2019 Ford Ranger

[kevm14]

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2019-fo ... 117589A7E2

Very interested to see a major segment comparison. Frankly I think it is a battle of GM vs Ford. The Tacoma is better than it was, but still lacking in many ways - but will pretty much always show strong sales as long as it is the "Toyota Tacoma." The Frontier is....old as hell, and people who like the Frontier have literally not driven another compact pickup in the past 10-15 years.

[kevm14]

But buyers shifted their tastes again. Lower gas prices and interest rates allowed them to return to trucks and SUVs. Sedan sales have fallen enough that Ford announced plans to discontinue all cars but the Mustang for North America. Michigan Assembly was retooled again to make the Ranger on a single shift until a second shift is added in 2020 with the addition of the Bronco.

Ranger and Bronco are part of a plan to replace 75 percent of Ford's lineup by 2020, dropping the average age of the portfolio from 5.3 years now to 2.3 years in 2020.

The first part is a trend we already knew. People will drive the biggest thing they can reasonably afford, given the opportunity. This is not news. And it's no less legitimate than Europeans driving what they drive, which are ALSO a direct product of THEIR environment, not some esoteric enlightenment.

Many Europeans generally like small cars since the old world infrastructure resulted in optimization around mostly small vehicles, so they learned to enjoy it (piloting a Suburban in downtown London is not only not fun at all, but these days, most likely illegal). Contrastingly and in the exact same way, Americans gravitated toward larger vehicles given the completely different infrastructure, geography and lifestyles.

All that said, I do still look down on American drivers in one major area: aversion to handling. I cannot stand, and I see it almost every single day, how the average American driver (OK, let's say New England driver) constantly under-drives corners but over-drives everything else. They are not driving for fuel economy. They are driving more in a way that tells me their vehicle and preferences are about going straight as much as possible. They will use the throttle, but before a turn, brake heavily and once straightened out, will begin to accelerate, often faster than is necessary or prudent. Meanwhile, I could accept the resulting average pace, but with a higher corner speed and slower straight speed. Yes, too much weight and power, not enough handling finesse. And when you look at FCA, literally their entire portfolio addresses this reality. Hell, you can see it over the past 20 years of BMW product!

So, now combine the people I just mentioned, with the OTHER people who are left lane bandits, often not understanding anything about driving rules/laws, and you get mostly chaos and more traffic slow-downs than necessary. /rant

[kevm14]

Edited that last one...

[Adam]

This Ranger announcement took a dark turn...