Every now and then an automaker produces a vehicle worthy of being called one of the greatest of all time. The first three generations of the Ford Ranger qualify. These were honest trucks that took serious beatings and kept on truckin’. These are trucks that were cheap to buy, cheap to run, and got work done. They were also charming and had beds that were actually usable, unlike today’s far too-tall trucks.
Today, David wrote a Trade-In-Tuesday Thursday about someone who traded in one of these workhorses and the entire Autopian staff was in love. You were, too, starting with Jnnythndrs:
I’ve put over 600,000 miles on four different Rangers over the years and it breaks my heart that you can’t buy a small pickup with a low bed height and at least a six-foot bed anymore.
My current Ranger is a 2002 3.0 single cab/7 foot bed with a perfect interior and nice paint and 263K miles on it, and I’m keeping it as long as I can. Other than front suspension pieces every 125K or so and a new (very expensive CARB legal) catalytic converter assembly, it’s never needed much of anything. The Vulcan is a really stout motor, watch the cam sensor and they’ll last forever. My favorite part of the truck is that is has exactly what I want(cruise control, excellent A/C and I added a Carplay double-DIN stereo) and nothing I don’t want.
I’d love to buy a new one, but the Maverick has too short of a bed and they’re still in pretty short supply around here. Plus when I figure out how much extra a monthly payment and extra insurance would cost, it more than negates any savings from improved fuel mileage.
Mrbrown89 loves some Ranger action, too:
I own a Ranger Danger here in Michigan, rust is getting into the doors at the bottom and some sections underneath, but god I love that truck. 2009 Ranger XL extended cab 4.0L with no AC, manual everything including the transmission, vinyl floor. So easy to clean, my kids love the small backseats, the same experience I had when I was kid on my dad 91 GMC Sonoma.
It needs some suspension work soon but doing routine maintenance is so easy. 120k trouble-free miles.
I’m also in the cult of Danger Ranger. I had a second gen with the gutless, but bulletproof 2.3 four and a five-speed manual (above). I also had a third gen with the epically thirsty, but reliable 4.0 and a competent 4×4 system. I miss both of those trucks.
This morning, Matt wrote a Morning Dump including a story about some infighting at Stellantis. V10omous has a theory:
I cannot help but notice that FCA/Stellantis’ fortunes began to sink when they discontinued Viper production.
That’s it for today folks; a nice and shorter COTD. Have a great evening!
The Ranger has the same mantra of my Comanche. I had strongly considered purchasing a Maverick but the lack of bed length, an extra two doors I didn’t need, and no manual transmission, the Comanche just seemed to be the far better and more cost efficient option. I’ll drive it anywhere there isn’t salt on the road. I’m not letting it rust to death, it’s too good of a vehicle to deserve that.
If there were a 2-door Maverick I would be a lot more inspired. As it is, it’s almost enough of a truck for me to replace my F-150.
So many kids in high school had these and they were great. Even with a 98hp engine, in a single cab with a manual and some BF Goodriches, you had yourself the off-road version of a British sports car. Sure a Z71 had way more power, but you were nimbler, could drift the corners and if you got stuck, two or three friends could help pick you up and rotate you to a place of better traction. These were the kings of having fun at a reasonable speed.
Not a truck person but I would love to be *sharing the road* with trucks like these again, instead of overinflated brodozers.
I’m not even a truck person, really, but I do love those Rangers.
Had a friend who I loaned some money to so he could buy one back in the early 2000s, so it must’ve been a 90s version… but it had a manual transmission and was a great little truck. Just the perfect size for most anything that needs doing.
I love, love, love Rangers. First Ranger was a ’97 XL 2.3 4×2 with no options I got new ($7900 dealer special). I put about 125k miles on it before giving it to my dad who has added another 150k. There’s some valve noise, but otherwise runs great. After the ’97 I bought an ’02 FX4 4.0 4×4 (hence the username) that I’ve now owned for 18 years. It’s got 145k on it and makes a few creaks and groans, but it’s never had an issue.
The neat thing about these OG Rangers is that they do not look or feel like Ford built them to last. Everything about them screams “disposable work truck”. Yet they are still out there, routinely going over 300,000 miles and still serving as primary vehicles. They’re the Toyota Camry of trucks. As long as they don’t get wrecked or rust out, they will keep running. It helps that every junkyard in the country probably has enough Ranger parts in stock to build several trucks.
They’re a weird mix of 80’s full-size truck build (the doors are strangely heavy feeling for a mini truck) but all the parts/plastic/interior is really really really budget feeling. The manual feels like a dinky toy compared to the 5MT in a Tacoma from the same era. But it doesn’t matter because you can replace practically every single part for $30 from Rock Auto.
Sorry about the weird headline, all! I’m finally on medications for my diabetes and oh boy are the side effects bizarre.
That’s nothing, this morning at work they started an extensive project to repaint floor markings and other items in the production area, and in less than an hour the paint fumes had gotten so strong in my office that I sent a chatty email about the office goings-on to a random guy at one of our vendors instead of to my friend. Oops.
My college job was as the maintenance manager (read: janitor) at a gym, and when they resurfaced the racket ball courts I had to supervise the company hired to do the work. I learned the power of chemical fumes when I started watching the folks apply sealant to the floors and then immediately found myself being gently slapped back to consciousness. I had no memory of the previous two hours, but apparently I had started wandering around spouting nonsensical gibberish about aliens tampering with our cheese before passing out on top of the front desk. I’m not sure how many IQ points I lost that day, but I suspect a lot.
My buddy had a third gen Ranger that had like 250k on it. For a while he actually had two trucks, he bought a new F150 around 2014 or 15 while he was working in the oil fields in one of the Dakotas because it was the first time he had real money. He eventually wound up selling it and keeping the Ranger.
That damn thing would not die. Literally everyone in our friend group drove it at some point or another, it helped with pretty much every move, and it transported us all over the place, although whoever got stuck in the back seats had a predictably bad time.
It was a great little truck. We all lived in Alexandria VA at the time (a suburb just south of DC for those who aren’t in the know) and it was also small enough that parking it anywhere in the DC area was never an issue. If I recall correctly it finally shit the bed mechanically in 2020 and my friend took one of the insane early COVID deals on a new one, but that truck gave it its all and I have fond memories of bouncing around in it (literally, it rode like the wheels were welded to the frame) blasting metal.
“I cannot help but notice that FCA/Stellantis’ fortunes began to sink when they discontinued Viper production.”
Bill Stephens would agree.