Why We Likely Won't See a Ford Ranger or Dodge Dakota in the US Again - Motley Fool
Turns out, the Ram Truck's design team doesn't believe a return to the midsize truck market makes much business sense, while Ford believes its global Ranger model is too big compared to the F-150 to sell here. Over the last 15 years, the midsize segment at its best sold roughly one-third the trucks of its full-size counterpart. Even worse, after the recession took a dramatic toll on the entire automotive industry, full-size trucks have consistently rebounded, while the midsize segment has merely sputtered at the bottom of the barrel in terms of sales totals. There's more to the story: Ram brand boss Bob Hegbloom says it's just too costly to create a truck with the necessary characteristics that would bring consumers back to the midsize truck market. Hegbloom believes for midsize pickups to return to their heyday, they would need to be considerably smaller than full-size trucks, less expensive, and less capable (to help bring the price tag down), and provide incredible fuel economy. Hegbloom told Automotive News in an interview: "When you look at those four factors, that's truly what a midsize pickup customer is looking for. GM's Colorado is nearly a half-foot narrower than a full-size Silverado, and the largest Colorado -- the Crew Cab with the long bed -- is roughly 225 inches, which is 15 inches shorter. Source: www.fool.com
