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37-513: The Ford Ranger is a compact or mid-size pickup marketed globally by Ford over a series of generations, varying between both in-house or outside development and manufacturing — and with a hiatus in North America from 2011–2018. Debuting as a compact pickup in North America in 1982 for the 1983 model year, the Ranger was later introduced in some South American countries. From 1998 to 2011,
74-609: A "compact car" target that was larger than what has become known as the "light car" or the kei car . One of the first compact cars that met those requirements was the Toyota Publica with an air-cooled two-cylinder opposed engine, the Datsun 110 series , and the Mitsubishi 500 . The Publica and the Mitsubishi 500 were essentially "kei cars" with engines larger than regulations permitted at
111-427: A 4-door SuperCrew (5-foot bed). With the current model, the two-door standard cab is not offered for sale in North America. The model line is manufactured by Ford at its Michigan Assembly Plant at Wayne, Michigan . In 1995, exports of the Ranger began to select Latin and South American countries. To accommodate the demand for the vehicle, Ford Argentina commenced local production of the Ranger in 1998, introducing
148-615: A 500-kilowatt solar panel system and ten electric vehicle charging stations for recharging electric part-transport trucks running between adjacent facilities. With these upgrades, it manufactured the third-generation North American Ford Focus from December 14, 2010, until May 4, 2018. Ford reintroduced the Ford Ranger pickup in the North American market for the 2019 model year with the Bronco to follow in year 2021, and they are produced at
185-519: A four-door cab not sold in North America. During the 2000s, Rangers produced by Ford Argentina shared a common chassis with North American-produced vehicles, while offering a diesel engine option to meet local demand. For 2010, the locally-produced Ranger underwent a final exterior revision exclusive to the South American market. Ford Argentina ended production of the compact Ranger following the 2011 model year to shift its production to its replacement,
222-512: A license plate number beginning with "5". In the past, the small size category has received tax benefits stipulated by the Japanese government regulations , such as those in the 1951 Road Vehicle Act . In 1955, the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry set forth a goal to all Japanese makers at that time to create what was called a "national car". The concept stipulated that
259-745: A new market segment and the U.S. automobile industry soon adopted the "compact" term. Several competitors to the Nash Rambler arose from the ranks of America's other independent automakers, although none enjoyed the long-term success of the Rambler. Other early compact cars included the Kaiser-Frazer Henry J (also re-badged as the Allstate ), the Willys Aero and the Hudson Jet . In 1954, 64,500 cars sold in
296-606: Is located adjacent to Wayne Stamping & Assembly . The plant was built in 1957 and has seen many expansions and upgrades. It currently produces the Ford Bronco and Ranger . The plant opened in 1957, as the Michigan Station Wagon Plant producing the Mercury Colony Park station wagon . In 1964 the plant was re-tooled to produce pickup trucks, producing the first F-100. In 1965 the 100,000th truck rolled off
333-681: The Recession of 1958 , the only exception to the sales decline was American Motors with its compact, economy-oriented Ramblers that saw high demand among cautious consumers. By 1959, sales of small imported cars also increased to 14% of the U.S. passenger car market, as consumers turned to compact cars. By this time, smaller cars appealed to people with a college education and a higher income whose families were buying more than one car. Customers expected compact cars to provide improved fuel economy compared to full-sized cars while maintaining headroom, legroom, and plenty of trunk space. Between 1958 and 1960,
370-466: The "small Ford" and produced the Ford Vedette . The first U.S.-produced postwar compact car was the 1950 Nash Rambler . It was built on a 100-inch (2,540 mm) wheelbase, which was nonetheless still a large car by contemporary European standards. The term "compact" was coined by a Nash executive as a euphemism for small cars with a wheelbase of 110 inches (2,794 mm) or less. It established
407-791: The 1980s that American cars were being downsized to truly international dimensions. In the 1985 model year, compact cars classified by the EPA included Ford's Escort and Tempo as well as the Chevrolet Cavalier. For the 2019 model year, the best sellers were the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. In Japan, vehicles that are larger than kei cars , but with dimensions smaller than 4,700 mm (185.0 in) long, 1,700 mm (66.9 in) wide, 2,000 mm (78.7 in) high and with engines at or under 2,000 cc (120 cu in) are classified as "small size" cars. Small-size cars are identified by
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#1732847723251444-609: The 2011 model year). The Ranger light-truck chassis architecture served as the basis for a wide range of vehicles over its production. Along with sharing body and powertrain components with the Ford Bronco II and Ford Explorer SUVs, the Ranger also shared components with the Ford Aerostar minivan and the Ford Explorer Sport Trac mid-size pickup truck. Through the use of rebadging , from 1994 to 2009, Mazda marketed
481-692: The 2019 model year, the Ranger was reintroduced in North America using the globally-marketed T6 model. It is manufactured at the Michigan Assembly Plant at Wayne, Michigan . The Ranger is smaller than the F-150 and larger than the Maverick in the Ford North American pickup truck range, while for markets outside the Americas it is typically the only Ford pickup offered for sale. The second generation of
518-570: The Ford Ranger in the United States and Canada as the Mazda B-Series (the reverse of the 1970s Ford Courier and also the reverse of the Ford Ranger outside of North America). While among the highest-selling vehicles in the compact segment for nearly its entire 29-year production, an overall decline in demand for compact trucks led to its discontinuation after the 2011 model year (a short 2012 run
555-605: The Honda City, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6, and the Changan Alsvin. Michigan Assembly Plant Michigan Assembly Plant , formerly known as Michigan Truck Plant , is a Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan . The plant employs approximately 2,800 hourly employees and 200 salary employees (May 2020), comprises three main buildings with 5,000,000 sq ft (460,000 m ) of factory floor space and
592-774: The Ranger name on Mazda-sourced pickup trucks, however the Courier name continued through 2006 in Australia and New Zealand. The first-generation Mazda-based Ranger was produced from 1998 to 2006, while the second generation was produced from 2006 to 2011; the latter was derived from the Mazda BT-50 (which replaced the Mazda B series). These Ranger models were sold in Asia, Australasia, Europe, Africa, and several Latin American markets. In 2011, Ford introduced
629-404: The Ranger name returned to use by Ford as a trim package for F-Series trucks; in 1972, a corresponding Bronco Ranger was introduced. Offered through the 1981 model year, the Ranger trim served as the mid-level to high-level trim package. Following the 1981 model year, the Ranger trim line was withdrawn from its light trucks, largely in anticipation of its 1983 model year compact pickup truck which
666-577: The Ranger nameplate was used for models developed by Mazda for sale outside the North American market. In 2011, Ford introduced the first Ranger based on the T6 platform . Considered a mid-size pickup truck, the model was developed in-house by Ford Australia . In that same year, the North American-market Ranger was discontinued, leaving the T6 platform -based Ranger as the sole Ranger model worldwide. For
703-560: The T6-based Ranger was released in 2021 for worldwide markets, using a revised T6 platform. Prior to its use on compact pickup trucks, Ford used the Ranger nameplate on three different model lines. The Edsel division was the first to use the name, with the Edsel Ranger introduced in 1958 as its lowest-trim sedan; the model line lasted through the 1960 demise of the Edsel brand. For 1965,
740-582: The T6-based Ranger (codename: P703 ) was released in 2021, featuring major changes while riding on a revised T6 platform dubbed the "T6.2". Compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class —predominantly used in North America—that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars . "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, before
777-407: The U.S. were imports or small American cars, out of a total market of five million cars. Market research indicated that five percent of those surveyed said they would consider a small car, suggesting a potential market size of 275,000 cars. By 1955, the Nash Rambler that began as a convertible model became a success and was now available in station wagon , hardtop , and sedan body styles. During
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#1732847723251814-807: The beginning of a downsizing of all vehicles so that cars such as the AMC Concord and the Ford Fairmont that replaced the compacts were re-classified as mid-size, while cars inheriting the size of the Ford Pinto and Chevrolet Vega (such as the Ford Escort and Chevrolet Cavalier ) became classified as compact cars. Even after the reclassification, mid-size American cars were still far larger than mid-size cars from other countries and were more similar in size to cars classified as "large cars" in Europe. It would not be until
851-564: The combined passenger and cargo volume, compact cars are defined as having an interior volume index of 100–109 cu ft (2.8–3.1 m ). The beginnings of U.S. production of compact cars were the late 1940s prototypes of economy cars, including the Chevrolet Cadet and the Ford Light Car. Neither car reached production in the U.S., however Ford SAF in France bought the plans of
888-554: The downsizing of the United States car industry in the 1970s and 1980s, larger vehicles with wheelbases up to 110 in (2.79 m) were considered "compact cars" in the United States. In Japan, small size passenger vehicle is a registration category that sits between kei cars and regular cars, based on overall size and engine displacement limits. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fuel Economy Regulations for 1977 and Later Model Year (dated July 1996) includes definitions for classes of automobiles. Based on
925-418: The first Ranger based on the T6 platform (codename: P375 ). Developed by Ford Australia, the T6-based Ranger replaced the American and Mazda-sourced Rangers with a single model, also forming a basis of the second-generation Mazda BT-50. The T6-based Ranger models are marketed worldwide, although it was not marketed in the United States and Canada between 2011 and 2018 model years. The second generation model of
962-567: The line. In 1968 two large additions were made to the plant that increased overall capacity. The plant was expanded again in 1974, 1991 and 1996. In 1997 the plant began producing SUVs, and in 2010 was re-tooled again to produce the Focus. By late 2010, Ford completed a $ 550 million renovation, enabling the plant to change production between various models without significant downtime and to produce gas-powered cars as well as battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid variations. The renovation also included
999-518: The major U.S. car manufacturers made a push toward compact cars, resulting in the introduction of the Studebaker Lark , Chevrolet Corvair , Ford Falcon , and Plymouth Valiant . These models also gave rise to compact vans built on the compact car platforms, such as the Studebaker Zip Van, Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier , Ford Econoline , and Dodge A100 . During the 1960s, compacts were
1036-534: The mid-size Ranger T6. In 1971, Ford entered the compact truck segment as it marketed the second-generation Mazda B series under the Ford Courier nameplate; the Courier was marketed worldwide. For 1983, the Ranger replaced the Courier in North America, while Ford continued to source the Courier from Mazda for global markets into the 1990s, following the development of the B-Series model line. In 1998, Ford introduced
1073-413: The model line sold as a mid-size pickup truck, the fourth-generation Ranger is derived from the global-market Ranger T6 designed by Ford Australia with adaptations accommodate US government regulations along with other modifications made to match local market demands. The current generation of the Ranger is offered in two configurations on a 127-inch wheelbase, including a 2+2 door SuperCab (6-foot bed) and
1110-622: The passenger and cargo compartments were introduced in the late 1970s. In the early 1970s, the domestic automakers introduced even smaller subcompact cars that included the AMC Gremlin , Chevrolet Vega , and Ford Pinto . In 1973, the Energy Crisis started, which made small fuel-efficient cars more desirable, and the North American driver began exchanging their large cars for the smaller, imported compacts that cost less to fill up and were inexpensive to maintain. The 1977 model year marked
1147-630: The popular Volkswagen Beetle . Compact cars were also the basis for a new small car segment that became known as the pony car , named after the Ford Mustang , which was built on the Falcon chassis. At that time, there was a distinct difference in size between compact and full-size models. Early definitions of vehicle size class were based on wheelbase, with models under 111 inches as compact, 111 to 118 inches intermediate, and over 118 inches as full size, at least until EPA classes based on interior volume of
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1184-538: The smallest class of North American cars, but they had evolved into only slightly smaller versions of the 6-cylinder or V8-powered six-passenger sedan. They were much larger than compacts (and sometimes even mid-sizers) by European manufacturers, which were typically five-passenger four-cylinder engine cars. Nevertheless, advertising and road tests for the Ford Maverick and the Rambler American made comparisons with
1221-807: The time, while the Datsun was an all-new vehicle. These vehicles were followed by the Hino Contessa in 1961, the Isuzu Bellett , Daihatsu Compagno and Mazda Familia in 1963, the Mitsubishi Colt in 1965, and the Nissan Sunny , Subaru 1000 , and Toyota Corolla in 1966. Honda introduced its first four-door sedan in 1969, called the Honda 1300 . In North America, these cars were classified as subcompact cars . By 1970, Nissan released its first front-wheel-drive car which
1258-399: The vehicle be able to maintain a maximum speed over 100 km/h (62 mph), weigh below 400 kg (882 lbs), fuel consumption at 30 km/L (85 mpg ‑imp ; 71 mpg ‑US ) or more, at an average speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) on a level road, and not require maintenance or significant service for at least 100,000 km (62,000 mi). This established
1295-541: Was introduced in early 1982. For the 1983 model year, Ford introduced the Ranger for the United States and Canada. The first compact pickup truck designed by Ford, the American-produced Ranger replaced the Mazda-produced Ford Courier. Produced across three generations using a single chassis architecture, the model line was marketed from the 1983 to the 2012 model years (ending retail sales after
1332-598: Was originally developed by Prince Motor Company which had merged with Nissan in 1966. This was introduced in 1970 as the Nissan Cherry . In 1972, the Honda Civic appeared with the CVCC engine that was able to meet California emission standards without the use of a catalytic converter . In Pakistan, the concept of compact cars is significant. The most common cars tend to be Kei cars . Popular compact cars in recent times are
1369-531: Was produced for fleet sales). On December 22, 2011, the final Ford Ranger produced for North America was assembled at the Twin Cities Assembly Plant , the final vehicle assembled at the facility. For the 2019 model year, the Ranger returned to its model range in North America after an eight-year hiatus to slot below the F-Series. The first example was assembled on October 22, 2018. The first generation of
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