The Ford Ranger has been produced since January, 1982, but sadly, the iconic car won’t see it’s 30th birthday. Ford is stopping production on the small pickup next week on December 22nd.
Canadian Business reports that Ford Ranger sales peaked in the 1990s but have been declining over the last decade. The American company has started to concentrate more on larger pickups like the F-150.
According to the Huffington Post, small pickups once made up 8% of all vehicles sold. In 1994, 1.2 million small trucks were sold, about a quarter of which were Ford Rangers. Small pickup sales have slowly been declining. Only 297,000 were sold this year.
The company said that when production ends on the Ranger, the plant in St. Paul Minnessota will also be closed. The St. Paul plant has made more than 6 million cars and trucks since 1925 when it was opened by company founder Henry Ford. The plant currently employs nearly 800 workers. Ford says that the majority of the workers will be transferred to other facilities.
Ford will continue to sell a new version of the Ford Ranger in international markets. The new Ranger will be built at plants in Thailand, South Africa and South America.
Here’s an old Ford Ranger commercial.
Were you a fan of the Ford Ranger?
