The Minnesota assembly plant where Ford Ranger pickup trucks were built shut down its production line for the last time yesterday. Rangers were an affordable option to full size trucks (and competition for small import pickups) when they were first introduced in 1982, but the model has continued to decline in popularity since the mid '90s.
Ford seemed to lose interest in its small truck, updating its looks less often as the years passed, but tacking on features that lowered fuel economy (in all but the most basic Ranger) and upped the truck's price, bringing it closer to the cost of buying and operating an F-150. Ford's new(ish) EcoBoost engine has (along with other features) improved F-Series' fuel mileage, and the automaker is banking that the wide array of configurations available in its full size lineup will be appealing to buyers who might have formerly considered the Ranger.
A new version of the Ranger will be available outside the United States, so Ford hasn't totally given up on small trucks. You have to wonder if the company is in a wait-and-see mode, watching the market to determine if it makes sense to deal with the expense of bringing a revised version of its small truck back to the U.S.
Ford Trucks