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Wednesday, April 4, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D3 B e s t W h e e l s · O a k v i l l e t I I I I I l F I Ford' s pocket payloader combines style with muscle By Malcolm Gunn SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER f you've had your eye on fullsize pickup because you thought a small truck was exactly that -- small -- w e've got some great news for you. These little brutes have changed plenty since the tiny trucklet era of skinny tires, barelypassable power and weak-kneed hauling/towing capacities. Nowadays, success in this seg ment is measured by how close these not-so-mini-mites can come to replicating the power and loadcarrying ability of full-size pick ups. The small truck category is nearly as crowded as the full-size group with nearly every manufac turer offering a jun io r pickup alongside its heftier haulers. The only current exceptions are Mazda and Nissan, with the latter planning to market a king-size bulk carrier in a couple of years (in addition to its com pact Frontier). The Ranger, a brand that's been in Ford's stable since it replaced the Courier back in the late 1970s, is now more closely linked to the larger F-Series than ever. Both now share a similarlooking horseshoe-shaped grille, and both share the same basic shape of the front windshield that is somehow very, uh, `Ford' in appearance. The power bulge in the Ranger's aluminum hood adds an extra dose of image-building . toughness. Whatever tricks the designers have used, the end result is that the Ranger now looks like part o f the family instead o f distant cousin. Under the hood, the Ranger backs up its hardcore truck image with a beefier V6 option. You can now specify a 4.0-litre SOHC unit that puts out 210 horsepower, a gain of 50 compared to last year's 160-horse OHV unit. That's a whopping 30-per-cent gain. You can also start with the base 3.0litre OHV V6 engine rated at a decent 150 horsepower. A five- Notchback, fastback, buttress? What does it all really mean? O ver the years w e 've been blessed with diverse autom otive design largely highlighted by th e style of th e roof. Th irty years ago, the em p hasis w as not on erg ono m ics, fuel e fficiency or coefficient of drag, but on style. H ere are som e of th e land m ark roof styles th a t m ade th e cars o f old m ore than s im ply m etal and glass. F ly in g b u ttre s s R o o f is h ig h lig h te d b y a n in s e t r e a r w in d o w a n d s w e e p in g ` C ' p illa r. M a d e p o p u la r b y th e C o rv e tte , D o d g e C h a rg e r a n d C h e v ro le t C h e v e lle a n d M a lib u a s w e ll as th e X J S J a g u a r. `B ' p illa r I F a s tb a c k H ig h lig h te d b y lo n g s lo p in g b a c k a n d r e a r g la s s , flu s h w ith ro o flin e . T h e r o o f u s u a lly m e e ts th e b o d y a t th e ta il o f th e ca r. T h e fa s tb a c k d a te s to th e e a r ly 19 4 0 s w ith d o z e n s o f m o d e ls s in c e b u ilt u s in g th is s ty le . T h e la te '6 0 s F o rd M u s ta n g , e a r ly '6 ! B a r r a c u d a a n d C o r v e tte a r e h a llm a r k e x a m p le s o f fa s tb a c k s ty ll N o tc h b a c k N a m e d a s s u c h b e c a u s e it a p p e a rs a s th o u g h a n o tc h h a s b e e n ta k e n o u t th e 'C * p illa r. T h e `n o t c h ' a llo w s th e rooT to b e h ig h e r th a n in a n e q u iv a le n t fa s tb a c k , th e re b y p r o v id in g m o re re a r - s e a t h e a d ro o m . S la n tb a c k T h e 'C ' p illa r w a s o fte n a t a n a n g le s im ila r to . o r s te e p e r th a n , th e w in d s h ie ld . N o t a p o p u la r r o o f s ty le , th e d e s ig n a llo w e d th e r e a r g la s s to s ta y d r y in th e ra in . A p o w e r u p /d o w n fe a tu r e fo r th e r e a r g la s s w a s a n o p tio n in t h e '6 3 /'6 4 M e r c u r y s . M o d e rn -d a y M e r c u r y C o u g a r s m im ic th e s ty lin g , b u t th e r e a r g la s s is p e r p e n d ic u la r to th e b o d y , n o t s la n te d . Coupe R e g a rd le s s o f ro o f ty p e , if th e c a r h a d tw o d o o rs a n d a b o d y -m o u n te d `p o s t' s e p a ra tin g th e fr o n t w in d o w fro m th e re a r, th e c a r w a s c o n s id e r e d a c o u p e . L ik e m o d e r n - d a y c o u p e s , th e r e a r-p a s s e n g e r w in d o w s w e re o fte n fix e d o r h in g e m o u n te d a llo w in g th e m to p o p o u t. In th e 1 9 5 0 s , th e s ty le is re fe r r e d to a s `c o a c h .' H a rd to p H a rd to p c a r s d o n o t h a v e a p o s t d iv id in g th e fr o n t a n d r e a r p a s s e n g e r w in d o w s . T h e ro o f is m o u n te d to th e b o d y o n ly a t th e b a s e o f th e w in d s h ie ld a n d th e b a s e o f th e re a r g la s s . H a tc h b a c k In s te a d o f th e tr u n k lid b e in g h in g e d n e a r th e b a s e o f th e re a r w in d o w , h a tc h b a c k s in c o rp o ra te th e re a r w in d o w in to th e tru n k lid w ith th e h in g e s m o u n t to th e ro o f. H a tc h b a c k s u s u a lly h a v e m o r e c a r g o ro o m th a n c a r s w ith tr u n k s b e c a u s e th e r e is n o p a c k a g e t r a y ( r e a r d e c k ). COPYRIGHT WHEELBASE COMMUNICATIONS ring Tune Up Ford claims the new groupings speed manual transm ission is standard on both engines, while a have reduced the number of build combinations to 184, down con five-speed automatic is optional. Both regular cab and extended siderably from a mind-numbing SuperCab models are available 330,000 varieties in 2000. O f the three available models, with rear-wheel drive, or an optional shift-on-the-fly four- the Ranger Edge is all-new this wheel-drive setup. The 4x4 sys year. This truck joins a growing tem crses an instrumeht-mourfted ` list of competing pickups that three-position switch instead of offer the look and stance of a true the more traditional floor-mount- 4x4, but come with the less expensive rear-wheel drive setup. ed dual-range shifter. For 2001, Ford has not only The Edge has a jacked-up, 4x4made the Ranger more attractive, style ride height, colour-keyed but has consolidated the truck's front and rear bumpers and wheel lineup into three basic trim levels: moldings, and a distinctive meshbase XL; Edge; and XLT. Each style grille. This year, Ranger SuperCabs model has its own distinctive front-end treatment as well as its come with a standard split-folding own set of built-in standard fea bench seat for increased interior storage capacity as well as easier tures. access for passengers using the rear fold-out jum p seats. SuperCabs also include two rear access doors that provide even handier entry or removal for peo ple and/or cargo. Year in and year out, Ford manages to sell around 300,000 Rangers in North America, not including those nearly-identical versions that wear the Mazda BSeries label. Just as the F-150 has become the perennial sales leader among full-size trucks, the Ranger also enjoys top-rung sales success in the compact category. With con stant improvements in power, style and content, this pickup should rule the roost for some time to come. Oil Change Included Parts Extra $79.95 Keepin' it real. VO LK S W A G E N PARTS & SERVICE o Plus tax where applicable. Expires June 3 0, 2 00 1. N o t to be com bined w ith any other offer < t > SERVICE HOURS: M o n .-T h u r. 8 p m -8 p m F rid a y , 8 a in - 6 p in Sa tu rd a y , 8 a m -4 p m Oakville Volkswagen 557 Kerr Street, Oakville (905) 844-3285 O n |fa n r H v t S e t S o lv e i Get your team of 4-8 people together and compete to find 10 secret locations throughout Oakville by solving clues to the theme of M u r d e r . M y s t e r y &. M a y h e m . R v $ li* tv r X u w F o r th e 1 (it It A n n u a l $ 2001 OAKVILLE ROADRUNNER RALLY in su p p o rt o f HALTON WOMEN'S PLACE D in n er s p o n s o r e d b y MIUE S TONE'S GRILL & BAR The $60 per person admission includes the Rally, Dinner, Dancing and a Silent Auction, featuring, % Original Artwork from Envers Chapin Gallery % . Hand Made Asian Rug donated by Carpet Wares ho use Dinner for two at Jonathan's Restaurant H Romantic night at the newly built Old Mill Inn in Toronto ^ Spa Package from The Sanctuary % Hand Crafted Sculpture from F. Bulow Garden Centre § and many, many more great items II Tasr M ilestones CMIUA»A* · Wine with dinner sponsored by: Mansfield, O'Connor Benefit Brokers Space is limited. Register by April 15 by calling 330-9932 Media Sponsored by Q w nkm m e VmUh . www.roadrunnerrally.com THE OAKVILLE BM /ER S a tu rd a y M ay 12th, fro m 4pm I i