The 1957 Ford Ranchero was a coup for Ford. They completely surprised Chevy when this truck-let was introduced and it sold like hotcakes, moving nearly 22,000 units that first year. Chevy’s El Camino would not hit the streets until 1959.
The concept for the Ranchero was actually born in the early 1930s when Ford started building Utilities or “Utes” in Australia. It was never seen fit for the American market where the segment was thought to be redundant and a potential drain from pickup truck sales.
The Rancheros were basically beefed up ranch wagons that had six leaves in each rear spring pack instead of the four that cars had. The front suspension was also beefed along with a heftier rear axle. The meanest motor available was the 292ci Y-Block V8 with the 223ci six-cylinder being the base mill.
We think this is an odd angle to profile the Ranchero in this publicity shot, but we dig it just the same.
