1993-98 Ford Ranger Splash

摘要

Introduced for 1983, the Ford Ranger compact pickup's first major redesign didn't come until 1993. The previous truck's simple, straight lines were replaced with smooth, subtle curves, but overall the Ranger still resembled a smaller-scale F-150. Then Ford added more style later in the '93 model year with the addition of the Ranger Splash. Initially only available with Ranger's regular cab on a tidy 108-inch wheel-base, Splash's unique proposition was a pickup bed with projected fenders. In advertising, Ford claimed it was the "world's first and only compact flare-side." Presumably for styling reasons, Ford abandoned the classic fenderside recipe of stamped-metal fenders and separate step plates attached to a steel bed in favor of smoothly formed plastic. In its April 1993 issue, Car and Driver described the bed's side panels: "Each one is made from a single piece of sheet-molding compound, a non-corrosive, dent-resistant composite of plastic and fiberglass that's heated and molded into shape." These pieces attached to a steel cargo box that was narrower than the unit used on other Rangers.