#RangerRaptor

The Ford Ranger is sold worldwide, but Americans have been slower to get new variants and models. That’s about to change, as Ford recently confirmed that it would reveal the truck on Wednesday, May 10.

Ford is keeping the Goodwood Festival of Speed colorful in celebration of Pride Month. It’s bringing a truck called the Very Gay Ranger Raptor to the event.

The rainbow-colored truck, which also has gold accents, will do more than just catch eyes and a take a run up the hill — it will be used to help get attention towards what Ford is calling “Tough Talks”.

An all-new Ford Bronco is going to make its way back to dealerships sometime next year, and the speculation and hype around the next-generation off-roader is nearing feverish levels. Michigan Assembly builds the Ranger. It will also build the Bronco. But that’s not the only pickup truck that will be coming from there.

Automobile is reporting that a Bronco pickup truck is to start production in July of 2024 and will compete directly with Jeep’s Gladiator. The company making the prediction, AutoForecast Solutions, said that design and engineering for the truck began shortly after the launch of the Gladiator.

Why 2024? According to another source, the Focus-based Ford Courier is on the way in 2021. The next-generation Ranger set to go on sale during that time. Ford also plans to launch a Ranger Raptor on the new platform.

Ford announced some HR news today, saying that Trevor Worthington has been appointed vice president, Global Product Development Operations & Vehicle Programs. Worthington has served as veep of Product Development for Asia Pacific since 2013. You may recognize that part of the Ford empire as the area which just got the Ranger Raptor.

Also today, Ford product guru and prolific tweeter Mike Levine promised “Some cool Ford Truck news coming later this week.”

Coincidence? We think not!

News this morning of Ford deciding not to bring the Raptor Ranger to American shores (via Autoblog) whipped your normally placid author into frothy indignation, prompting him to print off a Blue Oval and emphatically throw his entire collection of competition-grade Elkadart Razor steel-tipped darts at it.

Okay, maybe the situation is not that dire here in the office. But given some strange product decisions, Wall Street frustrations, and a mystifying new ad campaign, we’re left with one inescapable question:

What in the name of Henry Ford is going on at The Glass House?

The resurrected Ford Ranger hasn’t yet sold a single unit in the United States, but for one class of truck customer, what we saw unveiled in Detroit in January lacked the necessary cohones. As such, they’re holding out for word on a midsize pickup with the brawn and, um, width of the F-150 Raptor.

It must make these customers boil with frustration to see the likes of Australia and Southeast Asia getting all the Ford Ranger Raptor action, with nary a word spoken from the Blue Oval about the variant’s future, or lack thereof, in the United States. Maybe these photos, taken in a Michigan where winter won’t let up, will stoke those fires of hope.

Don’t let the right-hand drive throw you. There’s two reasons why this appearance is worthy of excitement.