I just don't get it. If Ford and GM can make full size trucks get low to mid 20's mpg like they are saying they will. Then why not even give the body a refreshing and update the power trains to push 30 mpg's in these small/mid size trucks. Didn't anybody learn anything from $4/gal gasoline?????

That 2013 GMC must have been designed by a Ford designer. As far as the Colorado and Canyon goes, they're ugly anyway. I think Ford is going to bring a new Ranger over from Australia only it will be a little bit larger than the current Ranger. And maybe VW will bring their little truck over.

Wow that's dumb .

4 cylinder,2wd Rangers can get 26-32 mpg regularly in fleet useage.Why Ford doesnt hone their offering further is beyond me.A 40 mpg real pickup with a GAS engine not relying on a diesel,hybrid or any other advanced (expensive) technology would be a world killer.
Ford is doing to Ranger what it did with Taurus and Crown Victoria...letting them wither on the vine and then pulling the plug.
And everyone was critical of Chrysler carrying its Diplomat/Gran Fury/5th Avenue cars thru the 80s without any changes......
I guess its contagious,and Ford has the disease really,really bad.

I would love a small EFFICIENT pickup to drive around the farm, but so far there is no small 4x4 pickup that is worth buying. The four wheel drive rangers, dakotas, and canyons we have don't get a lot better gas mileage than our chevy dodge and ford 1500s. Never used tacomas cause they're too expensive and I don't hear they get any better mileage. Might as well spend a little more and get a bigger nicer safer more capable truck. If they made a 4x4 truck that got a lot better mileage, or if these small trucks cost a lot less, then I'd buy one, but for me right now there's hardly any reason to buy a ranger over an f150.

You know these small trucks have one nice feature that a full-size truck can never replicate. They can fit in a 2-car suburban garage with room for the wife's car! For most of us suburban mulch gofers these trucks are ideal. I don't need to tow 10,000 lbs or pull freight train. As far as I'm concerned if Ford just dropped their 3.5L from the Edge in the Ranger that would be the ideal truck for me. Heck even the Tacoma and the Dakota are bigger than I need. The old S-10 and Ranger are just the right size.

This is very unfortunate. These trucks could use a freshening and some quality improvements. But not cancellation. I have a 2009 Colorado after owning a 2005 as well and will really miss this nice sized platform if it goes away. GM is talking about getting rid of the Avalanche too. It will be a sad day to see North American manufactures get rid of good vehicles and blame the customer's for not buying them. these trucks were never marketed properly and small fuel efficient diesel engines would help sell them as well.

So if Detroit get rid of all their mid-sized platforms that'll leave the the imports to fill the void, and as already posted 3/4 sized pickups are nice to fit in a garage and still have room.

Go ahead and quit Detroit 3. Nissan and Toyota will fill your place gladly. Your constant unceasing failures and inability to engineer a quality product is your downfall, and you only exacerbate your failure by giving up on key markets.

I wish Ford the best of luck of the three, but if they choose to give up on the Ranger I really couldn't care less if they go TU. I'll go pick up a Frontier.

Who cares gov. motors!These are the worst trucks you have ever made just pure junk.GM made a major fubar by dropping S-10 just as ford is about to do if they drop ranger.

@djg416

"...right now there's hardly any reason to buy a ranger over an f150."

Other than garage-ability, that gets my vote for 'Nail on the Head' statement of this post.

Do you use any ATVs to fill the void?

This really shows how out of touch GM and Ford are with their
customers. I would like pickuptrucks.com to create a poll that
we can all vote on and lets get trucktrend involved as well then send the results to Ford and GM if they still dont change their minds wait for another manufacture who wants to make money jump on it then will spend are hard earned money with them.

I think Ford is just deploying the silent treatment about the new Ranger replacement. I don't think they're stupid enough to give up on an american Ranger and i keep seeing spy photos here and there of left hand steering wheel config in tssting. I feel confident there will be a new Ranger. Their not about to hand the entire class over to Nissan and toyota. No way.

I dont care about small trucks..I am over 6 feet tall and cant fit in small trucks anyway,especially small single cab models,man you comfortably you have to be a midget to fit in one of those..FYI..I am tall not fat nor obese,as people would most likely asume..

I never had a problem fitting our super duty in the garage with the caddilac deville. Any normal two car garage should fit two full-size trucks. Might be a little tight for some, but I think that's a pretty weak argument. If you don't think a full-size truck will fit in your garage it's probably cause you haven't tried it or you have too much junk in there.
Yes AJ we couldn't live without atvs either but the farm is pretty spread out and really there's a lot of reasons why we need pickups. I have enjoyed our little trucks a lot and I'm sad to see them go, but really we feel like we might as well just drive full-size trucks cause the little trucks don't seem a whole lot more economical.

So, with the NA boys bowing out, do you think the people at Mahindra are smiling. Now if they could only get their truck on the roads without to many further delays.

no one --including ford will import a truck because of the import dutys you pay for trucks--the ford transet is imported as a car

I looked at all the full size trucks last weekend at an auto show and they are too big to be of much use to me. The top of the bed is shoulder height and the bottom of the bed is well over waist height. I could only access the bed from the back. I think Ford realizes their trucks are too big so they added steps. I can't image myself using steps to load 10 50 pound bags of grain. Loading 80 pound bags of concrete would really be awful. Trucks should make life easier and a full size truck would make my life much harder.

Most people around here still buy trucks purely for image and will never haul anything heavier than golf clubs. They want a large truck. I also suspect there is a much profit margin on full size trucks. Why sell a $25K Ranger when you can sell a $38K F150.

Yeah, I agree with everyone here that the big 3 are imbeciles. The small entry level trucks are the classic way to developing a loyal future customer, brand loyalty that often starts with their first vehicle. Standard marketing strategy. There are first customers that may not want a small car for whatever reasons and will be the future purchaser of the full size trucks. Or they might change their minds if the truck and price was a match for their budget. There are many other reasons for customers throughout their purchasing life to look at a smaller pickup. And that doesn’t even begin to account for fleets. The big problem with the small truck as marketed in the U.S. has been covered and blogged to death; they cost too much, are too contented, and some have just not been designed to appeal with their looks. They were the stepchild of the makers instead of the strategic tool and product they should have been. I am going to nod and grin when the non-domestics slide in and fill the order and the domestics wonder where some of their full size truck sales have gone. Stupid, stupid.

djg416 - Try fitting a crew cab or supercab in a garage. Not gonna happen. My house was built in 1973 and my Titan will not fit in it. It is both too tall and too wide. Perhaps newer homes got a little bigger garages courtesy of the SUV boom, but they still eat up alot of space if that is all you have besides a short driveway.

I have to say that I am really disappointed this is happening. I loved the S-10 I had and never had a problem with it. I want to get a Colorado crew cab but feel time is running out on this. I don't need a big truck just a nice size that can get me around in the country but also fit well going in the city. I don't feel as comfortable with a bigger truck in the city.

Yeah...FORD should drop the Ranger, but replace it with the rumor of the F100. A larger compact/mid size truck with I4 and V6 gas engines with Direct Inject technology. You all want mpg, then those engines will get it done!

Any way...that is my prediction!

a day late and another dollar short http://www.windingroad.com/articles/news/spy-shots-next-gen-ford-ranger-double-cab/

When you sell less than 2,000 Colorado's in January, is anyone really suprised.

With GM pulling the plug on Hummer I really dont see how GM doesn't kill the Colorado quicker since the H3 and the GMT355 platforms (Colorado's and Canyon's) are built in the Shreveport plant. A plant that could scale up to 300K units a year when it was first built and is right now vastly under utilized by producing maybe a tenth of that.

GM has no one to blame but themselves for the demise of the Colorado and Hummer.

I can see the writing on the wall for the Colorado/Canyon twins. GM is investing 455 million to upgrade a plant in Tailand to build compact trucks. The rest of the world likes compact trucks, makes you wonder about the North American Market.

dumb dumb dumb dumb. doesn't anyone from ford, gm or fiat listen to their customers anymore? to arrogantly kill a product that thousands of people still buy (even when they are ancient platforms) is dumb. hey, lutz, retire already. there's no points scored for dropping dead in office.

Everybody loves to hate on the internet. I guarantee you if they updated the GM Canyon, fans would immediately cry for the old model back, talk about old Rangers and S10's from 20 years ago, and not buy anything. Core truck buyers will always buy full size trucks.

@Big Dave - "full size" trucks are a North American phenomenon.
"Compact" trucks are the norm in the rest of the world. Core truck buyers do buy compact trucks. I've read multiple threads on this site of guys owning 3 or more compacts. I've owned a few Rangers as well as full size. Many people do not want or need a full size truck.

its sad to see this, but this is how businness goes. if it don't make a dollar, it gets scraped.

That,s too bad about the Little GM trucks. One of my employees has one these trucks because he likes to hunt and carry the odd light load and has no reason for a big full size. Also the truck has been reliable and strong. I hate to see these trucks go in case i don't need my HD trucks someday then i would definatly buy a compact truck like these that can carry dirt or small loads to the dump and still be able to park it easily.

It is also a phenom because that is all there is in other countries. I totally agree with you. There are people in America who would buy the new F-150 who would have bought an updated Ranger. But unfortunately Ford is not sure they can sell enough volume to these people in America. Rumors are that F-150 is alive but they won't comment on future products. So we are left with 3 possible scenarios: F1-100, new Ranger but not like the global Ranger, or nothing.

typo: should have read F-100 alive

In my opinion, Detroit should realize that the small truck segment is dwindling because their products aren't competitive. The Frontier was up 22% in January, outselling the Colorado. I hope Dan is right and Ford is just staying quiet about the new Ranger in North America. If not, and Ranger/Colorado-Canyon/Dakota all disappear, maybe VW can make a business case for the Amarok here.

Whatever Colorado & Canyon could carry, Ford Transit could carry and also have more volumetric capacity and gives 23 MPG with its v4 engine.

Thats why Ford is ending Ranger and localizing production of Transit. GM will also bring a minivan like that from Europe which Chrysler will bring similar product from Fiat.

H2 & H3 SUT are closing. Colorado & Canyon may follow.
Its a downtrend for Pickups with the price of oil at $80/barrel.

This is why I gave up buying American cars years ago. The big reason is, they gave up on me first.

I have two cars currently. a Subaru Outback, because you can't get a station from an American company, and a 16 year old Toyota pickup which I suppose I'll be keeping awhile longer since it won't be replaced with anything from a domestic car company.

The big 3 gave up on me first.

6L45 for the 4 cylinder
6L50 for the inline 5 cylinder

Variable intake valve timing for mid-range power and superior mileage.

@Lou..

The rest of the world has small cramped streets and garages.. The US on the other hand does not, hence one of the main reasons why full size trucks are so appealing.

Myself, I am on my 4th S10,('87, '97, '00, '02) 3rd with the ZR2 Offroad option. If the Colorado Z71 was an upgrade to the S10 ZR2 I would have bought one. But it was not, and I am perfectly happy with my S10 right now.

The Colorado suffers from a number of problems first and foremost the i5 engine when its competitors have more powerful V6's.

Then you add to the fact it still uses the 4 speed slushamatic of the 4l60E when its competitors use a 5 or 6 speeed transmission.

Factor in its price and lack of options or models it makes for a unpopular truck.

Finally and not to be overlooked, advertising. Hardly any commercials touting this truck. And the person that green lighted the commercial of 5 guys in a Colorado with Shania Twains "Feels like a woman" song in the background should be shot.

It was a poorly designed, pillaged by the bean counters, no thrills, plain vanilla, cheapo truck. It did not improve in all or even most areas of the 2nd generation S10 it replaced. And all these factors combined are why the truck is doomed and why GM will likely get out of the market.

And why I, for the first time am considering a Ford... Raptor.

What are they thinking?? Obviously they've never gone out and tried a hustle a buck before.

@DB - you make some valid points. Another reason I can see why they are killing the Colorado/Canyon twins is that they are rated in the "Top 10" worse vehicles for reliability.
http://blog.buyingadvice.com/2009/11/10-most-unreliable-cars-of-2009.html

Really? Cool.

General Motors, bring back the S10 w/ ZR2 package!

Ford should import its 4 door , diesel powered Ranger from overseas. I have seen it available in Dubai, Carribbean, Europe,etc.

Why is the North American market so affraid of diesel power?
Even Toyota has the Hilux, diesel powered version of the Tacoma.

No furries, folks !
The 2012 all new FORD RANGER spy pics can be seen
at www.caradvice.com.au - search for 2012 Ford Ranger.

xing our fingers that the US will get it as the rest of the World does.

Man ole man...
after years of being a passenger car owner and just as I began to get into small pickups, they're taking them off the US market...what a drag!

But wait a minute, maybe this is why M & M is stalling on the Mahindra. Just as the US truck makers end their productions of small pickups, Mahindra will then jump in and TRY to saturate the US market with their small pickup.

I have a 09 tacoma, extended cab, 4 cyl., 5 speed stick. It is an excellent vehicle. Good mileage, plenty of power, plenty of room ( I am 6' 2" and 220 lb.) With automatic limited slip differential the traction is excellent and as I do not go off road I do not need 4x4. The cost was less than 22k including tax and tags. A full size pickup would cost another 10-15k and would provide nothing but additional fuel cost. If you are in the market for a pickup buy what you really need and be honest with yourself. There is no need to throw another 10-15k at the auto companies if you are only carrying yourself to work and back and occassionally a few hundred pounds in the bed.

You need to look up the "chicken Tax" It was passed so that small trucks would be banned here back in 64 because of the sucess of the VW truck...
The rest of the world likes small trucks, Holden and Ford of australia have killer trucks, but cannot be imported here because of the tax. Rebadge them El Camino and Ranchero you'd have a pair of winners.
It's all about tooling costs and production numbers, the US is a small market in world view....

If GM make huge body trucks.It is better to follow up the set up. However, small 4x4 vehicles are the best solutions.
small 4x4 vehicles

I Have had a 2006 5Speed Manual Ranger 4 cyl. I tweeked it a bit, up from from stock tires in 2008, Taller skinny tires not much. The rotation threw the speedometer off 3mph. But the pay off was 30 to 32 MPG every time. It was the right truck for a small goat ranch and still is. Its no getting close to the 200k mark. at four of five bucks a gallon, not getting a f150 or s Silvarado. I do want and will need a new truck in a year or so, but a full size one is out. I did hear rumors Jeep was gona put a small truck out soon like 2013. I have also went to montery and looked at the chevy montana/tornado. conversion is cheap on the border 1.5K I may get one of these. Ford and GM what happened. GM why are you not selling the montana in the US, You would have no competition. GM you would Rule the 32MPG truck markett