Autoblog

A sentimental goodbye to the last Ford Ranger

Zach Bowman — Sun, 27 May 2012 20:02:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Truck, Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Videos, Ford

It's been more than five months since the Twin Cities Assembly Plant in St. Paul, Minnesota went dark. The facility produced Ford vehicles for nearly 100 years before finally being closed as part of ongoing restructuring. The closure coincided with the production of the very last North American Ford Ranger.

As you may recall, that machine is currently in service with Orkin. The website HappyWrenching.com has worked up a video commemorating the plant's final days in operation, and the clip gives us all a look into the atmosphere surrounding the pickup as it rolled off of the assembly line.

Well shot and with plenty of sentimental music, the video gives us yet another reason to miss the old Ranger. Check out the clip for yourself. Bring a hankie.

Continue reading A sentimental goodbye to the last Ford Ranger

A sentimental goodbye to the last Ford Ranger originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 27 May 2012 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Ford Ranger to be built mid-month, already sold to Orkin

Noah Joseph — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Work, Ford

The Ranger pickup has been an integral part of the Ford truck lineup for decades. But later this month, that will cease to be - at least here in the States. That's when the very last Ranger will roll off the assembly line in St. Paul, Minnesota. And what do you know, it's already found a buyer.

The last Ranger has been sold to Orkin, the pest control company that already relies on fleets of white Rangers (and Chevrolet Colorado pickups) with the red diamond logo on the door and all manner of insecticides and other tools of the trade in the back.

"Since 1983, Orkin has used the Ford Ranger as its primary fleet vehicle because it's a reliable and economical truck," Paul Youngpeter, Director of Fleet for Rollins, Inc. (Orkin's parent company) tells Autoblog. "We're honored that Ford has agreed that we will get the last Ranger, and we'll put into our regular service rotation before it's retired to our corporate archives or used for training."

Orkin says they've got enough Rangers to last them for now, and that the company will pick a successor when the time comes. For our part, it seems only fitting to us that a terminated model should be used by exterminators, but one way or another, at least the final Ranger will be put to good use.

Final Ford Ranger to be built mid-month, already sold to Orkin originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. Ford Ranger production ending this December

Steven J. Ewing — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:28:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

After nearly 30 years, it's finally time for the sun to set on the Ford Ranger. The folks at PickupTrucks.com report that the latest United Auto Workers 879 newsletter states that the Ranger will stop production on December 22, 2011. UAW 879 covers factory workers at Ford's Twin Cities assembly plant in Minnesota where the Ranger is built.

As of this writing, Ford has no plans to offer a replacement for the Ranger here in the United States. However, the automaker just released a larger, brand-new Ranger that will be available in other markets later this year. In the United States, Ford hopes that prospective Ranger customers will look to the entry-level Ford F-150 with its 3.7-liter V6 for pickup truck needs.

In speaking to Autoblog last year, Ford says that its research shows that the vast majority of Ranger customers don't even buy the vehicle because it's a pickup. Instead, these Rangers are sold because customers are looking for the least-expensive, most economical Ford vehicle available. Ford hopes that the Fiesta will fill this void for most people, as well as the Transit Connect, for those who need hauling capability.

U.S. Ford Ranger production ending this December originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visit Motorplex Minneapolis, the Twin Cities' incredible garage village

Aaron Richardson — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:56:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos

Motorplex Minneapolis - Click above to view video after the jump

Motorplex Minneapolis is a one-of-a-kind condo development in the suburban Twin Cities. Unlike most condominium spreads, it's not in a garden spot for vacations, and doesn't have a golf course. That's because it doesn't need any of that. The brainchild of former corporate exec Bruno Silikowsky, Motorplex is a country club for cars.

Silikowsy developed the idea partly as a business proposition and partly to satisfy his own dream of a country club atmosphere for car guys. Opened in 2008, Motorplex offers 120 unfinished garage units ranging in size and price from $40,000 all the way up to $500,000. Owners can do with the interiors of their "man caves" as they please, and almost all of the units make any even the most well thought-out home garage look like a shotgun shack.

What's perhaps nicest about the Minnesota garage mahal complex is that twice a month, the whole place is open to the public, creating convivial impromptu car shows. Not only is it a nice community-minded gesture, the owner admits it's also been great for finding new clients - Minneapolis Motorplex is 97-percent occupied.

Silikowsy says he's looking to add more units to the 40-acre spread, which he says was designed to look like a European village. It looks a bit more like a bunch of stylized steel buildings outside to us, but who cares? Now all it needs is a racetrack. Click through to the jump for the NBC KARE 11 video.

Continue reading Visit Motorplex Minneapolis, the Twin Cities' incredible garage village

Visit Motorplex Minneapolis, the Twin Cities' incredible garage village originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S.-spec Ford Ranger to officially end production in 2011, Ford explains why

Zach Bowman — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 01:00:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Truck, Ford

If you live in the States, say goodbye to the Ford Ranger. The oft-neglected baby pickup from the Blue Oval is set to end production at its Twin Cities Assembly Plant in Minnesota next year, thereby kicking Dearborn out of the segment for the first time in nearly 30 years. The rest of the world won't be without a Ranger, though. Ford is set to pull the sheets back on the newest version of the global truck at the Australian International Motor Show next month, though released this intriguing teaser image in the meantime. It's bigger, slated for 180 markets spread all over the planet and it ain't for us. The question is: Why not?

In order to head that quandary off at the pass, Ford wanted to us in on its reasoning behind killing off the Ranger in the U.S. market. Derrick Kuzak, Ford's Vice President of Global Product Development, was kind enough to give us a few minutes out of his time to answer that question and more. Get the answers after the jump.

Continue reading U.S.-spec Ford Ranger to officially end production in 2011, Ford explains why

U.S.-spec Ford Ranger to officially end production in 2011, Ford explains why originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Despite meeting with governor, Ford set to close Minnesota Ranger plant

Chris Paukert — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

2010 Ford Ranger - Click above for high-res image gallery

According to The Detroit News, Ford officials met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty yesterday to discuss the future of the automaker's St. Paul assembly plant. The facility, which builds Ford's Ranger compact pickup has been earmarked for closure for some time, but despite the roundtable session, the Blue Oval says it still plans to shutter its operations.

Pawlenty's administration had been hoping that the signing of a new state law in April allowing the government to offer Ford a series of tax breaks would be enough to keep the Twin Cities operations open, but apparently it wasn't enough - the plant will close, although an end-date remains uncertain.

Closing the plant will also close the book on the aging Ranger, though Ford has confirmed that the model name will live on with other, larger models in foreign markets. Thus far, rumors of a new North American Ranger (and even an on-air slip by Ford president Alan Mulally) have amounted to nothing, and with Ford committed introducing more economical engines to its F-150 full-size pickup, it appears highly unlikely that a U.S. Ranger will receive an encore any time soon.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Report: Despite meeting with governor, Ford set to close Minnesota Ranger plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Evergreener: Long-running Ford Ranger augments safety features for 2010

Chris Paukert — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:03:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Safety, Ford

Click on the image above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Ford Ranger

Despite dwindling sales in a dwindling segment, Ford's Ranger refuses to pack up. For 2010, the compact pickup looks unchanged on the outside, but beneath the skin it gains some new electronic gubbins to help make it more competitive.

In the main, the trucklet soldiers on into its next model year with a larger complement of standard safety equipment. Traction and stability control (AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control in Blue Oval-speak) will be built into every 2010 Ranger, along with new side airbags designed to protect the head and torso.

The rest of the package continues essentially unaltered, with Ford continuing to wave the Ranger's banner as America's most fuel-efficient pickup (the base 2.3-liter four-cylinder nets 21 miles-per-gallon in the city and 26 mpg on the highway).

Rumors have persisted that the Ranger might be euthanized ahead of its Twin Cities production plant's scheduled closing in 2011 - and indeed, just yesterday word came down that the truck's assembly lines will be idled for an additional two weeks due to slow sales. But the added investment in safety equipment for 2010 would seem to indicate that the Ranger is likely to soldier on until the plant's scheduled closing date. Click on the jump for Ford's official press release.

Gallery: 2010 Ford Ranger

[Sources: Ford Motor Company; Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Continue reading Evergreener: Long-running Ford Ranger augments safety features for 2010

Evergreener: Long-running Ford Ranger augments safety features for 2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Could Ford plant closing in Twin Cities strike Olympic gold for Minnesota?

Chris Paukert — Mon, 01 May 2006 13:04:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

If Ford decides to broom the company's Highland Park complex in 2008 as rumored, the Twin Cities want to be ready. Instead of Blue Ovals, local officials are thinking Olympic rings.

The truck plant is being floated as being one of the potential locations that might help entice Minnesotans make a bid for the 2016 or 2020 Olympics. The factory was part of a list pitched to city officials at the St. Paul City Hall.

Despite the earlier bid date being about a decade away, the amount of preparation and wooing needed to court the attentions of the International Olympic Committee is substantial, so the much of the groundwork would need to be laid over the next couple of months.

[Source: City Hall Scoop]

Could Ford plant closing in Twin Cities strike Olympic gold for Minnesota? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 May 2006 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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