(In fact, after the four-door Explorer is redesigned for the 2001 model year, the Sport Trac will have more in common with the Ranger pickup.)

The St. Paul factory builds the small Ranger pickup, which Ford plans to keep in its lineup until at least 2008.

However, sales of the small Ranger pickup built at St. Paul have dropped nearly 16 percent this year.

Ford currently produces Ranger compact pickups at a plant in Louisville, Ky.

Mr. Padilla said earlier this week that Edison was "vulnerable" because sales of the Ranger pickup, produced there, had fallen.

Ford is trying to reach younger buyers later this year with its "flareside" Ranger pickup, the Splash.

In 1984, the automaker delivered 27 modified Ranger pickups to North American utilities.

Prices were decreased for the small Ranger pickup, and sales doubled.

The Sport Trac, for example, combines two Ford vehicles that already share a common underbody: the Explorer sport utility vehicle and the Ranger pickup.

The compact Ranger pickup was in fifth place, behind the full-size Dodge Ram pickup.

(In fact, after the four-door Explorer is redesigned for the 2001 model year, the Sport Trac will have more in common with the Ranger pickup.)

The St. Paul factory builds the small Ranger pickup, which Ford plans to keep in its lineup until at least 2008.

However, sales of the small Ranger pickup built at St. Paul have dropped nearly 16 percent this year.

Ford currently produces Ranger compact pickups at a plant in Louisville, Ky.

Mr. Padilla said earlier this week that Edison was "vulnerable" because sales of the Ranger pickup, produced there, had fallen.

Ford is trying to reach younger buyers later this year with its "flareside" Ranger pickup, the Splash.

In 1984, the automaker delivered 27 modified Ranger pickups to North American utilities.

Prices were decreased for the small Ranger pickup, and sales doubled.

The Sport Trac, for example, combines two Ford vehicles that already share a common underbody: the Explorer sport utility vehicle and the Ranger pickup.

The compact Ranger pickup was in fifth place, behind the full-size Dodge Ram pickup.