First coming on the scene in 1983, the Ford Ranger was Ford’s choice to replace the Ford Courier. The Courier was a Mazda product that carried Ford’s branding. Since 1983, the Ranger has been produced each model year and remains one of Ford’s popular vehicles among sales, although sales have dropped in recent years.

Since the truck is not a full size truck, Ford wanted to solve a problem that people had with the Courier and other popular small trucks at the time of the Ranger’s introduction. That problem was that a 4×8 sheet of material would not fit inside the bed of the truck. The Ranger’s bed was large enough for the material to fit, although it still did not fit between the wheel wells as it would in a full size truck.

Ford designed the cab of the truck for 2 passengers. Later the trucks offered an extended cab and jump seats were added for 2 additional passengers. These jump seats were mounted on the side walls of the extended cab and truly were only suitable for small passengers on short trips.

Throughout its production, the Ranger has been a successful vehicle for Ford. With over twenty five years of history, the Ranger remains a good seller. Body style for this truck is now into its fourth generation. The body style has changed as the body styles of the F-series trucks have changed.

The smaller size means better gas mileage and these trucks are very popular among commuters who enjoy driving a truck but still need the better gas mileage offered by the smaller truck.

The current Ranger is built with a 2. 3 liter or a 4. 0 liter engine. Although it was available in a V-6 engine in earlier models, the Ranger no longer offers this option.

When the Ranger was first introduced, it was one of many small trucks being sold. Today, the Ranger, along with its Mazda counter part is the only small truck on the market. Dodge and Toyota have increased the size of the Dakota and Tacoma to mid-sized trucks. Ford has promised to continue to make the Ranger until 2012, although the instability of the United States automakers could affect this promise.

Even though Ford has spent more marketing dollars on the Explorer series and the sales of Rangers has dropped over the past few years, with Toyota taking the lead with their larger Tacoma. Ford has continued to promise to make the Ranger and hopes that the increased demand for fuel economy will help sales.

Rumors have it that in 2012, Ford will replace the Ranger with a truck being manufactured in Australia that was originally designed for world markets other than the United States. Reports also say that this truck will have a much smaller 1. 6 liter engine with the option for a 3. 0 liter diesel engine only in Rangers sold outside of the United States.

The Ranger has been a popular truck for Ford for many years. It has offered economy along with the ability to haul items in a small truck. The engine sizes have slowly increased and now have once again began to decrease. Newer engine styles offer as much or more power with the smaller engines. With the uncertainty in the automaker’s future, it is hoped that Ford can continue to offer the Ford Ranger until it is able to offer other models to replace this good little truck.