Quote:
Originally Posted by whynot
Oh, I will leave it to the in-house product development folk at Ford to pick and choose (and defend) what they think the company can sell. They have been the ones talking to the fleet managers and fleet sales; and one would have to assume they have better access to data on customer trends and intentions. However, I will say that when I look at the concept of selling a Super Duty to fleets, it makes a lot of sense to me.
This article appeared in The Australian Mining Review a few days ago.
As for the difference between an XLT and, say, a Platinum; one has to ask oneself what essential kit is missing from the XLT that would put a private buyer (who is chasing all available load carrying capacity) off the purchase? It has all of the essential safety kit, so it cannot be that. Would the lack of electric powered and ventilated seats kill the deal? Lack of expensive sound system? Vinyl floor covering (which is brilliant when camping)? Lack of heated steering wheel? Cup holders? LED auto headlights?
Thinking about the Ranger's development road map a bit more and making a few wild guesses ... it makes me wonder if the Super Duty is a subtle way to avoid some of the flak from the current ALP/Greens/Teal/YourABC about "SUV" size and emissions. One would assume that the Ranger PHEV (which will be premium priced) will take some of the demand off the V6 production. Assuming that a Super Duty pinches some sales from Toyota, with a GCM of 8,000 kg, it would be a nice way of keeping the V6 production line at full steam in what is clearly a highly specialised work vehicle (as opposed to an F150 as an urban runabout).
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I think you've missed what I was saying. At no stage have I said that Ford shouldn't chase the fleet sales with the Super Duty. All I am saying is don't limit it to an XL, but offer a higher grade and open up another whole market. And by higher grade I was not thinking Platinum. I just meant XLT or above.
Anyway I'll leave it there. If Ford are happy to market it as a base model only then that's up to them.