Back in 1982, Ford surprised fans when it released a new model, the Ranger, as a 1983 model. It has taken this mid-size pickup 40 years to rise above its modest beginnings, compete against Japanese pickups, and become a beloved pickup truck mainstay. Ford sold an astounding 120,958 Ford Ranger vehicles in the United States in 2005, and while sales of the Ranger declined in the 2010s, they rose once again in 2020, when the automaker sold 101,485 units.