TALK TO A LOUISVILLE REPORTER WRITING ABOUT THE DEMISE OF THE ST !!!

[Todd Z]

HEY !!!!!!



A reporter contacted me that writes for a Louisville paper and covers many activities at the Louisville plant.



I checked with Ford and I just spoke to her !!!

While Sport Trac production ends soon in Louisville, please talk about your truck for an article in the Louisville Courier-Journal. Staff writer Jere Downs at 502-582-4669 wants to know why you love the vehicle and your feelings about the end of the line. DEADLINE Thursday afternoon, Sept. 23rd.

MAKE SOME CALLS !!!!



Todd Z

 

[Bernard Olsen]

Thanks Todd,



I just called her and she was very friendly. I gave her my opinions and hope I helped her out. BTW...she has a pretty sweet job writing about Sport Tracs and Fords and such. Thanks for the info Todd.



:haveabeer:

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

DEADLINE Thursday afternoon, Sept. 23rd

And you are just posting this this morning?!? :banghead: I will call anyway.

 

[rob chaw]

just spoke with her...

she says she just got off the phone with another member.

KEEP CALLING..

who knows, it may help them think about not ending the line of the Sport Trac.



rob

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Just spoke to her. She was very nice, and thanked me for sharing my story about the ST. Mine was the last one, so she is no longer accepting because of her deadline to go to press.



Please post a link to the Louisvile paper so we can read the article. Thank You.

 

[Michael Martin 3]

Here is a link to the story.

 

[David Ponder]

Cool article..

 

[Makin Trax]

Good story !!

 

[Phill R]

Maybe they should make the F-150 smaller than. Since they have the Super Duty as a real full size. Then, I could actually fit one in my driveway!



Of course, how many Sport Trac commercials verses F-150 commercials do you see?

It might have helped more if they actually tried to sell it!

 

[Les]

We can cover most midsize buyers with our new V6 F-150, Ford senior sales analyst George Pipas said.

So he thinks, I guess he doesn't accept the difference between the two vehicles as being greater than just a blur. Now if he had just said Ford failed to market the product properly, and no longer sells the minimum needed to continue production, then I might find his remarks more meaningful. However, fullsize trucks will not fit in many garages and why would he think a V6-F150 is similar enough to a V8 ST that people will buy one. Actually people will just buy from another manufacturer. Loyalty is for the product you produce that meets the demands of its customers, not the badge on the tailgate.There will always be a market for smaller trucks, the entire world uses smaller trucks.

 

[Makin Trax]

Still I have to wonder if there is indeed a ST in the works on the new Explorer platform... I mean NO compact NO mid-size? LES is right the loss of these options ultimately will mean a loss in sales for the blue oval I'm afraid. I'm not sure what i'll do when i finally decide to retire my ST, the F-150 looks good but is B I G and I'm not sure big is what I want the ST is the most versatile vehicle I've ever owned ! Ford if your reading this you've screwed up big time I'm a long time customer but your forcing me to another brand ! If you want sales market the damn thing ! It's been out since 2000 as an 01 model and still a lot of people do not even know what it is or who makes it... Keep it around make it more fuel efficient and keep your customers.:supercool:

 

[Bernard Olsen]

Hey I made the article! Pretty cool!!! :banana::haveabeer:

 

[Bill Faulder]

In 2007 I bought a new 2007 Chrysler Minivan and a new Sport Trac. Neither were what I wanted. I am a former Parts Manager at a local Ford store. I bought a new Aerostar when they came out. Two Windstars followed. When it was time for my fourth Ford Van in 2007 the vans were gone. So bought the Chrysler. OK but would still rather have a Ford !



Drove Ford Rangers since they came out. Was waiting for Super Cab Ranger. Finally bought new Sport Trac and it won me over. Now when time comes it looks like I won't be able to replace it?



So I am loyal Ford man since 1973 and may end up without one when its time to replace my Trac.



Flex may work when time to replace the Chrysler. I love F-150's but it is not the correct truck for me and it appears all the other companys will gladly sell me a 4 door mid size truck.



Ford, please listen to your customers ! I want all Ford nameplates in my garage like I had for years.



Bill Faulder

 

[John G]

It's sure nice that the reporter wrote the story and interviewed members here.



But I think this graph from the article tells you all you need to know about why the model is being dropped:



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Kevin Lang]

For some reason, Page 2 of the article won't work for me. Lame.



Though that graph has some issues. The huge plummet is during the time that there was no ST. Then as the new Gen II ST came out, you can see the graph level and start to increase, before dropping again.



Counting the time where there were no STs in production seems erroneous to me; of course sales are going to drop when there's a limited amount of STs to sell, the ones on dealer lots still.



Honestly, there should be a chart for Gen I & Gen II sales, as they are in no way the same truck.



Maybe people just realized that the Gen II wasn't "truck enough" for what they wanted. That's my myopic theory.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Yes! :supercool:



In Sacramento, Calif., Rodger Tellefson has 150,000 miles on his 2001 Sport Trac. Retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tellefson, 62, said he used the truck to hold camping chairs in the 4.5-feet bed in the back and just go.



Tellefson has modified the V6 engine on his truck to improve the fuel efficiency from factory specifications of 15 mpg to 22 mpg on the highway.



The Sport Trac, he said, fits a nice niche. A Ford Ranger will be too small. An F-150 is too big.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Demand for compact trucks overall continues to decline, standing now at 2 percent from a peak near 8 percent in the early 1990s, industry analysts say.

This is why the Sport Trac and Ranger have met their end.





Tom

 

[Gavin Allan]

The Ranger should have have been put out of her misery years ago?

 

[Kevin Lang]

Tellefson has modified the V6 engine on his truck to improve the fuel efficiency from factory specifications of 15 mpg to 22 mpg on the highway.

Wait, according to this sentence, you only got 15 mpg on the highway??! Elsewise, it's another complaint about the article for comparing apples to oranges, since the ST was never rated 15 mpg highway.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

KL,



The reporter put in the 15 mpg, not me.