This month, because of a mid-course correction in our long-term program, we had two drivers in the Ford Ranger: John Clor, our Detroit editor, who slogged the fire-engine red 4x4 through mud and snow from Arizona back to the cloudy shores of Lake St. Clair; and Scott Memmer, whose 6-foot-2-inch frame hadn't sustained enough body blows -- so management must have figured -- in the prior 30 days.

Clor loved the Ranger. He has loved a whole succession of Rangers. He may actually want to BE a Ford Ranger. John confessed beforehand to a long-standing love affair with this truck, which his family has owned in various shapes and colors and trim appointments for the better part of 15 years. They changed only when his boys, who play hockey, grew bigger and smarter and started to complain to Dad about the wet hockey gear they hauled in the back, al fresco. The Clors now drive a minivan, which hauls all the hockey junk and other junk inside the cabin, out of rain and sleet and other acts of God. But to the truck.

Clor especially liked the twin rear doors that open for easy access to the rear jump seats. He also enjoyed the beefy, low-end torque the perky V6 offers, although he was disappointed in the gas mileage. Like Memmer the month before, he complained about the driver's seat lack of comfort (he would know, having planted his bucket in the Ranger bucket for three back-to-back, 12-hour driving sessions) and wished the seat had some sort of height adjustment to sooth his sore, well, you know.

All in all, our Detroit representative is overjoyed to renew his love affair with yet another Ranger. He can't wait for the next snowstorm to put this rugged little 4x4 through its paces.

Unlike Clor, Memmer confesses to no previous romance with a Ford Ranger, or any other truck, for that matter. As stated in last month's update, he's not much of a truck guy. Still, this little red puddle-jumper grew on him throughout the month. As a long-range commuter, he appreciated even more than last month the high vantage point and the reliable automatic transmission.

His two teenaged daughters fell in love with the Ranger the moment they laid eyes upon it. (Memmer noticed that the only thing in the area brighter than the Ranger's red paint was his daughters' fingernail polish.) When Memmer pulled up in the parking lot to pick them up from school, they led a swarm of teeny-boppers to the prize. The girls attacked the truck -- opening doors, flipping down jump seats, hopping in the bed, adjusting mirrors. Shouts of "My Dad has to buy one of these!" "This is so cool!" "I love it!" echoed off the school walls.

Memmer still finds the suspension too stiff for his liking, and believes the truck would ride a lot smoother with about a 1000 pounds of cordwood in the back. Maybe Santa Claus could use it for his local sleigh here in So Cal. It's definitely the right color!

Our technical editor would never buy this vehicle with his own money, but it's been fun to drive for the past month. He'd recommend it to someone looking for a bouncy, bubbly, fun conveyance with lots of splash and dash. Hey, the girls like it!

Total Odometer Reading: 24,717
Best Fuel Economy: 19.1
Worst Fuel Economy: 14.8
Body Repair Costs: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: None.