Ford Ranger - Definition and Overview

The Ford Ranger name is used on two distinct and unrelated pick-up truck lines by the Ford Motor Company.

In North America, the Ranger is usually Ford's entry-level pick-up truck. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was used on versions of the F-100. The current line of Rangers was introduced in 1982 for the 1983 model year. It replaced the Ford Courier, an Americanized version of the Mazda B-Series. The compact Ranger was styled after the full-size Ford pickups, and also offered a four wheel drive system. Prior to the 1983 model year, "Ranger" was a trim package available on the full-size Ford pickups. The car uses code R1 (for 2-door) and R4 (for 4-door) in the 5th and 6th positions of the VIN.

In most other markets, the Ranger denotes a badge-engineered version of the Mazda B-Series, since 1999. Many are supplied from Mazda's Thai and Indonesian plants. It is called the Ford Courier in Australia and New Zealand. Despite the same names as the North American models, they are unrelated: the American Rangers are developed by Ford; the other ones are developed by Mazda.