The Ford Ranchero was a coupe utility produced between 1960 and 1979 based on full-size, compact and intermediate automobiles by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market.

Variations based on the original 1960 US Falcon for home markets in Argentina and South Africa were produced through the late 1980s.

Though Ford car/truck combinations had been around since 1934 when Ford Australia's lone designer Lew Bandt penned the world's first coupe utility, thereby spawning the popularity of the so-called "ute" in that country, the Ranchero was the first postwar American vehicle of its type from the factory and did well enough to spawn a competitor from General Motors in 1959, the Chevrolet El Camino.

Unlike a pickup truck, the car-based Ranchero and El Camino were designed with an integral cab and cargo bed throughout production.

A total of 508,355 units were produced during the model's production run.

1957-59

See also 1957 Ford

1960-65

In 1960 the Ranchero became much smaller, becoming based on Ford's compact Falcon, specifically the two-door sedan delivery variant. The popularity of small, economical cars like the Volkswagen Type 1 and Renault Dauphine perpetuated a shift in thinking among the three largest American manufacturers; 1959 would see the introduction of the 1960 Falcon along with the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair and Plymouth Valiant. The economic recession of the late 1950s certainly played a role as well. Ford believed the market wanted a more practical vehicle, one much smaller, lighter and cheaper than a full-size pickup truck, and indeed the Ranchero sold well in this incarnation. Now marketed in print as the "Falcon Ranchero," the new vehicle's standard powerplant was an economical straight-6. In 1961 the straight-6 was offered, and in 1963 the optional V8 was offered in addition to the 144 and 170. The two-speed Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission (offered between 1960 and 1963) or three-speed C4 Cruise-O-Matic could be ordered as could a three-speed manual transmission.

The Ranchero evolved along with the Falcon in 1964, becoming just a little larger along with its parent and using the same basic body style for 1964 and 1965. In 1965, the V8 replaced the discontinued 260 and an alternator replaced the generator in all Ford cars.

1966-67

1966 was a one-year model, when Falcon and Fairlane were redeveloped on the same basic platform, one which did not include the sedan delivery as 1965 marked the final year of sedan delivery production. Instead, the 1966 Ranchero used Falcon front sheet metal, trim and interior accents on a modified station wagon platform. Engines available were the I6, I6 and two- and four-barrel versions of the V8. Transmissions choices ranged from the C4 three-speed automatic to the three-speed column-shifted manual.