The Old Ford Ranger Was Cheap, Honest, And Bulletproof: Trade-In-Tuesday

The Ford Ranger today is so different than the one that preceded it. The old Ranger was truly a “small truck,” and its selling points were simple: The truck was cheap, reliable, easy to fix, decent on gas, compact, and yet still tough as nails. That was a formula for greatness, and, along with friendly styling, it established what may go down as America’s most lovable truck. I had a chance to drive a 2010 model — the second to last model year of the “small Ranger” — and I fell in love. Here’s why.

The truck shown in the video below had recently been traded in to Galpin Honda. I like to think it was owned by a hard-working American who bought the car new back in 2009 — they went into Galpin Ford and said: “I’d like your cheapest pickup truck, and make it an Automatic.” Then that construction worker rolled away proudly in a new, base-spec little Ranger with two-wheel drive, vinyl floors, a simple 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, a bench seat, a six-foot bed, and not a whole lot else. Because, after all, this was a work truck.

Fast forward to 2024, and this imaginary construction worker is retiring, so he or she decides to buy something a little more comfortable and that can fit the grandkids. They snag a Honda CR-V Hybrid — loaded to the hilt — and trade in the ol’ workhorse, which, while driven hard over the years, has been well maintained.

This is where I come in. I begin the video by describing how small trucks are dead. “America decided small trucks are wack,” I say, before imploring you all to look up “dancing beds” to drive home a point about just how huge the small truck world once was. Here’s what I mean:

The “minitruck” era of the 1980s and 1990s is dead and gone, and that’s a shame, because inexpensive, compact utility is still something Americans value. I know this because, in the city of LA, old Ford Rangers still abound, with heavy loads often stacked way, way up high in their six-foot beds. In fact, throughout the Trade-In-Tuesday shoot, I saw a number of old Rangers working hard. Here’s one:

I even saw a new Ranger, which helped me illustrate just how large the new generation of the model has become:

It’s a shame, really, but hey, all cars have gotten bigger, and the Ranger at least stayed roughly the same size from 1983 to 2011 — that’s a hell of a run. Check out this first-gen:

Anyway, back to this trade-in. It featured a beautifully-running 2.3-liter “Duratec” inline-four (not to be confused with the truck above’s 2.3-liter Pinto engine). It’s the same “MZR” engine you’d find in a first-gen Mazda3 or Mazda6, and it’s known to be extremely durable. Also decently durable is the 5R44E five-speed automatic — from what I understand, the very first five-speed auto offered in a mainstream American vehicle. Here it sends power to just the leaf-sprung solid rear axle, while the coil-sprung double-wishbone front suspension has no halfshafts going through it to send power to the front wheels.

By the way, even though the Ranger I drove has a traditional coil-sprung independent front suspension, I once wrote an article describing the many interesting suspensions offered on Ford Rangers — from torsion bars to Twin Traction Beams to Twin I-beams. (Heck, I didn’t even mention the De Dion rear suspension on the electric Ford Ranger!). So definitely check that out.

Anyway, back to this traded-in truck. It had a nice drop-in bedliner for the six-foot bed, which six-foot-something cameraman Griffin tested out:

Here’s me talking about how fantastic the column-shifter is, and how all work trucks should have them since they take up space that is otherwise entirely unused. A floor shift, though, wastes valuable space.

Here’s me pointing out how great the vinyl floors are:

“None of this carpet stuff, come on! Where are we in the Taj Majal? … We need vinyl floors so that if my dog vomits, I can just spray it out with a hose. That’s what a work truck is all about,” I say in the video, apparently forgetting that the Taj Majal isn’t exactly known for its carpets. But you get the point.

I spend much of my drive enjoying a vehicle that, frankly, seems almost too nice given its age. The dash somehow was never cracked by the California sun, the seats are in decent condition, and the AC blows cubes. “This is a great trade-in. I think someone maybe got promoted,” I say in the video above. “They definitely didn’t need to turn this thing in. Its body is rock-solid, the brakes are good, the steering is good, the engine feels great. You could put this thing to work right now and it would do great.”

I love how small and maneuverable the truck is, I think the power steering and brakes feel more than adequate, the ride quality isn’t bad, visibility is great, and while, sure, the cab may be a little cramped for some, for me it was just fine.

Even though it became known as “Ranger Danger” in Michigan, where it had a tendency to rust out, the little Ranger won me over. Sure, I didn’t exactly load it up or drive it on the highway, where that four-cylinder might have felt a little sluggish, but 143 horsepower, 154 lb-ft for a truck that weighs probably 3,100 pounds — it’s not that bad! Unladen and around town, it didn’t even feel slightly underpowered.

Continue watching the video, and you’ll see that much of it involves me being distracted by…this:

I stop the Ranger and interview the builder, who uses random scrapmetal to basically Mad Max-ify his Chevy Silverado. Those “fangs” are made of a cut-down, sharpened ring (of sorts) from a washing machine. The truck is absolutely bonkers.

Part of me wanted to put in an offer for that Ranger. I bet I could have snagged that for just a few grand, and it would have been an absolute workhorse for all my wrenching exploits. Alas, I’m no longer in the business of buying automatic transmission ICE vehicles, even if I do love a column shift.