Ford is a joke. The cars they are making are a joke. My family is a Ford Family. I myself have owned 5 Rangers and currently own a 2006 F150. Just look at the ranger, you see that thing everywhere. You cant drive 2 miles down the road without passing one. Ford has absolutely refused to remodel the thing in the past 13 years. The 93 is the same as the 2007, with the exception of the suspension(98-current has ifs). I have owned 2 1993 model rangers a 2wd and 4wd, a 1999 ext. cab 4wd, a 2001 ext. cab 4wd, and a 2004 ext. cab 4wd. I can tell you the trucks Quality and fit and finish got cheaper and cheaper every year. I can not understand why Ford has abandoned the ranger, Ford sold a ton of the little trucks. My sister and mother have always owned the Taurus or Focus. Climb through a Ford model car and then climb through a toyota, honda or even a nissan and tell me which one is better. Ford is starting to lose there grip on the Fullsize and work truck market also, Every city and town had F150's, F250's and Ford vans as thier work vehicles. Now you see chevy's and Dodges. The same geos for police vehicles. When you own the market like ford did how do you lose it overnight in these areas. Did you see the new escape, absolutely UGLY, the thing looks like a vehicle ford produces for the over sea's market. The only vehicles ford makes that is worth a damn are the mustang and F150-F350.

 

Maybe Ford isn't the joke. Here you have the Ranger, true they haven't done anything to the truck, but also look at the numbers that Ford looks at. They haven't touched it and it still outsells the competition. Now if they went and redesigned the way that they should(like a V-8 and a true back seat-doors) then you will take buyers away from the bigger trucks. The Ranger is suppose to be a small economical truck.

 

I am new here but I have to jump in and give my opinion.I have been car shoppingandhave to say that Ford has fallen behind. ( No sport sedans, SVT Focus, Mustang is too costly ) TheAmericanbuyers can do better elsewhere, the 10,000 employees who use to work at Fordwere victims of a Board of Directors that may have not been qualified to run the car company.It also seems that Europe and theU.S. somehow get different cars and different engines, the U.S. usually gets the worst and that just bothers me as a car buyer. Fordjust makes a car good enought to sell it's first year and saves up-grades and more power for future years when sales are down.( WHY? it hasn't worked ) Where is the turboSVT Focus (not available here) ora FocusST (N.A.) with the 225 hp 2.5 liter 5 cylinder. I would also like to see the MustangGT with the multi-valve supercharged V8 standard and notfor 40,000 dollars, that just crazy! What is worst of all is that the executives and CEO, after a lost of 12.7 billion and 10,000 jobshave decided to give themselves a bonus.( a reward for incompetence ) They should have used that bonus time trying to save their company, it's employees and stock holders!


I really hope that Ford will use this as a wake up call and make somethinggreat for the averagecar buyer. We will see!

 

I have an old saying.."If it aint broke,dont fix it"..Our truck sales are good...ranger, e-series and f-series...times change and so does the demand for different vehicles...compact truck sales arent what they used to be for any company...redesign and retooling costs would outweigh the benefits...crossovers are big now..As far as the econoline van we are the leaders in sales for full sized cargo units....we cant build them fast enough...10 hour shifts 5 to 6 days a week..and thats 2 shifts per day...close to 1000 built in a 24 hour period out of one plant....Ford is trying to take bolder steps to increase saled by introducing new vehicles that the people want, not what "we" think they will want...unfortunatly products fall out of popularity and wind up discontinued..leaving workers to relocate or worse, unemployed...Ford is trying to build plants now that are "multi-platform",,so if a vehicles loses its saled a new product can be built in the same plant with the same workers..saving on rebuilding,retooling and retraining..I too come from a "Ford" family and i like my Fords....I also take great pride in buying an Amarican owned and made vehicle, whatever the brand..It keeps mony in our country...and,"American" auto manufacturing jobs are some of the highest paying,and best benifit "blue collar" jobs in our country....Well....enough flag waving...Whatever you buy."good luck"try and keep faith in American companies..we need you now more than ever..

 

I myself own 2 rangers, a 1995 and a 2003. I think they are the best truck ever. They are reliable, simple, and they get all the work done thats needed. I have hauled and pulled more with my 95 than it ever was supposed to, and have actually treated it pretty badly. I am not good with getting my oil changes on time at all. It currently has 211,000 miles on it and counting. In fact its still on its original spark plugs! That is a quality vehical, and its driven daily. So who cares if they haven't changed? They still do the job.
And as for your toyota loving comment, my sister just bought a brand new Ford Fussion. I can't believe how many people have commented on how great that car is and they wish they would have bought one. For 21,000 bucks she got twice the car as the 23,000 toyota offered.
The full size truck I drive for work, its a company vehical, is stripped down to bare bones. That 2wd V6 pushes snow better than that Dodge Ramthey have. So be thankful that there is a great quality vehical out there to choose over all the others. Oh if you don't like Ford why post on an all Ford Forum?

 

I don't know what you think - But I think they should have stuck with the Ford police vehicles. They even have the option of bullet-proof doors now. As far as the Chevy cop cars - I'm a bad boy for feeling this way - but I could whack 'em with my Ford truck and roll 'em like a ball they're so small. Second - I prefer less changes to vehicles. That means that parts are more available and CHEAPER. Even rich guys know the advantage of keeping a dollar in your pocket. I do think each model should have at least onenoticable change though. You may think Ford's a joke but mine has around 300,000 miles on. I think in general the complexity of assemblies of new cars is the only joke. (Let's face it - who needs a new car when your old models have so much more potential for repairing yourself?) I will go along with the other guy though - why so rough? andif you don't like your Fords why post on a Ford site. If you want some action - try telling Ford what you want. Nobody says you can't throw out a couple ideas or wants to the higher-ups. To conclude - I must mention how dumb putting fiberglass fenders on a rough-duty truck is. Fiberglass is more brittle and can't be dented back out - it shatters. I hope they change back to steel fenders and just rust proof the bottom edges and inner fender areas better. How about offering a choice of fiberglass or steel fenders?

 

I am new to the forums, joined today, was just crusing the net and found this forum and was reading some issues on ford rangers when I seen this post and it made me a little sad.Ihave owned fords all my life,I have put over 100,000 miles on each,65 ford falcon (100,000 plus),79 mercury couger (120,000 +) 85 ford escort(100,000 +) 89 ford ranger my current ride(171,000 and counting) has been through the mill and back, a real work horse for the size.I have hauled and towed more than it's rated for with out any problems.95 ford escort my wifes car(124,000 plus when traded) 2002 F150 (143.000 and still counting) with just the recomened maintenance,I like the dependabilty of myfords, so don't trash the ford company. they are doing what keeps ford alive in the market today.

 

Well, i'm a new Ford customer. I've ordered my new 2007 Ranger Sport 4x4 because I wanted a SMALL economical pickup. I've driven the F150 and it felt like I was in an Airbus, rather than a truck. I think the truck looks great and is economical. My family have all owned rangers throughout the years and not had any problems. That's a track record I can live with. Does the truck still look good? I think so. I like the new 2007 Escape, it looks way better than the 2005 my brother bought. And for 0% financing, $1000 of the sticker price and $1000 of free accessories. how couldI say no?

 

living in australia, ford has only just released the ranger in oz for the first time a few months ago so they are rare as over here. as for ford being a joke, the falcons over here are brilliantly made and have a huge following (bloody heaps of them on the road)and its only in the last few years that ford over here has started to have problems due to increase in fuel prices. falcon, being a large car has suffered sales decreases because of this.people are buying smaller cars more and because of this,ford australia is bringing out the new mondeo later in the year. i think ford everywhere needs to react to the global conditions (fuel, global warming, emmisions etc) and start building cars that the masses want whilst still having the good ford models that arepassionate/hero cars such as oz's performance falcons and your mustangs.

 

I myself is an Ford enthusiast have been with my ranger for years... Just wanted a small economical truck.. As for Ford a joke, even if they have not make any innovation with their performance truck parts... Still they are surviving in the market... It is because car buyers still wanted to have an affordable, economical and reliable car's... Beside who wants to buy cars that are too pricey but has a really low quality... On the other side, it would be a interesting endeavor for Ford to make some necessary innovation to make their cars stand up in the auto market...