Whether that's considered a success or a failure for Ford is up for debate. When production of the Ranger ended late last year, Ford closed its St. Paul, Minnesota, assembly plant and it didn't have to worry about developing a new truck for what has been a shrinking segment of the market, two moves that undoubtedly saved the Blue Oval money, at least over the short term.
A series of new powertrains arrived in the automaker's flagship pickup in 2010. Among those was an entry-level 3.7-liter V6, which Ford had hoped would prove tempting to Ranger owners who bought their trucks primarily because of the lower price point and perceived better fuel economy.
"We do know that a good portion of would-be Ranger buyers are going to different brand," Jesse Toprak, TrueCar.com's vice president of industry analysis, told the Detroit News.. "Ford may have been too optimistic in their assumption of how many Ranger buyers want to buy an F-150.
Despite achieving as much as 2 mpg better on the highway, the F-150 V6 is considerably more expensive and also much larger than the Ranger, two sticking points that have Ranger owners looking at the "in between" midsize truck segment dominated by the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma. General Motors also plans to reboot its offering in that segment with a new Chevrolet Colorado due out next year.
Those jilted buyers who didn't find the F-150 their cup of tea are looking at the Tacoma more than the F-150, according to Edmunds.com's research. More than twice as many Ranger owners are researching the mid-size Tacoma rather than the full-size F-150, even though the Toyota is still significantly larger than the Ranger.
