The Ford Ranchero is a coupe utility that was produced by Ford between model years 1957 and 1979. Unlike a standard pickup truck, the Ranchero was adapted from a two-door station wagon platform that integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. A total of 508,355 units were produced during the model's production run. Over its lifespan it was variously derived from full-sized, compact, and intermediate automobiles sold by Ford for the North American market.
During the 1970s, the Ranchero name was used in the South African market for a rebadged Australian Ford Falcon utility. Shipped from Australia in complete knock down (CKD) form, these vehicles were assembled in South Africa at Ford's plant in Port Elizabeth. In Argentina, a utility version of the locally produced Ford Falcon was also called Ranchero.
The original Ranchero sold well enough to spawn a competitor from General Motors in 1959, the Chevrolet El Camino.
Fifth generation (1970–1971)
While Chevrolet's El Camino used the same body from 1968 to 1972, 1970 had a complete restyle for the Ranchero, which had started with a boxy body style. Both the Torino and Ranchero featured a shallow-pointed grille and front end with smooth, somewhat more curvaceous lines influenced by coke bottle styling. A fourth trim option was made available in 1970. The Ranchero Squire was an upmarket trim package which featured a woodgrain applique similar to that found on the Country Squire station wagon. Like in previous years, all Torino trim and engine options could be ordered, including all-new Ram-Air 429 Cobra Jet or Super Cobra Jet engines (7 L) with the new "shaker" hood scoop, so named because it was directly mounted to the carburetor and shook with the engine at idle. Also available was a stylish grille that featured hide-away headlamps, as well as an optional hood with an oversized scoop which was standard on Torino GTs. The 1971 is distinguished by a grille divided by a center section.
A minor but nevertheless important variation debuted with the 1970 model. Prior to 1970, no Ranchero had any interior badging identifying it as such. With the 1970 model came a "Ranchero" or "Ranchero GT" badge on the glove compartment rather than Fairlane or Torino badging.
Source: Wikipedia
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