty, I can pack my clean, daily use stuff in there when traveling and it's much easier to access via the rear doors
There is still enough room in the tub for general ute duties around our property
Pristine 4 doors are much more common and easier to buy secondhand, extra cabs usually have been someone else's work truck prior.

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[Jefferson Bruno]

Ford needed a factory, and had one scheduled for downtime. As early as 2013, Ford was floating the idea of a resurgence of the Bronco. Under Mark Fields, then CEO, some ideas and renderings started to gel, from a little Bronco ll size built off the South American Ford Troller, which was built off a shortened global Ranger T6 frame in 2014, before the US got the Ranger. Another concept was to use a modified F-150 frame.

Perfect storm.
By 2016, Ford wound down manufacturing in Australia, and the US Focus was discontinued and production ended in the spring of 2018 at Wayne MI, known internally as Michigan Assembly Plant or MAP. Ford already had a "Bronco" in South America (Troller) built on T6 architecture, so the return of the US Bronco on the T6 was a no brainer.
AUS Ranger tooling was packed up and shipped to MAP, and Ranger production began in late 2018 for the 2019 model year. The U275 2022 Bronco was also developed using the Ranger's T6 frame (shortened and widened) and production began in the summer off 2021.
The 2024 6G Ranger utilizes new the modular frame. It has a 2 inch wider track and a 2 inch longer wheelbase, with nearly identical overall length. The front axle is moved forward to make room for a larger cab and to accommodate a V6.
Ranger is still the unloved middle child within Ford NA, Stuck between the F-Series and the popular Maverick, and production of the Bronco is favored over the Ranger, 2,644 vs 12,143 Broncos produced in January 2024.

The 6G Ranger is scheduled to be in production until 2029 (2030MY), time will tell. No facts to back it up, but one scenario I come up with is the Ranger morphs to become a downsized "F100-150" while SuperDuty stays the same. More people are balking at, but still buying, big F150s and this would be a way to take advantage of Ranger's size and cost, and use the magic F-Series name.
Fun to watch.
2014 Brazilian Troller T4

Early Ford Bronco Concepts

Car Detailing Woodbridge Va

Such an interesting read! Thank you so much for sharing.

 

[RANGER_MARC]

Here's an article in the latest FA:
https://fordauthority.com/2024/02/farley-says-ford-almost-pulled-out-of-australia/

It caught my eye, but this is what I found the most interesting - it's an extract from the article - Farley states:

“The second highest volume vehicle at Ford is Ranger. Ranger globally outsells Super Duty. We are now number two in pickups outside of the U.S. and pickups are growing big time. We sell 5,000 Raptors in China for $150,000 each, and we’re the best-selling vehicle in Australia. We almost pulled out of Australia. The Ranger is number one in South Africa, huge pickup market. We’re number one in pickups in Europe. The Ranger is growing and super profitable in South America. It is our only vehicle in South America.”

Who knew???

I did not know the numbers on this, but I travel to Vietnam a lot (my wife is from there), and we see a lot of Rangers on the road--and Everests, too!

 

[RANGER_MARC]

I bought a crew cab because now that the kids have grown up, and we have a caravan,
I :
Don't need to carry so much stuff in general so a smaller tub isn't really a problem
Now that the back seat is empty, I can pack my clean, daily use stuff in there when traveling and it's much easier to access via the rear doors
There is still enough room in the tub for general ute duties around our property
Pristine 4 doors are much more common and easier to buy secondhand, extra cabs usually have been someone else's work truck prior.

Uh, is the "tub" what we call the "bed" here in the States?

 

[Tom_C]

They do not want to lose the "best selling pickup for xx years in a row".

In NA, I still maintain the reason the Ranger doesn't sell better is because they aren't MAKING that many Rangers. They've prioritized Bronco builds instead of Ranger builds. I think I read in January they only built a little over 100 Rangers - that is really sad.

I was at the fleet truck dealer a few weeks back cause that's where the service department is. I was shocked to see about half dozen Rangers and the same number of Mavericks on the lot. All White. Beside that you barely ever see a Ranger for sale at a dealer.

Pristine 4 doors are much more common and easier to buy secondhand, extra cabs usually have been someone else's work truck prior.

That's a good point. If/when I sell my scab Ranger, someone is gonna get an awesome, fully loaded Lariat in great condition. There probably won't be many others like that.

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