Ford was the first American automaker to introduce a coupe utility pickup in its lineup with the 1957 Ranchero, which rode on a station wagon platform but had a carlike, unitized body with a cargo box behind just one row of seats. Beating Chevy’s arguably more famous El Camino to the punch by one model year, the Ranchero is a true original, yet Ford had to cut through a lot of red tape to recapture the trademark. Better still, all that effort suggests the automaker is considering adding another truck to its lineup, hopefully one that’s as stylish and maneuverable as its 1957 forebear.
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