Vincent D. presents us the pictures of his Ford Ranger 2, off-road vehicle produced since 1983 in North America, and of his Coverlux hail from Comptoir du Cabriolet. The second generation Ford Ranger was marketed from 2006 to 2012 by a factory in Thailand.

Before the Ranger

Ford’s Ranger off-road range was born after a partnership with Mazda in 1960, with the aim of developing the pick-up sector. Following the boom in sales of compact pick-ups. Ford avoided the risk related to an unknown sector and Mazda recovered financing in return. Their first vehicle being the courier, they then launched the Ranger. At the heart of its development was the reduction of fuel consumption to a minimum. This was the biggest challenge they had to face.

The 3 design steps:

1. To begin with, they reviewed the car’s aerodynamics with 500 hours of wind testing. In order to optimize this part of the vehicle.
2. Then, they modified the engine. They thought of 2 engines of 4 cylinder, one of 2 liter and an optional one (except in California). They also modified specific components like the valve to reduce friction.
3. Finally, they wanted to reduce the weight as much as possible. They launched computer-assisted analysis. By using lighter materials such as an aluminum differential axle or magnesium brakes, they were able to reduce the weight by 20%.

Ford Ranger released out in markets

The first generation Ford Ranger was sold in 1893 for a price of about 6000$ in North America. The range arrived in Europe in 1998 with the third American generation (and first European).

Approximately seven million Ford Rangers were sold throughout the production run.

It has two four-cylinder diesel engines of 2.5 and 3 liters. With a maximum power of up to 143 horsepower and acceleration from 0 to 100 in about 11 seconds.

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