The Ford Ranger, Reliable and American

I have wanted to write an article about Ford Rangers for a long time; as an owner of one for nine years my desire to write this article is fueled by an almost unnatural love for the little truck that first appeared on the automotive scene in 1983. Ford Ranger, why do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

But first, in all fairness, let me tell you the things that are wrong about the Ford Ranger. First, this throwback to the old days is seriously outdated. Few serious changes have been made to this American icon since it was first introduced. That is not a good thing when your competition in the small truck field is moving forward while you are stuck in neutral. You can find small trucks on the market that have larger engines and more power and more cargo space and better standard features. You can find other small trucks with better styling and better handling and more high tech “stuff” than the Ranger.

But! The Ranger just misses in all of those categories but delivers close to the competition and at a lesser price and here’s the thing….and I write this in all honesty….it just feels good to drive an American pickup that is somewhat of an icon but isn’t bad for the environment. For nine years I owned my Ranger and for nine years it got 25 mpg in the city. For nine years I owned my Ranger and the only major thing that went wrong was I needed to replace the distributor. If I had to put it another way I would say I just felt right driving my Ford Ranger. I know, that’s completely illogical and hardly qualifies as a good reason to own one, but there you go.

As of this writing Ford has finally discontinued the Ranger in America but plans on continuing the model in Europe and some other world cities; it seems that the Europeans have fallen in love with the old gal just as I had, so more power to them and I hope they gain the same amount of enjoyment out of theirs as I did.

Listen, if you are looking for a reliable used pickup then look no further. Find one from around 2000 or 2001 and you can get it at a great price and still with a lot of miles left on it. And finding used parts for a Ranger is as easy as going to your local salvage yard. There are a few out there like Cash-n-Carry, your Savannah You Pull It salvage yard, where you bring your tools and experience great savings on used auto parts.

The Ford Ranger, a little piece of Americana, filled with auto parts that if need be can be replaced by used auto parts at our Savannah salvage yard at a fraction of the cost you would pay at an auto parts store.