The idea of using a vehicle strictly as a marketing exercise is as old as getting a free gift when you open a bank account. The Ford Ranger Splash was an obvious attempt to draw younger shoppers into the showroom with an advertising campaign focused on cultivating an adventurous (and fun!) lifestyle through buying a pickup truck. These days, original Splash trucks are hard to find with their snazzy period-correct decals and original equipment still attached, but this 1993 example listed here on Craigslist appears to be a survivor.
The seller is asking $6,200 for this unspoiled Splash, which features the base-spec 4-cylinder engine paired with a 5-speed manual. A 2.3L 4-cylinder engine is under the hood, but a 3.0L V6 was optional. The interiors were not nearly as special as the outside, which combined colorful decals with a stepside bed. 2WD models also had lowered suspension, which added to the aggressive look. It wasn’t all that complicated, but the look, combined with the marketing that backed it, made it a home run.
Now, I don’t have sales figures to support those claims, but it sure seemed like the perfect combination of appearance and message coming together in a vehicle that would otherwise have been fodder for a plumbing fleet. These were basic trucks, which is obviously what makes the Ranger so charming, but the Splash added just enough to the base package truck that it seemed like a wholly different model. I’m willing to bet there’s a recording from a focus group somewhere that perceived the Ranger Splash in ways Ford’s entry-level truck had never been looked at previously.
Ads like these were the crux of the campaign. Someone was surfing, water skiing, kayaking, or otherwise just living life to the fullest behind the wheel of a Ranger Splash. In some ways, it should have been completely obvious to anyone with a pulse that a pickup truck could support a lifestyle that required a lot of equipment, but the success of the Ranger Splash proved that was not necessarily the case. This Ranger’s 4-cylinder engine produces around 100 b.h.p. and 130 lb.-ft., and with a manual gearbox, it should prove to be as fun as its name implies. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the tip.
Nice one, Jeff and Curvette! This would be a nice replacement for the too-small Dodge D-50.
By all accounts these are great small trucks. In the south they are still very popular. My n.d.n. has two and raves about them. They are identical and both look like new, btw.