One thing that most car companies have in common with each other, is that high-ranking executives almost never bring up their competitors by name. Regardless of whether they feel it would be a tacit admission of another company being as good or better, or some other reason, the effect is the same: a performative ignorance of precisely who they're up against. Ford CEO Jim Farley, doesn't seem to have the same concerns, though, as he recently revealed a number of Ford Ranger competitors by name that he tried out in Australia on a fact-finding and publicity road trip.Ford Farley Drove More Than Toyotas According to Farley's post on the Ford media site, he and a couple of other executives were learning how Australian owners use their Rangers and what they like and don't like about them. It's a big market for Ford, and it's even where much of the development for the Ranger Raptor and Super Duty was conducted. We're sure there was consideration for creating some good will for the brand, and we bet everyone had some fun, too. How could you not when visiting Australian national parks and going to enthusiast meets?He also went down to "get an up-close look at the competition." Among the vehicles he drove were Japanese and Chinese offerings. A few of them Farley even named down to the model. Take the following quote for example:"We ran hands-on payload comparisons between the Ranger and some of our competitors, including the Toyota Land Cruiser, BYD Shark 6, and GWM Cannon Alpha. We got the chance to see how they perform carrying fertilizer, transporting produce, and driving gravel roads." —Ford CEO Jim FarleyPresumably, that Land Cruiser was the LC79, like what Farley mentioned driving in a forest earlier in the trip. The LC79 is the pickup version of the 70-Series Land Cruiser, which has only seen incremental updates from its original introduction in the 1980s. It's certainly an odd vehicle to compare a modern Ranger against, especially when the Hilux exists. Still, the LC79 clearly is popular enough in the region for Toyota to offer it alongside the Hilux. We're also curious what powertrain was fitted. Until recently, the old Land Cruiser could be had with a turbodiesel V8. That was discontinued, leaving just the diesel four-cylinder.BYDThe Chinese trucks are pretty much the polar opposite of the Toyota. The GWM Cannon is probably the closest to the Ranger in terms of available powertrains. It can be had with a couple different diesel four-cylinders in Australia, making it a relatively typical, modern pickup for the market and a very direct competitor for the Ranger. The BYD Shark 6 is more unique. It's a range-extended EV. So it drives like an EV with a generator for long range and quick fill-ups. It also makes a shocking 430 horsepower, and it's even made its way to North America via the Mexican market. You could almost consider it a rival for the upcoming F-150 Lightning.GWMWith such a diverse set of vehicles, and probably some not mentioned, we'd certainly be curious what Farley took away as to what could be improved on the Ranger. Farley Has Praised Competitors Before Farley checking out other vehicles and talking about them by name isn't out of character for him. Last year, he talked about how the company discovered that Tesla was able to use quite a bit less wiring in the Model 3 compared to the Mustang Mach-E, which represents savings in both weight and cost. Farley even spoke on a podcast about how much he loved driving the Xiaomi SU7 electric sedan, which has a Nürburgring record to its name.