Ford puts Ranger publicity in train

FORD’S teaser campaign for its locally-developed, Thai-built T6 Ranger has stepped up a notch with a contrived publicity stunt involving one of the early-build double-cab utes pulling an old steam locomotive out of its shed in Victoria.

A video of the event has been posted by Ford on YouTube as a way of underlining the three-tonne towing capacity of the four-wheel-drive Ranger, which is due to hit Australian showrooms along with 4x2 variants in double-cab and single-cab configurations in the third quarter of this year.

Powered by the 147kW/470Nm 3.2-litre five-cylinder diesel engine transplanted from the Ford Transit and using low range, the 4x4 Ranger hauled the 60-year-old British-built R711 locomotive from Steamrail Victoria’s workshops in the Melbourne suburb of Newport.

The diesel is one of three engines to be offered in the Ranger, along with a 122kW/226Nm 2.5-litre version of Ford’s four-cylinder EcoBoost petrol powerplant and a 2.2-litre 110kW/375Nm four-cylinder diesel.

The Ranger will be built alongside Mazda’s BT-50, which was unveiled on the same day as the Ranger at the Australian International Motor Show in October.

But both companies still have months to wait until the launch of the new model later in 2011 – after rival Volkswagen hits the market with its all-new Amarok in March and Toyota lobs a freshened HiLux with a “significant technical update” around mid year.