The Ford Ranger is a pickup truck

Pickup truck

A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...

 produced by the Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

. The "Ranger" name had previously been used for a premium styling package on the F-Series

Ford F-Series

The F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford Motor Company which has been sold continuously for over six decades. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150...

 full-sized pickup trucks since 1965. The name was moved to this line of North American compact trucks for the 1983 model year.

In North America, the Ranger is Ford

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

's compact pickup truck. The Ranger replaced the Ford Courier

Ford Courier

- North America :This was a commercial model based on Ford's full-size stationwagon line. Its model code was designated 78A.From 1952 to 1956 access to the rear storage area was through a unique door hinged on the side. For 1957 and 1958, the rear access door was a combination of the lift gate and...

, an American version of the Mazda B-Series, in a segment largely defined by the Toyota and Datsun pickup trucks.