Escachero!
click above image for more views of the Escachero
Autoblog reader Johnny B. sent us these pics of a hybrid Ford Escort pickup he found that, quite honestly, should have been built by the Blue Oval, as it evokes everything that was good and right about the original Ford Ranchero. (Whoa, so much dripping sarcasm, it's getting tough to type.) In Johnny's words, it's got "all the power and versatility of an Escort with the comfort of a pickup." Wait, that should probably the other way around, but you get the idea. At this point, we'd take a Focichero to replace Ford's aging Ranger pickup that's got no replacement waiting in the wings as far as we know.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
psarhjinian 8:09PM (8/21/2007)
Say what you will about the Ranger, at least Ford still makes a compact pickup. The rest of the little trucks have been supersized beyond what's probably reasonable.
Of course, the half-tons are even more ridiculous..
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Harold Kerrick 8:23PM (8/21/2007)
Ford wouldn't build this for the same reason it won't update the Ranger: they believe there is no interest in compact pickups anymore. But Imagine a Focus wagon "re-jigged" and with the right options, sold as a smallish Ranchero type vehicle.
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SPG 9:00PM (8/21/2007)
Not bad, in fact it's pretty cool.
As far as the Ranger replacement comment...
It baffles me that there is no replacement as of yet for the Ranger. It's because they are still a huge seller in this segment and more often then not dominate North American compact truck sales. But why?
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Bryan 9:12PM (8/21/2007)
Definitely interesting. I think Ford should offer a new Ranger, same size. Price it as it is now, cheap. Then build a midsize to take on the others that have grown. Then the F150, then the Super Duties. Total dominance! It makes more since than too many CUV's. However, we need more new cars in Ford's portfolio right now than anything!
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A&W 9:16PM (8/21/2007)
I hope there is a market for a 'chero and 'mino of some kind. A while back there was a post featuring photo-chopped ideas for a Ranger replacement. They were all pretty cool so what's the hold up Detroit.
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Mark 9:19PM (8/21/2007)
A small (fuel efficient), affordable pickup would most likely do well in today's market. However, based on some of their decisions, I think Ford is really interested in making more cents than sense.
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JayP 9:27PM (8/21/2007)
Where's the new version of the 70's Rabbit pickup diesel?
Whoever can build a trucklet that'll carry 10 bags of mulch for the suburbanite will have a hit.
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catgirlshyla 9:29PM (8/21/2007)
This article fails for lack of backside pics.
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Stéphane Dumas 9:31PM (8/21/2007)
for a good replacement, there might be the Ford Courier currently sold in Mexico and Brazil http://www.ford.com.mx/vehicles/vehicles.asp?idModel=COU that would be ironic, the Ranger when it was introduced in 1982 replaced the Courier in Canada and the US.
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Bill 12:20AM (8/22/2007)
GM also has the Lumina Ute in South Africa, aka the Holden Ute in Australia. The compact Opel Corsa Utility is also the Chevy Montana in Brasil, and it think it looks much better than a Courier. Of course South Africa still has the VW Pickup, which is barely changed from the one we had in the US almost 30 years ago (and still looks neat I think!), and a more modern version in Brazil, the Saviero.
DHG 9:49PM (8/21/2007)
What I really don't understand is why an alternative Ranger exists but is not built or sold here in the US. Have a look at the Thai-built (at least I think it's Thai-built) new Ranger available in Europe and
elsewhere. It's small, not bad looking and comes with a diesel engine. Sounds like a reincarnated Isuzu P'up or VW Rabbit pickup.
http://www.ford.co.uk/ns7/ranger/-/-/-/-/3/559560
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bathtub gin 10:55PM (8/21/2007)
I don't know if it is built in Thailand, but the UK Ranger is a re-skinned version of the Mazda pickup sold elsewhere in the world, as I understand it. I dragged out the calculator one day and crunched some numbers. That truck is about the same size (smaller in some areas) as our Ranger, and according to the Ford of Britain site, it will tow 3,000 kg. I am not crazy about the styling, but that TDCI must be a pretty decent engine.
As a current Ranger owner (nearly 170k miles on my XLT), it makes me sad that Ford seems content to let it whither away and die in this manner. They went from 330,000 Rangers in 2000 to less than 100,000 last year. Granted - everyone is down. Only the Taco sold more than 100k last year. Still, if Ford came out with a new, modern Ranger, they should have no problem selling 150 - 200k trucks.
Andy 9:55PM (8/21/2007)
Someone on the rs25.com forums saw a fiesta trucklet
http://www.rs25.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66886&page=1&pp=15
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robz4 10:37PM (8/21/2007)
I think it looks kind of weird and cool at the same time ( like a small modern version of EL CAMINO ). I would rather drive that than the original Escort that is based on.Then again any body rigidity is probably gone after that chop-chop job.
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Crazy 11:11PM (8/21/2007)
Has anyone bother looking at the Australian Falcon ute?
Think modern day Rachero and the GM version as a El Camino. The Ford comes with tasty options of a turbo DOHC VVTi 4 litre straight six or 5.4L DOHC V8 and the GM with the 6 litre LS series V8
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Dave 11:50PM (8/21/2007)
They got it wrong. The Ranchero was built from a stationwagon....that looks like it was a regular hatchback escort.
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no_slushbox 1:40AM (8/22/2007)
Thailand has a huge compact pickup market for some reason, so Ford and the Japanese make modern compact pickups in that market. However, there is a 25% tariff on foreign pickups, so to have any potential in the US market the assembly has to be moved here. That is why we're stuck with the old Ranger even though everyone else has a new one.
The Colorado/Canyon is actually the same size as the Ranger, so the Ranger isn't the only compact truck, but I think there is room for a compact car based 'amino/'chero in the US market. This Escorchero thing shows that there is potential for a small car based pickup to be used for work, and not just to exist as a novelty.
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_Jon 8:59AM (8/22/2007)
The next-gen Ranger is based upon what is in Korea now.
It is being engineered for the US market (in Korea) and will most likely be built in Korea and shipped to the US.
How's that for "outsourcing"?
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h8rain 9:19AM (8/22/2007)
I wish I had a camera with me, but I saw sitting in a parking lot one day a Honda Del Sol that had the trunk "converted" to be what looked like a 2 foot truck bed.
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