Ranger, Bronco Return

Ford’s absence from the small-truck market will end in 2019 with the introduction of a new Ranger midsize pickup.

- Drew Hardin

A year later comes a new Bronco midsize SUV. Few details about either truck were given at Ford’s January press conference. The Ranger will be a North American product, Bronco a global one. Both will be built at Ford’s Michigan assembly plant and share body-on-frame plat forms. That makes a lot of sense for the pickup, and it would seem to point to some off-roading ability for the new Bronco. Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas, hinted at this when he said the new Bronco would be “capable of conquering everything from your daily commute to gravel roads and boulders.”

Rangers have been available in other parts of the world for years (U.K. version shown here), fitted with gas and diesel engines. Ford could save itself a lot of development money by repurposing a global Ranger for the U.S., if that truck could be safety- and emissions-certified for use here.

There has been a lot more speculation about the future Bronco. Two doors or four? Wrangler fighter or soft-roader? Retro or modern? The last time Ford used the name was on the 2004 concept truck. We liked it at the time, but industry sources say Ford’s design director, Moray Callum, is not a fan of retro styling, so a throwback like that concept truck is not likely.