Ford Ranger & Bronco to Return to US

[Nickdfresh]

The Ford Bronco and the Ford Ranger are officially making a comeback
Benjamin Zhang,Business Insider
Ford Ranger
http://motrolix.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ford-Ranger-Global-Model.jpeg
It's official: The Ford Bronco SUV and the Ranger pickup are set to return to US showrooms. The automaker announced the news on Monday at the 2017 Detroit auto show.

According to Ford, the Ranger, which is currently available in certain international markets, will return to the US in 2019. The Bronco will follow suit in 2020.

As expected, both vehicles will be assembled at Ford's plant in Wayne, Michigan.

"We've heard our customers loud and clear. They want a new generation of vehicles that are incredibly capable yet fun to drive," Joe Hinrichs, president of the Americas for Ford, said in a statement.

"Ranger is for truck buyers who want an affordable, functional, rugged, and maneuverable pickup that's built Ford tough," he said. "Bronco will be a no-compromise midsize 4x4 utility for thrill-seekers who want to venture way beyond the city."

Rumors about the Bronco's and Ranger's return have been floating around the auto industry for a couple of years. In 2015, both Bloomberg and The Detroit News reported that Ford's product planning team was considering the two models for a comeback.

Ford Bronco 1995
(A 1995 Ford Bronco.Ford)

Even with the official announcement, few details are available. However, both decisions make a tremendous amount of sense.

The Bronco was Ford's flagship SUV from the late 1960s until it was canceled in 1996 and replaced with the Expedition. The Expedition had four doors instead of two, and Ford believed it would be better positioned to directly compete with General Motors' full-size Tahoe and Suburban models.

These days, the SUV market is on fire, and the availability of a new premium SUV is worth its weight in gold. The Bronco is likely to be positioned at or near the top of the brand's SUV hierarchy and should help Ford's profit margin and transaction prices. In addition, the return of the Bronco should inject new life into the model's loyal but long-suffering band of enthusiasts.

From the early 1980s until 2011, the Ranger was a well-regarded compact pickup that sold very well in the US.

Ford Ranger EV 1998
(A 1998 Ford Ranger.Ford)

Unlike previous iterations of the Ranger, the upcoming edition will be a midsize truck poised to compete with GM's recently revived Canyon/Colorado.

Although the Ranger name may be defunct in the US market, Ford has been selling a midsize truck with the name overseas for nearly 20 years.

Ford, like many others, abandoned the compact-pickup market during the late 2000s, when growth in the segment slowed, and instead focused on the development of more profitable and larger trucks, SUVs, and crossovers. However, with the recent return of the GM duo and a revamped Toyota Tacoma, there is new life in the once dormant segment — albeit with slightly larger vehicles.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/ford-bronco-ford-ranger-officially-152400855.html

[twonabomber]

Everyone is posting the pics based on the Troller T4 Bronco out of Brazil and claiming that's what the US is getting. Or the "concept" renderings posted by Bronco fansites. I'm going to laugh when it doesn't happen, and it's a four door, independent front suspension rig.

I don't think Ford has the balls to make a true Wrangler competitor. Body on frame? Likely. Solid front axle? I doubt it. GM was going to come out with a Hummer H4 to go against Wrangler, and then Hummer got the axe. I doubt they will try a similar GMC model.

FCA sells every Wrangler they make without incentives. That's going to be a hard market to crack. Ford may steal some sales from Toyota and GM though.

[twonabomber]

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/alleged-ford-designer-drops-juicy-details-on-new-bronco-1791025337

[cadaverdog]

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/alleged-ford-designer-drops-juicy-details-on-new-bronco-1791025337
The two door Bronco concept looks pretty cool. Unless this new Ranger gets above excellent gas mileage I don't see it cutting into full size truck sales considering how good some of them are on gas mileage nowdays.

[FORD]

Another article from the jalopnik site seems to refute the one that Twona posted earlier. This picture looks more like a Bronco to me.....

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/czm4fl7wcfpxdfha43xb.jpg

As opposed to a rebranded Everest/soccer mom type of vehicle hinted at in the other article....

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--1fiJ6G0q--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/dsvx3y5vwfi1hzzxntgq.jpg

The Ranger reboot seems more confusing to me. There's been an open market for a smaller pickup truck (like the old Ranger was) for years now, and you would think Ford would be willing to reclaim that market niche with their own established brand name. Instead they want to put it on a mid-sized pickup which looks more like the Explorer SportTrac pickup they made a few years back. Why not just use that name, and then bring back a proper sized Ranger to capture that market again?

[twonabomber]

This was a concept from 2006, I think

http://images.hgmsites.net/hug/ford-bronco-concept-2004-detroit-auto-show_100533231_h.jpg

A lot of the newer renderings are based on that pic.

This is the Troller T4, sold in South America

http://handi.tech/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ford-troller-2016.jpg

It probably wouldn't pass emissions or safety standards here.

Supposedly two door Wranglers are only 25% of all Wranglers built/sold. So it's unlikely Ford will build a two door. GM eventually killed the Tahoe and Jimmy two doors due to slow sales.

[FORD]

Definitely don't like that first one. Not a big fan of the "square box"/Hummer-lite design. The Troller T4 looks like Ford's attempt to make a Jeep, but I could picture myself driving that one... if it had the leg room (which is something most of the old Rangers were sadly lacking in)

[twonabomber]

Troller was a start-up that Ford ended up buying. They've got a truck version too. Pretty sure they are both diesels.



The Ranger reboot seems more confusing to me. There's been an open market for a smaller pickup truck (like the old Ranger was) for years now, and you would think Ford would be willing to reclaim that market niche with their own established brand name. Instead they want to put it on a mid-sized pickup which looks more like the Explorer SportTrac pickup they made a few years back. Why not just use that name, and then bring back a proper sized Ranger to capture that market again?

It's gonna be interesting. All the small trucks got bigger, Tacomas are midsized now and not small. Dakotas were always midsize, Dodge sold the rebadged Mitsubishi Mighty Max as their small truck. Canyon/Colorado are bigger than the old S10. The Nissan Frontier might be the closest to what it started out as, and now the Nissan Navara is going to be the base for a Mercedes pickup that likely won't be sold here.

New Explorers are on the same FWD/AWD platform as the Taurus. Maybe Ford wants to keep the two separate and not use Explorer Sport Trac on a more traditional truck.

[Von Halen]

The blue Bronco, looks like a Bronco.

The original sized Ranger will never sell here. Too small.

[FORD]

So in other words they can drive around polluting what's left of the rain forest with it down in South America, but you can't buy it here.

But aren't the diesel engines down there running on sugar cane-based biodiesel now? Seems that should have less toxic emissions than petrol-based diesel.