Everyone completely neglects the minivan market...wait a few year..."The minivan market is dead!"




A couple more years pass...



Everyone completely ignores the small truck market....a few years pass...."The small truck market is dead!"





Anyone seeing a pattern? It isn't that the market is dead, it's that the companies stopped innovating, why would anyone buy a car that is completelly outclassed by automobiles in other segments? I consider myself a car guy, but there isn't a single small truck that I could recommend to someone (other than the Tacoma, but it's a Toyota so I can't bring myself to doing that...)

Innovate! And grow the market...don't just write it off completely!

 

The full size pickups get pretty much the same gas mileage as the small trucks.

 

I don't think it's quite working like that. I think manufacturers spend money on innovations in markets that show strong sales. It could be a chicken and egg question. How do you justify innovation when sales aren't good, but how are sales going to be good if you don't spend on innovation? But the fact is at some point years ago they WERE spending money on these trucks and they just weren't making their money back on them, so they spent less money which in turn I'm sure did no favor to their sales, so it's probably a cyclical downward spiral.

The Tacoma is probably the only good small truck currently on the market, but it's also priced so high that you can buy a full sized domestic truck for just a little more (sometimes less).

BTW I didn't think the minivan market was dead. Sure GM and Ford exited it with their sad excuses for vans many years back, but Honda and Toyota and to a lesser extent Dodge are all still in a heated battle with some very nice products out there. Sure vans aren't the cool mom mobile they once were. Now it's unibody SUVs that are all the rage, though one could argue from a design standpoint they're not a whole lot different from the vans that were once popular aside from the layout of the backseat passenger compartment.

 

Nissan Frontier is not a bad small truck either, but it is starting to need a face lift.

 

Agreed. Much like the Titan it debuted as a good model for the class but has grown stale. The Frontier and Titan share frame and suspension components. The exterior is still pretty fresh but the interior is where money needs to be spent. Having a version of the VQ isn't a bad thing at all either.

 

There is a 25% tarriff on imported pickup trucks.

However, Ford can get around this easily if they have extra plant capacity in Australia or North or South America, and fuel prices go up and stay up. 2 points here.

1. The 25% "truck" tax was recinded with Australia a couple of years ago. That's what paved the way for GM to import the Holden Ute as the Pontiac G8 ST.

2. Ford has discovered how cheap it is simply to take an existing vehicle made elsewhere and buying tooling to make it "here".

The article is based on the fact that Ford Motor Company has decided not to fund a Ranger replacement for North America.

However, it does not take into account the fact that Ford already has a small pickup in development that is fully capable of being sold in the US market.

So in short, no one should say for certain that the Ford Ranger is dead. The length of time to develop one for the US wouldn't be much longer than the time it takes to order tooling and set up an assembly line in an unused plant or a plant that has extra space.

 

Ding ding ding !!!

According to wescoent (has intimate knowledge of Fords internal financials), this is exactly what Ford will do............ and can do, very quickly, if they see the market for it.

From those who know the T6 program, there is very little that has to happen, to make it viable in the US. Also, as with the Transit Connect program, Ford has learned all about getting around tarrifs. You may see a program similar to the TC one, where the Ranger is imported for a year, to guage response. If good, it will be built here.

 

This.

 

Yeah, all the mid-size trucks are really expensive. Thats why I love my Silverado. Probably wouldn't buy a small truck. No need.

 

The Colorado and Ranger are pretty damn small

 

Some of it is on-point. Consider the 5.3L V8 equipped Colorado getting 15/20 mpg city/highway according to chevy.com. Now you can look at a Silverado with the same motor getting either 14/19 or 15/21 depending on how it's equipped. And you can probably get the bigger Silverado for less.

Colorado's value is only when you go for the I4 or I5, and even in those cases the fuel economy isn't eye-openingly better (about 3 mpg city/highway). GM just didn't get the most out of either engine. If they could have done a more efficient 4 and/or 5 you'd have a much better argument for the Colorado.

 

FWIW I was speaking with a supervisor at one of the local Ford plants and he got really quiet and had a sheepish look on his face when I mentioned that I heard the T6 Ranger wasn't coming stateside. Normally he loves to talk the auto trade but he was pretty tight lipped in this matter.

Also another worker indicated recently that the Louisville, KY Fern Valley Road plant will not be making the Kuga based 2012 Escape because of exchange rates (the other Louisville plant is the Kentucky Truck Plant that builds the SD pickups and fullsize BOF SUVs).

Please take all this with a giant block of salt.

 

I'm not sure how to answer that. I DON'T think that Colorado is too big - many here keep saying that Colorado is close in size to Silverado, but unless you're talking about the regular cab short box Silverado that really isn't the case. I think Colorado is just about right-sized for the segment.

I've just never been a fan of Colorado's powertrains. The I5 is coarse and its fuel economy is average. Perhaps if direct injection is introduced to the Atlas engines we'd see better results.

 

As compared to?

I want something the size of an S10 with a Turbo Diesel 4cyl and a 6spd trans.

 

Go sit in a single cab of any of those, and you tell me.