New Ford Ranger, Ka not coming to U.S.

Although Ford is redesigning the Ranger pickup for the rest of the world in 2010, it won’t bring the new version of its compact pickup to the United States.

That’s the news from Ford CEO Alan Mulally, in an interview with Automotive News. (He also said Americans would not be interested in a vehicle as small as the European Ka, a model sized beneath the upcoming Fiesta, sharing its platform with the Fiat 500, Chrysler will sell here.).

The new Ranger was designed in Australia and will be built in Thailand, the second-largest pickup market after the United States.

The new Ranger would have replaced the current Ranger which has been on the market in the U.S. with only minor changes since 1983. When we last tested it, the Ranger scored 25 out of a possible 100 points, too low to be recommended. We found the ride stiff, the handling vague, the cabin cramped, and the powertrain unrefined and outdated.

For 2010, the American Ranger will get new side air bags, electronic stability control with rollover protection, and a tire pressure monitoring system. It is scheduled to go out of production in 2011.

Meanwhile, other sites have speculated that Ford is considering building a new midsized pickup, called the F100, based on the fullsized F-150. 

 —Eric Evarts