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The price difference between the F150 and the Ranger is way too close. The other big issue is the fuel economy is pretty much the same between the v-6 ranger and the v-6 f150.
With news that the Ford Ranger and the Dodge Dakota are moving to a mid size truck next year and Toyota and Nissan having already stopped making their pickup tucks there are now next to zero pickups left. They only pickup truck that I can think of that still exists is the Chevy S10.
You know how they're having that most informative poster contest? I think this should win the most uninformed poster contest.
The Ranger isn't moving to midsize, it's going away. The Dakota has been mid sized, and the Frontier and Tacoma are going strong. Not to mention the S-10 was replaced by the Colorado in the mid 2000's.....
With news that the Ford Ranger and the Dodge Dakota are moving to a mid size truck next year and Toyota and Nissan having already stopped making their pickup tucks there are now next to zero pickups left. They only pickup truck that I can think of that still exists is the Chevy S10.
Why is the pickup truck going extinct? They serve as a useful tool that fills a certain niche unlike anything else. If you don't need 4 wheel drive and want something that gets good gas mileage with a 6ft bed for a reasonable price, a pickup is the perfect fit. A pickup is something to just drive around town and lug some wood or furniture or make a dump run with, but today's choices only offer overpriced, over sized, gas guzzling mid size trucks.
If I were Honda, I would come out with a small 4 cylinder pick up truck and fill the void in the pickup market, thoughts?
Your title is very misleading. Some compact pickups are being discontinued. Full-sized and heavy-duty pickups are selling very well. The reason that compact pickups are being discontinued is because they presented few advantages over lower-specced full-sized units. A true compact pickup with a normal naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine is nowhere near as capable as a full-sized V6 pickup in doing work tasks due to the low power of the engine, low payload capacity, and smaller bed. It also has a much smaller cab than a full-sized pickup, which makes transporting people harder as well. To add insult to injury, a compact pickup with a regular cab and a four-banger doesn't cost that much less than a full-sized unit with a regular cab and a V6, nor does it get that much better fuel economy. It's pretty easy to see why compact pickups were discontinued.
If I were Honda, I'd not touch the pickup market. They have tried that with the V6-powered mid-sized Ridgeline and failed miserably. If they wanted to make a four-cylinder version, it would essentially be a CR-V with a box, since Honda's forte is really in small powered equipment and small transverse-engine, unit-body FWD cars. That's really all they seem able to make, with the exception of the slow-selling S2000. (Which still was a unit body small car with a screamer of a four-banger in it, but was RWD.) Trucks are a completely different story, as Honda found out. Trucks are still RWD-biased with live rear axles, leaf springs and ladder frames for a reason- they help the truck to carry more weight. Many of them have two-valve pushrod engines because the combustion chamber shape in a two-valve engine lends itself to better low-end torque, unless you throw a LOT of technology at the problem (Ford's EcoBoost and TiVCT engines.) Honda apparently thought that domestic makers were being "old-fashioned" for sticking to these "obsolete" designs and that their showing the light of modern car technology to the pickup market would make them a mint. Nope, they struck out. Pickup trucks are mainly a Western Hemisphere thing and the folks that make them there tend to know what they are doing.
Based on reviews I've seen from Ridgeline owners, "failed miserably" seems like a gross exaggeration.
Based on sales figures, it has failed miserably. 16,142 Ridgelines sold in the entire year of 2010. The only trucks it outsold were the Dodge Dakota (barely) and the Cadillac Escalade EXT. (The GMC Canyon and Suzuki Equator are rebadged Chevy Colorados and Nissan Frontiers, respectively, and should be included with their mechanical twins in the sales figures.) The Toyota Tacoma outsold the Ridgeline 6-to-1 and even the ancient Ranger sold 3.5 times as many units. Compare the Ridgeline to full-sized pickups and it's worse. GM sold over 397,000 of the Silverado/Sierra twins in 2010 and Ford sold 313,393 F-150s. 16,142 is a drop in the bucket.
The initial sales goals were 50k and the minimum sales figures for them to keep producing it are about 15-20k. There have been rumors of the model being discontinued for the past two model years, although Honda has recently decided to keep it in production.
One thing that I really dislike of new trucks is that, in order to increase their macho appearance, they make them higher and higher. Pretty soon you'll need a forklift to get your groceries out of the truck bed. In the meantime, I'll stick to my '95 Toyota hi-lux until rust do us part.
Build Your 2011 Ford Ranger (http://bp3.ford.com/2011-Ford-Ranger?lang=en&branding=1&referringsite=1&referrer =Ford.com#/ChooseYourPath/ - broken link)
Based on sales figures, it has failed miserably. 16,142 Ridgelines sold in the entire year of 2010. The only trucks it outsold were the Dodge Dakota (barely) and the Cadillac Escalade EXT. (The GMC Canyon and Suzuki Equator are rebadged Chevy Colorados and Nissan Frontiers, respectively, and should be included with their mechanical twins in the sales figures.) The Toyota Tacoma outsold the Ridgeline 6-to-1 and even the ancient Ranger sold 3.5 times as many units. Compare the Ridgeline to full-sized pickups and it's worse. GM sold over 397,000 of the Silverado/Sierra twins in 2010 and Ford sold 313,393 F-150s. 16,142 is a drop in the bucket.
The initial sales goals were 50k and the minimum sales figures for them to keep producing it are about 15-20k. There have been rumors of the model being discontinued for the past two model years, although Honda has recently decided to keep it in production.
This thread is making me miss our little Ranger. I am a lady, and bought the 1998 Ranger in 2002 with low mileage to be my vehicle while living in a rural setting. It was a 5-speed manual 4 cyl. with the extended cab and extra doors. I really loved that little truck - great gas mileage and rack and pinion steering, it was fun to drive! It then became my husband's truck for commuting when we moved, had over 222,000 miles on it, then a few weeks ago while parked on the street a tree fell on it and pretty much totaled it. Even with all that damage the insurance gave us over $3,300 for that truck! We were shocked. Hubby upgraded to a larger F150 (used) - very nice but it seems HUUUGE! But even that one is dwarfed by some others I see. Trucks are very popular, where I live in coastal Florida I see more trucks and SUVs than anything here. While the mileage of the 150 could be better, at least I feel some comfort that my hubby has a heavier, safer vehicle for his commutes to work (which are long). Sorry to hear no more Ranger - it's a great little truck.
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We were shocked. Hubby upgraded to a larger F150 (used) - very nice but it seems HUUUGE! But even that one is dwarfed by some others I see. Trucks are very popular, where I live in coastal Florida I see more trucks and SUVs than anything here. While the mileage of the 150 could be better, at least I feel some comfort that my hubby has a heavier, safer vehicle for his commutes to work (which are long). Sorry to hear no more Ranger - it's a great little truck. 
