2001 Ford Ranger

What is it?
2001 Ford Ranger

What's special about it?
Ford's best-selling compact pickup gets a nose job for 2001. Essentially a freshening until an all-new Ranger arrives in a couple of years, the new Ranger gets a larger, more pronounced grille opening and a bolder lower front fascia and wheel arches. It also gains a new series beyond the base XL and midlevel XLT models. Dubbed the Ranger Edge, this top-line version includes a taller "power-dome" hood, monochromatic color treatment and pickup box rail protectors on its special equipment list. For the power-starved truckers, there's good news and bad news: The bad news is that there's STILL no V8 available (we'll look to the next-generation platform to accommodate us on that). The good news is that the more powerful SOHC 4.0-liter V6 from the Explorer will now be available in the Ranger, netting 205 horsepower -- or 45 more than this year's top-of-the-line 160-horse 4.0.

Why should you care?
The Ranger has been the best-selling compact pickup for 13 years running, with some 350,000 being sold last year and the same number estimated for 2000. But with more extensively revamped import versions coming out this year and GM's Crew Cab S-Series versions coming to market, we're wondering if Ford has failed to go far enough to ensure leadership in this very competitive segment. Sure, the automaker plans to rely on its more-expensive Explorer Sport Trac -- a four-door version of the Explorer with a short pickup bed -- to compete against four-door pickups that compete against Ranger. Too bad SVT didn't see fit to bring some excitement to the Ranger line.