Small Focus based unibody Ford truck coming?

[Todd780]

Interesting. First I've heard of this. Maybe sort of a Ridgeline competitor?

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/01/22/ford-compact-pickup-truck-below-ranger/#slide-7486786

 

[Todd780]

Another article seeming to confirm this:

https://www.tfltruck.com/2019/01/ford-compact-pickup-truck/

Maybe something along these lines?

 

[Kingsize24]

How much do you get paid to spread all these Ford ad's?

 

[Todd780]

How much do you get paid to spread all these Ford ad's?

I wish something! Only shared two Ford articles that I can recall? Just thought they were interesting....

 

[Kingsize24]

I wish something! Only shared two Ford articles that I can recall? Just thought they were interesting....

Focus based platform a FULL SIZE sub-forum. Just spread them out some next time. Makes it less obvious.

 

[Buliwyf]

Subaru had something like that. They sold 3 of them.

 

[Todd780]

Focus based platform a FULL SIZE sub-forum. Just spread them out some next time. Makes it less obvious.

I thought it was domestic: Full size and other.... I poke around all the vehicle forums. Jeep, Toyota, Full size.... I'm a car guy and can appreciate all makes and models.

 

[Todd780]

Subaru had something like that. They sold 3 of them.

Ha! The Brat and the Baja... I kinda thought they were neat little cars. I drove a Subaru Outback though a crappy winter season here and was amazed at how well that car did in the snow.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Ridgelines seem to be fairly common, they are already onto the 2nd generation that looks a little more like a pickup than the first gen ones.

IMO the biggest error these types of vehicles make is that they don't have the disappearing mid-gate feature like the avalanche that would actually give it respectable cargo room. Without that it seems to combine the worst aspects of a pickup with the worst aspects of a crossover.

Also doesn't seem to make sense to me for Ford to bring in a product that will compete almost directly with their newly introduced Ranger. But then again, Ford seems to make about 5 different "crossover" vehicles (Ecosprt, Escape, Flex, Edge, and Explorer) while most other companies seem to make two (one compact and one mid-size) so I presume they must think there's a market out there for all of them.

 

[Todd780]

But then again, Ford seems to make about 5 different "crossover" vehicles (Ecosprt, Escape, Flex, Edge, and Explorer) while most other companies seem to make two (one compact and one mid-size) so I presume they must think there's a market out there for all of them.

Agreed. I found GM was / is bad for that too. Chevy has the Trax, Blazer, Equinox, Traverse...

If Ford kept the Explorer more of an SUV type SUV instead of the crossover it turned into, I could see having a Flex and an Explorer. But, when the Explorer went FWD / Crossover, they should have just killed off the Flex.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I think having a unibody Ridgeline-like vehicle makes perfect sense. Toyota does something similar in their SUVs, overlap two vehicles of similar size targeted at slightly different markets with the 4Runner and Highlander as well as the Sequoia and Land Cruiser (although less distinctly since the big trucks are body-on-frame and share some parts).

My point would be Ford could easily target a Ranger for people who want a truck for utility and more off road and another for people who need 4WD for snowy roads. Those people don't benefit as much from a ladder frame or transfer case. A lot of complaints of Tacomas when compared to a Ridgeline as the ride and height. I think it's unfair to lump them into the same class just because they have an open bed and are similarly sized. They aren't really that similar otherwise.

I'd absolutely love Toyota to see the light and offer a Hilux and Tacoma side-by-side. One no frills, the other with Tech Packages and sunroofs. The next logical step for the Tacoma is independent rear suspension after all, right @Clutch?

 

[Regcabguy]

Let us know when they restore their Ranchero.
Would love to see it on the Crown ’Vic chassis.

I was in Australia in '79 and the F-100 was the king. Holdens were everywhere too. One of my favorites was a '64-66 Ranchero,manual trans and transfercase with a 240cu six in it.

 

[justbecause]

I thought it was domestic: Full size and other

to be fair, this is possibly the most poorly named section on portal. 1, its confusing, why include "full size and other"? 2, what is domestic? Built in the USA? thats the tacoma, tundra, titan, a line of hyundia, mercedes, subarus, hondas. F series trucks were built in mexico for years, its welcome here, silverado was built in canada....

 

[AbleGuy]

Thx for posting this news. I hadn’t seen anything about this new smaller truck until just now.
(BTW, that’s the value of other members taking the time to post news articles for us)

 

[Buliwyf]

to be fair, this is possibly the most poorly named section on portal. 1, its confusing, why include "full size and other"? 2, what is domestic? Built in the USA? thats the tacoma, tundra, titan, a line of hyundia, mercedes, subarus, hondas. F series trucks were built in mexico for years, its welcome here, silverado was built in canada....

Ford Super Duty series is made in Kentucky. Consumer models with beds. Pro trucks without beds, 350-750, are made in Ohio. F150's are made in Detroit.

You're thinking of Dodge. They're made in mexico. And thanks to darn good political pressure, they're moving their plants back to the US. GM is the one shutting down US car plants and moving to mexico.