[lt1silverhawk]

Some of you may have already seen this article posted on Yahoo this morning: "R.I.P. to 14 cars and trucks for 2012".


Usually these lists don't surprise me, but I gotta admit that I was caught off-guard by the Ford Ranger going away without any replacement plans for the US market. Considering their negative rep as under-powered, ho hum trucks, I would've expected the Colorado/Canyon twins to disappear first.


The other one is the Honda Element. It seemed like a strong seller when it first came out, definitely popular with the out-doorsy hipster crowd here in Los Angeles. Its the Honda Ridgeline that I hardly ever see anymore, but apparently it is still being sold. I guess the updates to the Element just weren't enough to keep pace with the competition.

 

[matt167]

Ranger production will end at the end of November.. Ford cut emphasis on the Ranger quite a few years ago. 2006-2010 are largely identical except for 4 wheel ABS and disc brake rears 2010-2011 .. 1983-2011 is a great production run given mini trucks havn't had a solid market in 5 years.. The new global Ranger may make it to the US and Canada but not for 2012

 

[lt1silverhawk]

Good point. And with the rest of the manufacturers up-ing the size of their "mini" pickups, the Ranger would appear over-priced.

 

[matt167]

$16-30k depending on options and engine choice. It's still priced a little high in the sense that, the Tacoma is the only other remaining mini truck, which has also gotten a little bigger, is priced about the same.. I would still consider the current Ranger a good value if that's what you need.. F-150 can be had for about the same price if you require 4x4, and MPG with the new V6 is comparable to the old Ranger 4.0L SOHC..


I'd bet the Element will be back with a new name in a year or 2.. VW did that with the Beetle, and now the Beetle had a major redesign but still resembles what it was.

 

[lt1silverhawk]

$16-30k depending on options and engine choice. It's still priced a little high in the sense that, the Tacoma is the only other remaining mini truck, which has also gotten a little bigger, is priced about the same.. I would still consider the current Ranger a good value if that's what you need.. F-150 can be had for about the same price if you require 4x4, and MPG with the new V6 is comparable to the old Ranger 4.0L SOHC..

Yikes, I didn't realize the Rangers were going for that much much. The six-banger F-150 is definitely a better deal if some wants more truck for his or her money. I haven't done a price check, but aren't the Nissan Frontier and the Chevy/GMC twins priced competitively with the Tacoma?

I'd bet the Element will be back with a new name in a year or 2.. VW did that with the Beetle, and now the Beetle had a major redesign but still resembles what it was.

I definitely see your perspective on the Element / Beetle analogy. The thing is young folks (at whom these vehicles are targeted at) these days move on pretty quick. There is a slew of newer models out now, and I don't think the Beetle has the same want-it factor that it did when it was first released in the late 90s'. The Element, on the other hand, can still make a come back considering the cube-shaped vehicles haven't gone out of style... yet.

 

[matt167]

Nissan is a little more for the Frontier I think.. The Colorado/ Canyon is slated for a redesign/ name change next year I think, but there all in the same ballpark price

 

[Ghetto Jet]

Cool article, the Crown Vic and the Elise are the biggest losses imo. I'm glad to see the RX8 go.

 

[anthonyc1]

Sad to see the big Fords go as well as the big Caddy and Buick.

 

[lt1silverhawk]

Yeah, it would be nice to see new big, comfy RWD cruiser-bruisers again from the US automakers. The Chrysler 300 / Charger are gonna be the closest thing to it for now. However, my heart will always belong to the Buick Roadmaster from the mid 90s with the LT1. What a sleeper :evil:


Here's an article on the Ranger that Matt was talking about. Its not available in the US, looks like a shrunken up Tundra to me.

"First Drive: Global Market 2012 Ford Ranger"

 

[dirty dixon]

I for one am glad to see the ranger go.
My dad had one for a couple of years and I hated that truck.
It was a dog. Zero power and it handled bad too.

OP: Interesting article, thanks for sharing.

 

[lt1silverhawk]

I for one am glad to see the ranger go.
My dad had one for a couple of years and I hated that truck.
It was a dog. Zero power and it handled bad too.

OP: Interesting article, thanks for sharing.

My pleasure! :thumbup:

What year did your dad have? I drove one when I was working for Autozone and delivered parts to the local shops, probably like a 2005 model. It did ok, but at times felt like it was gonna fall apart. Sure didn't help that we were a bunch of Chevy lovers who abused the hell out of it. :evil:

 

[GMCTRUCKS]

I won't miss the RX8 but I do miss the RX7.

 

[deckofficer]

I think Nissan is betting the farm on the all electric Leaf. Even though their entire first year production run is already spoken for, lately I have noticed a ramping up of TV commercials on the Leaf.

Bob

 

[matt167]

My pleasure! :thumbup:

What year did your dad have? I drove one when I was working for Autozone and delivered parts to the local shops, probably like a 2005 model. It did ok, but at times felt like it was gonna fall apart. Sure didn't help that we were a bunch of Chevy lovers who abused the hell out of it. :evil:

I had 3 of them. 4cyl was for sure a bit doggy, but 27 MPG out of a truck was sure nice.. Put a 4.0L behind them and there pretty decent, but then again, it's almost 10 MPG less, but even my '92 with the 2.9L was economical and had good performance, and all had great handling

 

[Custom10]

Had a 2010 Ranger ext. cab sport 2x4, got it brand new, good value for 16.3K with a few options. The 4 liter was decent on power, unloaded though the thing was unstable and rode like a wheel barrel with no wheel on it, I hated it as well ain: Terrible traction in winter as well, put 400lbs in it and studded treads and then I could live with it.

Traded it in on my frontier 4 door, completely in a different league, that is one nice "little" truck, no complaints other than Nissan service,,,puke :boxing:

 

[lt1silverhawk]

I had 3 of them. 4cyl was for sure a bit doggy, but 27 MPG out of a truck was sure nice.. Put a 4.0L behind them and there pretty decent, but then again, it's almost 10 MPG less, but even my '92 with the 2.9L was economical and had good performance, and all had great handling

What years did you own? It seems the 90's models had a pretty solid rep.

Traded it in on my frontier 4 door, completely in a different league, that is one nice "little" truck, no complaints other than Nissan service,,,puke :boxing:

Nissan customer service is horrible. I had to fight 'em for a while before they replaced a faulty transmission in a brand new Sentra, but that's for another thread.

 

[Arrowhead]

A moment of silence for the Ranger............

I owned 4 of them from '85 - '98 and they all treated me very well. Maybe with the higher MPG from the F-150 Ecoboost, there's no justification for a smaller truck.

 

[matt167]

What years did you own? It seems the 90's models had a pretty solid rep.

1992 longbed. 2.9 V6 5spd 4x4 w/ 200k miles
1998 Short bed std cab, 2.5/5sp 2wd w/ 130k miles
1998 Extended cab 4.0L OHV, 5R55E, 150k miles

'98- 2011 are essentially the same except the 2.3 duratech came in 2001 and the 4.0L SOHC came in 2001-2002 in the Rangers ( explorers got it in '98 ). front ends and tailgates changed, and the earlier seats were a bit more comfy but pretty much, unchanged.. some parts interchange 1983-2011 also, like leaf springs

 

[lt1silverhawk]

Apparently today is the last day of production for the current Ranger.

"What the end of the Ford Ranger says about working in America"