Mar 28, 2024 | Updated: 11:35 AM EDT

2019 Ford Ranger to Return to United States; Prototype Spotted Near Ford HQ

Feb 25, 2017 01:47 AM EST

Rumors have made the rounds earlier this year that the Ford Ranger would be brought back to the USA along with its big brother, the Bronco. This got a lot of people very excited about what it will have to show when it comes back. Just recently, the rumors have been proven to be true and the Ranger has been spotted on several occasions doing some road tests.

While most car enthusiasts are excited about the Bronco especially since it will don a possible solid front axle made by Dana, a lot might have forgotten about the Ford Ranger which is also a favorite in other regions. Autoblog has caught a picture of a camouflaged one near Ford's headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan which signifies that the manufacturer would want to keep the major styling elements a secret, perhaps until its official release.

While nothing much is known as of now about the camouflaged truck, what was found could be representative of the version of the Ford Ranger which will be released in America or if all that is just being used to hide some American market components that are being tested underneath. Some guess that Ford might split the difference and make the Ranger a dressed down version of the F150 while keeping the side stampings practically on the same plane.

Car and Driver reports that the sheetmetal of the camouflaged truck was very much similar to the Ford Ranger which are currently being sold overseas. This does not come much of a surprise since when people knew that the Ranger would be coming back to the United States, it would be very much related to other versions of it. There is a small chance that the truck shown could just be using the global Ranger's body for testing and evaluating powertains, but there are apparently some cues that point out to American aspirations.

The Ford Ranger was first discontinued in 2011 after nearly 30 years of service in the United States. This left a vacuum in Ford's line-up, which might have pushed Ford later on to think that there being no small or mid-sized truck, buyers might just go ahead to an entry level F150. This vacuum has led Nissan, Toyota and General Motors to develop their own mid-sizers and scramble for whatever was left of the market.

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