The Ford Ranger, as the least thirsty pick-up truck in the automaker’s line-up as well as in the industry, may have received a stay of execution, so to speak, with sales of the model picking up. The news is most welcome by workers who assemble the truck at Ford’s St. Paul, Minnesota plant, which would close next year to coincide with the end of the aging model’s life.
The Ranger would be continued to be made and sold for another two years, according to sources cited in a Detroit News report. That would give the automaker a small pick-up to sell until a replacement, likely bringing back the F-100 badge, is launched in 2011. That truck would be built overseas and sold globally.
In related news, Ford recently announced delaying the debut of its 2009 F-150 as well suspending its Boss V8 engine program.
The Ranger saw a 2.3 percent sales boost in year-to-year sales up until June, which is more impressive considering the rest of the company’s pick-up trucks sold 18.7 percent less in the same time period.
