Next year, the Ford Ranger will cease being made

There will never be another American produced Ford Ranger following 2011 There has barely been a major change made to the Ranger in a long time. The pickup used to be one of the best selling light pickups on the market. Ford didn’t want to mess with a great thing. In 2011, the Ranger as it is known could have its swan song and definitely won’t be produced anymore. Ford will try to steer customers toward the Ecoboost F150 with a V6.

A remarkably well-liked pickup truck

Throughout North The United States, the Ranger was the best selling light pickup for practically all of the 1990s. The truck was just about every little thing a person could ask for, and so its success was deserved. It was priced thousands lower than a full size. It also got pretty decent gas mileage. The Ranger was capable of just about any task on or off road, and it was reliable. Other light truck makers, like Toyota, upgraded light pickups to consist of crew cabs and more seating, which began to seal the fate of the Ranger. In 1999, according to Wikipedia, Ford sold more than 348,000 Rangers. That was the high water mark. By 2009, sales had slipped to 55,000.

An era ends

Ford had to come up with something else, or redesign the Ranger. Ford decided to come up with something else. There is a new Ranger like truck, according to USA Today, that can be sold overseas, however not in America. Ford could be trying to push the turbo V-6 F150 instead. Thinking about the F150 is more costly than the Ranger, and the Ecoboost turbo V-6 comes with an additional premium. Fleet sales have been the bulk of Ranger sales for the last few years running.

Oh, plus a facility is shutting down

Adding insult to injury, Ford is also closing the plant that used to make the Ranger. The Ranger is made at the plant in St. Paul, Minn., and because the automobile is within the firing line, the plant is also. Ford did make an effort to give the truck a facelift. The company tried a crew cab Ranger model, but found it would sell better with a different name. That model is nevertheless getting sold. It’s called the Explorer Sport Trac.

Additional reading

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Ranger#Yearly_American_sales

USA Today

content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/09/ford-ranger-small-pickup-older-than-sand-dead-in-us-redesigned-for-rest-of-planet/1