Ford Market News

[Jamaican Bulldog]

On 10/11/2018 at 12:30 AM, m16ty said:

Ford must have changed his tune, or at least didn't mind reaping profits of Hitler's defeat. Ford was heavily involved in the war effort, being the major supplier of Jeeps, among other things.

 

I made the  same point a few years ago when I had a couple looking for a pre-owned SUV. Based on the description of their needs and price point I pointed a low mileage Lincoln MKX. They promptly scoffed " Ugh, that means it is made by Ford and Henry Ford supported Hitler". In the same breath they said "we prefer this MAZDA over here". I thought to myself about this couple, if a Lincoln today bothers you based on  'Hitler' context of yesterday why wouldn't a Japanese car? 😏 

Edited October 17, 2018 by Jamaican Bulldog

[Jamaican Bulldog]

Regarding the VW-Ford possible tie up. We constantly get people trying to trade out of their VWs due to constant quality problems and the they are expensive to diagnose and fix. It would have been more beneficial to Ford to keep its joint venture with Mazda. Both brands benefited especially Ford who derived some of its most successful vehicles in the last 20+ yrs from Mazda platforms such as first gen Fusion, Escape, Edge and their Lincoln siblings plus 4cyl engines. Not to mention models sold outside of N/A.

 

[kscarbel2]

19 minutes ago, Jamaican Bulldog said:

Regarding the VW-Ford possible tie up. We constantly get people trying to trade out of their VWs due to constant quality problems and the they are expensive to diagnose and fix. It would have been more beneficial to Ford to keep its joint venture with Mazda. Both brands benefited especially Ford who derived some of its most successful vehicles in the last 20+ yrs from Mazda platforms such as first gen Fusion, Escape, Edge and their Lincoln siblings plus 4cyl engines. Not to mention models sold outside of N/A.

 

It would have been more beneficial if Ford had kept Volvo car.

[Maxidyne]

Actually I've found it easier to diagnose my VW's than my Ford because I can buy the VAG_COM diagnostic software that does the same job as VW's dealer software for $250. With Ford anything beyond the capabilities of a generic OBDII code reader requires an expensive trip to the dealer. Ford's service manuals aren't real friendly either, a lot of mechanical stuff seems to require supplements to the vehicle specific manual.

[Dirtymilkman]

I typed vag .com and get porn 😆

[Red Horse]

I'll agree with JB and KSC.  Should have kept the position in Mazda as well as Volvo.

[Maxidyne]

1 hour ago, Dirtymilkman said:

I typed vag .com and get porn 😆

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/

[Jamaican Bulldog]

23 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

It would have been more beneficial if Ford had kept Volvo car.

Not so sure about Volvo, at the time it seemed to make sense to sell it because the core Ford brand was being neglected while it spent alot on Volvo etc. Also selling off those brands helped Ford to be in a better position to not take bailout. However, there could also be an argument that since they spent so much they should have kept it and JLR. The Chinese  and Tata are now benefiting from those investment. The Volvo platform that still underpins the current Explorer and Taurus vehicles were expensive but Ford didn't benefit as much as synergies with Mazda. I think Ford made a better bang for the buck on the number of successful platforms and engines they produced with Mazda especially for low profit overseas market and small cars. The Ford Focus for example would have been even more successful if Ford had shared the skyactiv powertrain with Mazda rather than lose market share and tarnish the Focus's reputation with the troublesome double clutch transmission they had used to help compete for better mpg. Actually some of the current ecoboost 4cyl engines were derived from  engines originally developed or sourced from Mazda.

[kscarbel2]

26 minutes ago, Jamaican Bulldog said:

Not so sure about Volvo, at the time it seemed to make sense to sell it because the core Ford brand was being neglected while it spent alot on Volvo etc. Also selling off those brands helped Ford to be in a better position to not take bailout. However, there could also be an argument that since they spent so much they should have kept it and JLR. The Chinese  and Tata are now benefiting from those investment. The Volvo platform that still underpins the current Explorer and Taurus vehicles were expensive but Ford didn't benefit as much as synergies with Mazda. I think Ford made a better bang for the buck on the number of successful platforms and engines they produced with Mazda especially for low profit overseas market and small cars. The Ford Focus for example would have been even more successful if Ford had shared the skyactiv powertrain with Mazda rather than lose market share and tarnish the Focus's reputation with the troublesome double clutch transmission they had used to help compete for better mpg. Actually some of the current ecoboost 4cyl engines were derived from  engines originally developed or sourced from Mazda.

You do recall that the Ford D3 and D4 platforms were derived from the Volvo P2 platform while under Ford ownership. Ford was like a dry sponge around the Volvo tech it purchased.

[kscarbel2]

Ford to build additional 350 GT supercars, extends output by 2 years

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  October 18, 2018

Ford Motor Co. is extending production of the GT supercar by two years and will build 350 more vehicles than it originally planned.

Ford previously planned to build 1,000 GTs through the 2020 model year. It now says it will build 1,350 vehicles through 2022.

"The response to our Ford GT has been unprecedented, with initial demand outstripping supply by more than six-to-one," Hermann Salenbauch, Ford Performance director, said in a statement Thursday. "By extending the Ford GT production run for a limited period, we're able to maintain the exclusivity of the ultra-desirable supercar while offering the ownership experience to a greater number of customers."

Ford said it will reopen order banks for the GT on Nov. 8. Owners for the first two model years have been selected, and production of 2019 vehicles has been designated for applicants who were on the waitlist for the first two batches of supercars.

The automaker received more than 6,500 applicants when it first opened order banks.

The vehicles are built by Canadian supplier Multimatic Inc. in Markham, Ontario. The supplier ran into trouble early on, hitting just 55 percent of its product target for the 2017 model year.

[kscarbel2]

54,400 Ford F-series pickups probed by U.S. after tailgate complaints

David Shepardson, Reuters  /  October 18, 2018

WASHINGTON -- NHTSA said Thursday it had opened a preliminary investigation into 54,400 Ford Motor Co. pickups after receiving five complaints that tailgates had unexpectedly opened while the vehicles were in motion.

The agency said the investigation was looking into the issue in 2017 model-year F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickups.

NHTSA will investigate to determine if the issue poses an unreasonable risk to safety and whether the agency should seek a recall.

In October 2017, Ford issued a technical service bulletin addressing the issue, and found water intrusion in the wire harness as the root cause of tailgate problems, NHTSA said.

[Jamaican Bulldog]

http://fordauthority.com/2018/10/ford-ranger-raptor-not-coming-to-america/

Ford Raptor NOT coming to North America. Not sure if I believe this, they could easily put the 2.7 ecoboost or the 400hp 3.0 liter that will most likely be in its chassis-mate Explorer. These specialty vehicles brings in a lot of profits for Ford and the truck is already developed.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Jamaican Bulldog

[grayhair]

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 6:27 AM, kscarbel2 said:

Yes, Ford was heavily involved in the war effort......on both sides. Ford-Werke AG produced thousands of trucks and half-tracks for Hitler's military.

My grandparents despised Henry Ford because of something to do with WWII.  I never asked them why, but this might explain it at least in part.

Edited October 19, 2018 by grayhair

[kscarbel2]

Ford summons its swagger, shifts marketing focus to keeping loyalists

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  October 19, 2018

LAS VEGAS -- Ford Motor Co. is shifting its focus from winning new customers to persuading current owners to stick with its namesake brand.

The new marketing approach, designed partly to rebut the impression that Ford is abandoning owners of Fusions and Fiestas as it stops developing new sedans, is part of a sweeping plan that the second-biggest U.S. automaker's leadership team laid out to North American dealers this week at the Bellagio resort here.

The company vowed to shorten its product-development cycle to create the industry's freshest showroom; add affordable non-sedan models to the lineup; run the region through individual vehicle lines to maximize margins; and launch a new advertising campaign that plays up the company's history.

With the Ford brand's U.S. sales falling 2.1 percent through September, Ford stock at a nine-year low and questions surrounding the strategy of CEO Jim Hackett, the company used this year's annual dealer gathering to offer the clearest look to date at its plan and to make an emotional appeal to rally retailers. The meeting is held every year but only a handful of executives typically attend.

This year, virtually the entire senior leadership team was there, including Hackett, who has acknowledged not being as visible to dealers as he would have liked in his first 17 months on the job.

"This is the first time I'm aware of where he took the time -- 20, 25 minutes on stage -- and really gave an outlook of where he's been," said Mike Pallotta, owner of Pallotta Ford-Lincoln in Wooster, Ohio. "It was great to hear the message directly from him."

Dealers started the meetings, called "Inside the Oval," with a series of hands-on experiences at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

They were among the first to drive preproduction models of the Ranger midsize pickup through an off-road course and to demonstrate its ability on rough terrain; they took hot laps in Mustang Bullitts; drove the Edge ST; saw the new Police Interceptor hybrid that's based off the next-generation Explorer; toured various new configurations of the Transit and Transit Connect vans; and walked through a hallway featuring demonstrations of products such as FordPass, B&O sound systems and Ford's telematics service for its fleet-sales businesses.

They were among the first to see about 150 parts and accessories for the Ranger offered as part of a new partnership with Yakima. And they could enter their name to win rides in the GT supercar.

Back at the Bellagio, they met with Ford executives in various conference rooms plastered with messages from the automaker's new "Built Ford Proud" ad campaign. One wall featured the Bullitt with the phrase "Never on Autopilot," while another showed a sprawling manufacturing plant with the words, "Small batches should be reserved for whiskey."

Dealers also glimpsed a number of the campaign's television spots, which will start to air Saturday.

The meeting concluded with an emotional call to action featuring an internal video titled "It's Time."

"It's time to bring swagger back to the Ford Motor Company," actor Bryan Cranston said in a voiceover that played amid shots of the company's products. "It's time to have pride in who we are and what we do. It's time the whole world knows how proud we are of our family name, and it's time we take pride in the vehicles we make, of the future we will shape, and of the responsibilities we will take."

Cranston, known for roles in "Breaking Bad" and "Malcolm in the Middle," is featured throughout the ad series.

Product clarity

One of the dealer body's biggest concerns has been a lack of clarity on Ford's product strategy.

Executives faced backlash earlier this year when they announced they would discontinue virtually all of Ford's sedans, offering only a vague promise of adding "white space" silhouettes. Dealers questioned whether Ford would abandon entry-level sedan buyers to rivals such as General Motors, Toyota and Honda.

Ford showed them its future vehicles for the next few years and explained how their total number of nameplates would increase by three by 2023. And Jim Farley, president of global markets, vowed to offer several vehicles in the entry-level, $25,000-and-under price point.

"When you look at the showroom lineup, that's what really excites us," said J.P. Miller, owner of Paul Miller Ford in Lexington, Ky., and Ford's dealer council chairman. "The vibe I got is that dealers are really excited that the showroom of the future is coming a lot faster, and Ford's commitment to keeping that showroom fresh."

There was one notable exception to the future product showcase: the Bronco.

However, Farley used the hype around the off-roader to have some fun. During his presentation, he promised to show dealers "a Bronco," then flashed a photo on-stage of his own classic 1973 SUV.

Less conquesting

Among the biggest changes Ford communicated for the first time was a pivot from focusing on conquesting customers from other brands to retaining loyal buyers.

The automaker plans to center its marketing efforts on keeping customers in the fold, communicating with them more often through connected vehicles and offering perks through a new rewards program on its FordPass app.

"When we did all the data analytics, it became really clear, a loyal owner is so much easier for us to do business with than trying to get a customer from someone else," Farley said. "It was a big aha moment for us."

Ford traditionally has had the strongest customer loyalty in the industry, although it's dipped slightly through July this year to 63 percent, according to data from IHS Markit.

One area in which Ford can target its consumer base: the 13.5 million trucks owned in the U.S. Ford plans to build upon those numbers with a new loyalty program that will roll out in the U.S. next year. Ford declined to provide details, but said customers can earn points to redeem for meaningful rewards and that they fashioned it after studying brands such as Delta, Starbucks and rival automakers like Toyota.

The plan also involves more interaction with the customer after they purchase their vehicle through connected modems, which Ford plans to have on all its nameplates within the next few years. The automaker wants to offer unique experiences, similar to how its Lincoln luxury brand has built a niche with services like standard pickup and delivery and chauffeur services.

"There's so much choice in our industry now and there's so much great product," Farley said. "We really believe now, when you look at the new technology enablers, the next opportunity is to build a much more frequent relationship with the customer."

Varied profit margins

Ford is trying to shore up its bottom line by boosting the profit margins in North America to 10 percent. To do that, it's reorganized its business to focus on individual product lines.

Kumar Galhotra, president of North America, transformed Ford's 11th floor to create 13 "franchise rooms" for individual products. A small leadership team spends each Wednesday walking through each room.

Farley said one of the biggest discoveries they've made is how profit margin varies on a specific vehicle from region to region. They've started to allocate more inventory to the areas of the country they can make the best returns.

"If you start to see our North America margins go up, we have no new product this year, and it's not coming from the market," Farley said. "It's controllable within our company."

.

[gxbxc]

I do not know if Henry Ford was responsible for the Ford suppling Hitler or if it was a case of Germany just taking over the Factories and management. but they were not the only one ,Gm plant in Holland produced trucks and did overhauls on combat damaged vehicles.and I thing Amco oil in Romania supplied much or the fuel for the German war machine.but All three recieved money form the US tax payer as repatriation  when we bombed those plant into rubble .Best not Forget Shell,which pulled there tankers into Bayone NJ to fill up then went out into the Atlantic to refuel Uboats  that were sinking US coastal shipping.
 

[Maxidyne]

"Ford Proud" plays to the dealers, but it's really Ford's swan song. Relying on the loyalty of an owner cohort with a median age of around 60 is slow corporate suicide, to survive a business needs to constantly win new customers. Ford management forgets too the multi-make owners like myself, I've bought three new VW's since I last bought a Ford 21 years ago and the limited Ranger offerings we'll be getting in the U.S. isn't enough to motivate me to buy another.

[kscarbel2]

Ford's Jim Farley: Why 'It's the right time' for dealers

Video - http://www.autonews.com/article/20181020/VIDEO09/310209998/fords-jim-farley-why-its-the-right-time-for-dealers

[kscarbel2]

 

[kscarbel2]

Amid unease, dealers get clearest look yet at Ford's restructuring plan

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  October 22, 2018

LAS VEGAS — The last time Jim Farley stepped into the Bellagio hotel's Grand Ballroom to address a national meeting of dealers here, Ford Motor Co. was on the brink of crisis. It was April 2008, six months after Ford had lured Farley from Toyota to help it steer through a steep downturn.

A decade later, Farley was in the same room, again addressing an uneasy retail network questioning Ford's future. "It's a comeback story, but it's a different comeback story," Farley said. "We just happen to have a lot more money in the bank, but we want it just as bad. We want to be the best."

Ford also has an abundance of skeptics, including Wall Street analysts, anxious employees and some of the dealers it spent last week working to reassure. It has even started to see customer loyalty, a longtime strength of the Ford brand, dip slightly, prompting a newfound marketing focus on retention instead of conquesting.

Ford used this year's annual dealer gathering to offer the clearest look to date at its plan under CEO Jim Hackett and to rally its retail body with an emotional appeal. It vowed to freshen showrooms through shorter product development cycles and revealed plans to add affordable nonsedan models to the lineup, alter vehicle allocations to raise profit margins and launch an edgy advertising campaign that plays up the company's history.

Ford is trying to psych up its North American dealer body as it begins a difficult $11 billion global restructuring that will stretch into the next decade.

While North American margins may be improving, Ford is losing money in key markets including China, Europe and South America and has indicated it plans to overhaul its operations in those countries. It's expected to post a decline in third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, Oct. 24.

Leadership team turns out

Ford has struggled to explain Hackett's vision for the company, and analysts have openly questioned his grasp of the business. Just three years removed from record profits, Ford's stock price has sunk to a nearly nine-year low — the shares, worth $11.10 on Hackett's first day as CEO, fell under $8.50 last week — and its North American product portfolio has grown largely stale. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas last week downgraded his rating of Ford and said the company's dividend, a significant incentive for longtime stockholders, is again at risk.

The national dealer meeting is held every year, but often on a smaller scale with just a few executives. This year, virtually the entire Ford senior leadership team was there, including Hackett, who has acknowledged being not being visible enough to dealers in his first 17 months on the job.

"This is the first time I'm aware of where he took the time — 20, 25 minutes on stage — and really gave an outlook of where he's been," said Mike Pallotta, owner of Pallotta Ford-Lincoln in Wooster, Ohio. "It was great to hear the message directly from him."

One of the dealer body's biggest concerns has been a lack of clarity on Ford's product strategy. Executives faced backlash this year when they announced they would discontinue virtually all of Ford's sedans in North America, offering only a vague promise of adding "white space" silhouettes. Dealers questioned whether Ford would abandon entry-level sedan buyers to General Motors, Toyota and other rivals.

Ford showed dealers vehicles arriving in the next few years and explained how the total number of nameplates in 2023 would be three more than today. Farley, Ford's president of global markets, vowed to offer several vehicles in the entry-level, $25,000-and-under price point.

"When you look at the showroom lineup, that's what really excites us," said J.P. Miller, chairman of the Ford National Dealer Council and owner of Paul Miller Ford in Lexington, Ky. "The vibe I got is that dealers are really excited that the showroom of the future is coming a lot faster, and Ford's commitment to keeping that showroom fresh."

There was one notable exception to the future product showcase: the Bronco. Farley promised to show dealers "a Bronco" but only flashed a photo of his own classic 1973 SUV.

Despite a lack of fresh products in showrooms today, executives have been working to bolster Ford's North American profit margins by more closely examining individual vehicle lines during a daylong series of meetings every Wednesday. Kumar Galhotra, president of North America, transformed one floor of Ford's headquarters to create 13 "franchise rooms," each dedicated to a specific nameplate.

Farley said one of the biggest discoveries is how profit margin varies on a specific vehicle from region to region. Ford has started to allocate more inventory to the areas of the country where it can make the best returns.

"If you start to see our North America margins go up, we have no new product this year, and it's not coming from the market," Farley said. "It's controllable within our company."

Less conquesting

Among the biggest changes Ford communicated for the first time was a pivot from focusing on conquesting customers from other brands to retaining loyal buyers.

The automaker plans to center its marketing efforts on keeping customers in the fold, communicating with them more often through connected vehicles and offering perks through a new rewards program on its FordPass app.

"When we did all the data analytics, it became really clear, a loyal owner is so much easier for us to do business with than trying to get a customer from someone else," Farley said. "It was a big 'aha' moment for us."

Ford traditionally has had the strongest customer loyalty in the industry, although that number has dipped slightly through July this year to 63 percent, according to data from IHS Markit.

One area in which Ford can target its consumer base: the 13.5 million trucks owned in the U.S. Ford plans to build upon those numbers with a new loyalty program in the U.S. next year. Ford declined to provide details but said customers can earn points to redeem for meaningful rewards and that the program was fashioned after studying brands such as Delta, Starbucks and Toyota.

The plan also involves more post-purchase interaction with customers through connected modems, which Ford plans to have on all its nameplates within the next few years. The automaker wants to offer unique experiences, similar to how its Lincoln luxury brand has built a niche with features such as standard pickup and delivery and chauffeur services.

"There's so much choice in our industry now, and there's so much great product," Farley said. "We really believe now, when you look at the new technology enablers, the next opportunity is to build a much more frequent relationship with the customer."

'Inside the Oval'

Dealers started the meetings, called "Inside the Oval," with a series of hands-on experiences at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

They were among the first to drive preproduction models of the Ranger midsize pickup through an off-road course and to demonstrate its ability on rough terrain. They took hot laps in Mustang Bullitts, drove the Edge ST, saw the new Police Interceptor hybrid based on the next-generation Explorer, toured new configurations of the Transit and Transit Connect vans and experienced demonstrations of products such as FordPass, B&O sound systems and Ford's telematics service for fleet customers.

They were among the first to see about 150 parts and accessories for the Ranger offered through a new partnership with Yakima. And they could enter their name to win rides in the GT supercar.

Back at the Bellagio, they met with Ford executives in various conference rooms plastered with messages from the automaker's new "Built Ford Proud" ad campaign. One wall featured the Bullitt with the phrase "Never on Autopilot," while another showed a sprawling manufacturing plant with the words "Small batches should be reserved for whiskey." Dealers also glimpsed a number of TV commercials that were to begin airing Saturday, Oct. 20.

The meeting concluded with an emotional call to action from actor Bryan Cranston, the "Breaking Bad" actor who stars in the new commercials.

"It's time to bring swagger back to the Ford Motor Company," Cranston said in a voice-over played amid shots of the company's products. "It's time to have pride in who we are and what we do. It's time the whole world knows how proud we are of our family name, and it's time we take pride in the vehicles we make, of the future we will shape and of the responsibilities we will take."

.

[kscarbel2]

Hackett is sweating.

[Red Horse]

1 hour ago, kscarbel2 said:

Hackett is sweating.

As he should be.  Interesting that a truly "commercial" truck is shown in this photo-as opposed to a Platinum 150 pulling a jet ski. They talk about Ford pride and dependence on the existing loyalty base. But this is one very loyal guy who is running out of patience.  Having learned how to drive on a Model A roaring through the woods, Ford tractors, and when I got my license how to drive a non-syncro trans on an  uncles 48  F-5 dump I see a very different company evolving.

And I should add, I have managed to keep my two sons in the fold. Between them they currently have 7  Fords.  But we are a minority I'm sure.

Back to the "commercial theme", and my surprise that Hackett is posed with a true work truck, ever wonder how stupid they are when they show a pick up on a job site, with the perfect opportunity to show a true 650/750 work truck in the background but they don't.  My guess?  "Oh that comes out of a different budget"

Oh and Farley?  He was a "prize recruit" from Toyota 10 years ago.  So much for his alleged marketing skills IMO.

[Maxidyne]

If Ford is going to concentrate on selling to existing owners, they'd better have cars in the lineup to sell to the third of Ford owners that prefer cars to SUVs and trucks...

[kscarbel2]

Ford's Hinrichs says Trump tariffs make U.S. steel costliest in the world

Keith Naughton & Joe Deaux, Bloomberg  /  October 22, 2018

ETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. is escalating its criticism of the Trump administration’s metals tariffs that the company has already said took a $1 billion bite out of profit.

“U.S. steel costs are more than anywhere else in the world,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of global operations, said Monday at an event marking the start of Ranger pickup production at a factory west of Detroit. He added that Ford is talking to the administration about the tariffs. “We tell them that we need to have competitive costs in our market in order to compete around the world.”

Ford CEO Jim Hackett last month called on President Donald Trump’s administration to resolve trade disputes quickly, warning that it would otherwise do “more damage” to the second-largest American automaker. He said the company sustained the roughly $1 billion hit to profit despite the fact that it sources most of the materials from the U.S.

Domestic hot-rolled coil -- the benchmark price for American-made steel -- has gained 28 percent in 2018 as the Trump administration implemented tariffs on imports. The levies helped push the price to about $920 a metric ton earlier this year, the highest in a decade. U.S. steel currently costs about $150 more per metric ton than steel in China, the world’s biggest consumer, which accounts for more than half of global demand.

.

[kscarbel2]

Ford Ranger won't cannibalize F-150 sales, Hinrichs says

Michael Martinez, Automotive News  /  October 22, 2018

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. doesn't believe the midsize Ranger will steal much business from its profit-generating full-size F-series trucks when the smaller pickup returns to North American showrooms early next year.

"There always will be some substitution, but this is more of a lifestyle vehicle for people who want to use it for different purposes," Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of global operations, said Monday at an event celebrating the Ranger's expected start of production here next week. "The F-150's gotten bigger over time and more expensive. We believe there's room now to slot the Ranger in very nicely in the showroom."

Hinrichs said the first Rangers should be available to buyers in January 2019. Ford recently retooled its Michigan Assembly Plant in the Detroit suburb of Wayne, Mich., to build the pickup and, in 2020, the resurrected Bronco SUV.

Some workers in the body, paint and stamping sections of the plant have already returned to work. Final-assembly workers will return next week, Ford said.

The revived Ranger will start at $25,895, including shipping, and will top out at more than $40,000. That's about the same as the segment-leading Toyota Tacoma, which starts at $25,400 for 2018 models, but more than the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Pricing on the 2019 Colorado starts at $21,495, while the 2019 Canyon starts at $23,095.

The Ranger's turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine will be able to tow and haul more than the V-6 gasoline offerings from its rivals, Ford says.

It will come in three trim levels: XL, XLT and Lariat. Ford will sell two-door SuperCab and four-door SuperCrew configurations and offer two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive for each configuration.

An off-road FX4 package will be offered on all 4wd models.

The Ranger was discontinued in the U.S. in 2011 but has continued to sell in a number of overseas markets. The latest U.S. version, to be built at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant, has a mostly steel body, axles made by Dana Inc. -- which supplies the Jeep Wrangler -- and an exterior design similar to its larger F-series counterparts.

The previous U.S. Ranger was regularly among the segment's top sellers, including No. 1 as recently as 2004. Ranger sales routinely totaled more than 300,000 a year in the 1990s before fading in the early 2000s.

However, interest in the midsize pickup segment has rebounded. It's up 18 percent so far this year after rising less than 1 percent in 2017.

"We're very excited about the growth we're seeing in the midsize segment," Hinrichs said. "We believe bringing back the Ford Ranger will add to that excitement and get more interest in that segment."

.

[Jamaican Bulldog]

Ford's recent dealer meeting in Vegas....clarity....meh🙄. So now the company is going to show more commitment to customer loyalty than conquest. It does not take rocket science to figure out how to do BOTH. Ford always think it needs to compromise one over the other and that itself says again why the company is in trouble and have people running it who do not understand the business they are in and their real customers or market. Trying to spin the downturn on steel tariffs is just a distraction from their own inadequacies. They have failed to leverage valuable global assets to make it more profitable, blind to see obvious areas where they bleed money and customers like having a crappy double clutch transmission for years, assuming everyone will want CUVs the same way they thought a few years ago every pick up truck buyer only wanted a full size truck.