Re:Kei Car
by checkyoursudo on Saturday September 04, 2021 @07:54PM
(#28420510)
You can come to Germany and buy a brand new Ford Ranger. I've seen a few of them around my small town. I've been thinking about getting one, recently.
https://www.ford.de/nutzfahrzeuge-modelle/ford-ranger
A long time ago, I had an 84 S-10, and then an 84 S-10 Blazer. Those were great trucks.
That’s still the truckasaurus ranger that the OP was talking about. If any American manufacturer was serious at capturing the small truck market, they would have imported some Australian utes by now.
Ford will be manufacturing the Maverick, which seems to be about the size of the older Ranger.
Re:Kei Car
by yellowapple on Saturday September 04, 2021 @09:49PM
(#28421041)
Even the Maverick looks big compared to the 90-something Ranger my dad drove when I was growing up, though perhaps the apparently-mandatory crew cab has a lot to do with that perception.
EDIT: also, is there seriously now 4WD/AWD option? That's unfortunately a non-starter for me (though if push came to shove I'd certainly take FWD over RWD).
The crew cab thing drives me crazy. I had a '93 Ranger with standard cab and it was the perfect size. You can't buy anything like it today.
Re:Kei Car
by checkyoursudo on Sunday September 05, 2021 @05:56AM
(#28422897)
Ah, thanks, I didn't realize. They still seem a lot smaller than my Silverado, so ... but you're right, of course.
My dad had a really old Datsun truck. If you wanted small, well that was a good candidate. To this day, I wish he hadn't gotten rid of it!
Re:Kei Car
by cmrdporcupine on Saturday September 04, 2021 @08:32PM
(#28420702)
They're bringing the Ranger back here, too, but it's much larger than the classic 80s Ranger.
The current Ranger model is not just larger than an 80s Ranger, it's larger than an 80s F150!
Ford is introducing the Maverick which is a compact hybrid pickup truck.
I would love to see this with a regular cab and a 6 foot bed. The Maverick bed is 4.5 feet, which just doesn't seem as useful to me; I've had plenty of things that didn't quite fit in a 6 foot bed, but were ok with the tailgate down and strapped in; they'd be a lot more precarious with a 4.5 foot bed.
Re:Kei Car
by cmrdporcupine on Saturday September 04, 2021 @02:02PM
(#28417482)
Yes, not being able to move a piece of plywood (even with the bed down) would completely defeat the purpose of a small truck for me.
I'd rather give up cab space than bed space.
I think it’s possible to load 4x8 sheets by flipping the gate halfway down and putting 2x4s across the bed using the pockets in the sides. Good enough of you need the capability for an occasional project.
Photo in this article: https://www.autoblog.com/2021/06/08/ford-maverick-flex-bed/
Re:Kei Car
by cmrdporcupine on Saturday September 04, 2021 @06:36PM
(#28420011)
Not bad. And it's not bad looking overall, really. For a truck.
Now if they'd only make it with a J1772 plug instead of as a soft hybrid.
Unfortunately, US fuel efficiency standards killed the small pickup. You can't make them efficient enough to hit the numbers when they're small, so they get bigger. If EV trucks sell, I wonder if we'll get an actually small truck again in the 2nd or 3rd wave; fuel efficiency standards won't matter, but it would need to sell enough to justify a different design.