Spy Shots: Is this the next-generation Ford Ranger? And if so, will we get it?
Ford's recent strategy of combining all of its vehicles from around the world on a single set of platforms may finally bring a new Ranger small pickup truck to the United States once the current model loses its long-running lease on life after the 2011 model year. Spy shooters from the other side of the world have snapped off a series of photos of Ford engineers out testing what appears to be the Blue Oval's next-gen small truck platform in both right- and left-hand-drive configurations.The new platform is apparently codenamed T6 and it is being developed in Australia. Here in the States, the next Ranger (if we get one) is likely to be offered with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine fortified with Ford's EcoBoost technology. Expect around 175 horsepower and 180 lb-ft of torque from the turbocharged and direct injected mill. Unfortunately, we're not likely to see Ford's 3.0-liter Duratorq TDCi four-cylinder turbodiesel engine in the U.S., though we'd love to have access to its 280 lb-ft of twist. Ah well, can't win 'em all.
[Source: PickupTrucks.com]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg "2011 Audi A8: Live from Miami")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alex 2:45PM (5/12/2009)
A small pick-up with a diesel would be awesome for me. When is Mihandra coming?
Reply
RL 2:45PM (5/12/2009)
As long as it doesn't LOOK like that
Reply
socom149 2:50PM (5/12/2009)
Has anyone noticed this is actually the Mazda version of the truck? Just look at the grill its pretty obvious.
Reply
Randy 2:56PM (5/12/2009)
Take it one step further! Look at the badge! It's indeed a Mazda Logo!
C.W. 3:03PM (5/12/2009)
Well....duh...
if you follow the link to the article they even mention the body-work being the Mazda BT-50... keyword here: MULES... you take pieces of whatever is similar thats lying around and you use it to conceal the new model's underpinnings!!
"The engineering mules seen in these pictures might look like facelifted, double-cab versions of the Mazda BT-50 that’s sold outside the U.S. and shares a common platform with the Thai-built overseas Ford Ranger, but sources say their duct tape and cobbled bodies hide the mechanicals and running gear of Ford’s next-generation global small truck. That new pickup will likely mean all Ford Ranger models would be built on a single global platform, codenamed "T6" that's being designed in Australia. The current overseas Ford Ranger shares only its name with the Ranger built for North America."
Randy 8:57PM (5/12/2009)
Ahh! I didn't read the off-site article!
See what happens when you don't use due diligence..... Sea Urchin.... ;)
(Just busting your flippers)
Tomac 2:53PM (5/12/2009)
I'd like to see the Ranger stick around, but if this is it, then spiritually it fills more of an F100 slot in the lineup, at least from a historical perspective. In my opinion "compact" pickups have become too large. If this is the new Ranger, then I'd like to see Ford bring back the Courier as a true compact. A cheap thrifty runabout with a small bed would make a great second vehicle for the casual do-it-yourselfer.
Reply
Greg Aryous 2:57PM (5/12/2009)
Test mules cover the outside bodywork with camoflage so you can't see the real thing! To think this is the finished body is... stupid... where have you been, never see a test mule before... hello!
The premium engine could be the 2.0L I4 EcoBoost with 250HP and 250ft-lbs... there is that better! Just need to wait until 2012 cause this is low priority for Ford.
Reply
Tang 3:00PM (5/12/2009)
What about shoving a 3.5L regular and EcoBoost into the Ranger... then you would get something decent and an SVT variant? :D
Reply
Neuropix 3:05PM (5/12/2009)
It's a BT-50 from Mazda.
Reply
Iwa 3:05PM (5/12/2009)
I still don't understand why the current Mazda BT-50 and the Australian Ford Ranger were never brought here to the US. The current Ranger/B-Series truck is long outdated, and really wasn't that great of a truck to begin with.
Reply
The Luigiian 3:26PM (5/12/2009)
For years, there were two major components of the Ranger:
1. To upsell people desiring an offroader/light duty hauler/tower into an F-150.
2. To sell to fleets, companies that couldn't afford a full-size truck for operations, and commuters for employees.
Had Ford redesigned the Ranger it would have made both of those points obsolete. It would take sales away from the F-150, made less profit than the F-150 did, and the higher cost of development would have eliminated much of its allure for fleets and corporate upper-ups.
Now that America's gotten the fuel crisis thing going on again, Ford realizes it has to build a new midsize/compact truck.
The thing that this truck will have that the international Ranger didn't have is a really, really fuel-efficient engine. The current Ranger sold internationally weighs about the same as a Nissan Frontier, and had Ford imported it it would have had similar problems (too much weight for the base four to handle, for example, and mediocre fuel economy.) The new Ecoboost four will allow for big power and big mileage from the new Ranger, which will give it a real reason to exist.
Note that no mention has been given of an engine bigger than the four. This truck's going to be designed for people who need good mileage out of their truck, not necessarily for hijinks.
As for me, I like the concept. The only thing I'd like more is if Nissan actually updated their dinky four-banger on the Frontier and gave it around the same power as the Ranger Ecoboost will have. If Chevy can get 20 mpg and 190 hp out of the base Colorado four, I don't understand why Nissan can't find an engine for the Frontier that makes more than 160 hp.
The Luigiian 3:29PM (5/12/2009)
And of course, when I say I wish Nissan could find a better engine for the Frontier, I mean aside from the nice four-liter V-6 the Frontier's got.
VP 3:15PM (5/12/2009)
Why did the compact truck segment disappear? The market leader Tacoma is no compact, the Colorado is a half baked dish. The Ranger is as old as me. The Dodge has always been oversized for this segment.
Most people don't need a F-150, Tacoma or Silverado. I might carry some stuff from Lowes or Home Depot and occasional bulk items. For these a modern Ranger would be perfect. Even though i am a Chevy guy the Ranger has always been the best in segment and it is too bad Ford has let it rot in the sun like this.
Reply
Iwa 3:23PM (5/12/2009)
The compact truck market disappeared due to growing to match Dodge Dakota, i.e. midsize. Dodge dumped their compact truck, the Ram 50 a rebadged Mitsubishi Mighty Max, back in 1993.
Yikes 5:41PM (5/12/2009)
With the USA imposing a 25% import tax on trucks, all the companies making small trucks stopped importing them.
Detroit wants to you to buy full sized trucks because they have the highest profit margin.
Hence the disappearing of compact trucks.
Azrael4h 7:20PM (5/12/2009)
Yikes - If people bought the trucks, then the automakers would have continued to sell them. How many D50's do you see? Not many. The Ford Ranger and the Chevy S10 have been the only large volume sellers, and the S10 was allowed to wither on the vine until sales dropped off and it was dropped. The Ranger was held onto even longer, but since it's been the only compact in a long while, there was no where for compact buyers to go.
Consipiracy theories and drug-induced hallucinations don't belong anywhere. The U.S. market wanted full size trucks and SUV's, and the U.S. manufacturers responded. Even Toyota and Nissan responded, bringing their former compacts up to midsize, and introducing full size trucks. Even during the gas crisis' of before, compact trucks have never been a huge seller.
The closest other truck to a compact we have is the Ridgeline, which has the capability of a compact, with the drawbacks of a fullsize.
Colby 3:30PM (5/12/2009)
That hood is hideous. It looks like a vw rabbit based truck.
Reply
Jared 3:54PM (5/12/2009)
It's just a mule. Don't expect that the production vehicle will look much like the mule.
Mike 3:29PM (5/12/2009)
It would make sense for them to bring all the smallish pickups back under the Ranger nameplate.
There will probably be a market for a well done mid to small size pickup when fuel goes back up. At that time, the Sport Trac will die with the regular Explorer and they can do a regular, super, and crew-cab version of a new Ranger.
I wouldn't doubt we'll see a new Ranger before the old one dies.
Reply