"We
spent hours talking about many of the things we all discuss right here
with the engineers who actually design the trucks. They are listening
and I can tell you from what I saw on the new one that many of you are
going to have a lot of your wishes granted on these new models. We were
taken for a spin around a little course they set up at the Dearborn proving
ground. The truck hauls ass and turns hard!"
"We
also got to have our heads pressed up against the side of a New lincoln
LS8 for a few laps around the track. I was lucky enough to ride shotgun
and when I could hold my head upright I could manage to peek at the speedo.
I still cannot believe that a four door lincoln ate the track like that.
These were some pretty serious turns and that thing rolled em and smoked
em! 4 frickin doors, leather seats, and all those assorted yuppie doo-dads."
"I
thought that we might be asked to sit on some of the info that we saw
and some of the things we heard about I was specifically told, and I quote:
"No, you guys can say anything you want" So here it is: Just wait till
you guys get a load of the new Kenny Bernstein edition ranger! Blown and
injected 9.7L big block, 5 speed with an electronic clutch, fully tubbed
with a 4-link narrowed dana 60 in the back, 4 wheel disc brakes, wheelies
bars, parachute, and it even comes with air conditioning standard! It'll
have a sticker price of under 12 grand and they said it would be available
sometime after hell freezes over. They are a very limited production (only
making somewhere around 0 units) so you better get to your dealer now
and place an advanced order!"
Roundtable
Attendees Robert
Fox:
FordRanger.com Sysadmin
"I have to say
though...After laying eyes on the new ranger, riding in a SOHC powered
truck, seeing the 4 leaf rear springs (welcome upgrade from the old 3
leafers), and standing there just totally jonezin over the kickassed front
end on that new truck, I am totally ruined. As of right now I feel like
throwing a rock at my old ranger and I cannot wait until the new one is
available! I would gladly bypass summer to get my hands on that bad boy."
"I don't know
if I can describe this hood in any way to do it justice. If you can picture
the 98-00 hood and pop the middle of it up about an inch and a half, like
a cowl induction hood you'll have it. The truck really looks as though
it already has an aftermarket hood on it. I don't know if it will be available
on all the models but I was told it is called "Power Bubble". I may be
going overboard about a cosmetic change on the truck while not talking
about the many other improvements I noticed (I'll get to them... You know
how my jaws flap) But that hood is really like a huge gift to many of
us. I wish I would have thought to tell the engineers this while I was
there but for those of us that customize our trucks heavily they just
added an entire extra chapter to our book of tricks. This is probably
the first production ranger hood that really lends itself to a custom
paint scheme laid over your factory color. I sat through the whole plane
ride home just picture different paint schemes that could be laid out
on that thing."
