[Leaning Right]

> I miss the Ford Ranger. Simple, cheap and tough. <

Roger that. I want - and need - a good small truck. So I was eagerly awaiting the new Ford Ranger, due out next year. I say “was” because I’ve since read that the new Ranger will be bigger and fancier than the old one.

In other words, the new Ranger will be just another mid-sized truck.

[Drew68]

The Unlikely Return of the Compact Pickup

"Today's smallest trucks aren't very small at all. As many drivers have discovered, they're really midsize trucks with near full-size proportions. This has led to some nostalgia for the "mini trucks" of the '80s and '90s. Some buyers — we'll call them men between the ages of 38 and 58 — complain that if only Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan or Toyota offered something smaller, more efficient and easier to fit in a garage, they would be interested in a compact pickup again.

The problem is, they're forgetting why the Chevy S-10s, Ford Rangers, Nissan hardbodies and Toyota trucks of the '80s and '90s were so popular.

It wasn't because they were small. Instead, it was because they were cheap. Or at least as cheap as any car..."