In this week’s episode of Regular Car Reviews, we drive the 1989 Ford Ranger, a coming-of-age companion and a cultural artifact from a time when size didn’t matter. The 1989 Ford Ranger is more than just a compact pickup, it’s the king of the small trucks. A pickup truck for people who didn’t need bells and whistles to be happy. But for many, it was also their first truck, a gateway to independence, a symbol of youthful freedom, and the vehicle that carried them into an uncertain adulthood. Let’s investigate why this truck is so important to the history of Ford and Mazda, how attitudes about pickup trucks changed, and whether it still holds up today.