Since Motor Biscuit last reported on Ford’s coming new small pickup in October we now have more news. This paints a clearer picture of what the new pickup will and won’t be. It will debut at the end of next year as a 2022 model. It’s a unibody design which it will share with the Bronco Sport but that’s not all it will share. The styling will also share Bronco Sport sheetmetal, or at least some heavy Bronco styling cues if it doesn’t. 

This is the only unibody pickup beside the much-maligned Honda Ridgeline. However, by the time it is built Hyundai will be building the Santa Cruz pickup also with a unibody platform. It will come standard in front-wheel-drive, but will also be available as all-wheel-drive. With the Focus and Fiesta sedans no more this will act as a replacement of sorts.

Could Ford be reviving the Courier name for its new small pickup?

The last small pickup from Ford was called Courier. It was just a rebadged Mazda B-series pickup from the 1970s. Could Ford revive the name? We know it recently trademarked the Courier name if that matters. According to Motor Trend Ford is looking at “Ranchero” as a possible name. Also “Bronco Scout” is another name contender.

Sharing a Bronco name and sheetmetal would help to build a Bronco brand within Ford. We know that two engines will be available, both EcoBoost engines. The 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with 180 hp and 2.0-liter turbo-four cylinder with 250 hp. 

Ford COO Jim Farley showed pictures of the trucks as well as revealing a $20,000 price

Ford COO Jim Farley recently showed images of the new pickup at a dealers meeting. He also said it would sell for under $20,000. From descriptions based on this meeting, the pickup will have bold, truck-like styling. It will not have sedan-like features of the original Ranchero that Ford produced from 1957-1979. That also shared its platform mate’s styling which floated between full-size, mid-size, and compact versions throughout its life. 

Being a pickup and sharing Bronco Sport components it will obviously be built at the same Hermosillo, Mexico, plant as the Bronco Sport. That means it will be subject to the “chicken tax” unless it contains a certain amount of US-sourced components. There have been rumors that Brazil will be the first country to get the pickup sometime in 2021. 

Ram’s new Ram 700 pickup is similar but it is already in production

Earlier this month we reported on Ram’s new mini-truck also being built on a unibody platform. However, it is in production. In Mexico, it is called the Ram 700 and in Europe, it is sold by Fiat as the Strada. So the whole small unibody truck thing is happening.

Time will tell if GM joins in on the small truck fun but we expect that it will. It needs something to make up sales for the sedans it has killed over the last couple of years. We expect this fog of pickups and SUVs to spread throughout the manufacturer’s product lines as a way to replace those lost sedans.