Associated Press
DETROIT
It’s the end of the road for the Ranger in the U.S.
Ford is ending production of the smallest pickup it makes, a truck that helped the company battle more fuel-efficient Japanese imports when it was launched in 1982. The last American-made Ranger rolls off the assembly line in Minnesota today.
After peaking in the mid-1990s, sales of the Ranger have fallen over the last decade, hurt by neglect as Ford focused on more- profitable large pickups. The Ranger’s styling grew stale, it lost its fuel- economy edge, and the price wasn’t much lower than beefier siblings such as the F-150.
Other companies aren’t so sure it’s time to ditch small pickups. Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Co. and Nissan Motor Co. all plan to continuing selling small pickups in the U.S., citing high gas prices and loyal buyers.
Still, sales of small pickups topped out at 1.2 million, or 8 percent of all vehicles sold in the U.S., in 1994, according to LMC Automotive, a consulting group.
Comments
Ford should've ceased production of this bomb a long time ago. That little pick-up was a rolling piece of crap.
Must have been luck of the draw for you. I had a 1998 with 260,000 miles in a 4 cyl. No issues. Traded it in 2007
I think they are making a big mistake.
The people of America are in need of smalll pick-up trucks and I think someone should produce a smaller one, similar to the Ranger and not what GM is offering with the Colorado. The Ranger's popularity dropped because Ford failed to update it's styling.
I think Jeep has a small truck called a "Gladiator" in the works and it may be just the ticket.
Ford should keep the Ranger; it is a great truck.