Ranger (automobile)

The Ranger was a General Motors car brand which lasted from 1968 to 1978. Used in three main markets, the original automobile was marketed as "South Africa's Own Car" and was built in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, from 1968 to 1973. The European model range was sold in two main markets, Belgium and Switzerland. It was produced by General Motors Continental SA from 1970 to 1978 in Antwerp, Belgium. General Motors Suisse SA in Biel-Bienne, Switzerland, also produced Rangers from 1970 until that factory's closure in August 1975. A few Rangers were also sold in the Netherlands, perhaps to overcome some lingering resistance to German brands.

The cars built in this period were a mixture of parts from other General Motors products and featured a body shell similar to the Opel Rekord but with a Vauxhall Victor FD grille, and internal parts from various large Vauxhalls and Holdens, although the European Rangers had very little to differentiate them from Opels. However, as the second generation cars became even closer to models marketed by Chevrolet in South Africa and Opel in Europe, it was decided that this kind of brand was irrelevant and thus the marque was discontinued. A 1972 Belgian road test of the Ranger 2500 even begins by calling the existence of the Ranger brand hard to explain. The Ranger B was built only in Antwerp, and sold only in Europe.

South Africa received the Ranger A only, introduced in the summer of 1968. The South African Rangers had a stylized springbok logo until 1970, when a copyright conflict with the South African athletic association put a halt to further use - not entirely surprising, as use of the Springbok name had already been ruled out on such grounds. General Motors South Africa had two parallel sales networks at the time, Chevrolet/Opel and Pontiac/Vauxhall. After the Victor 101 (FC) was discontinued it was replaced by the Ranger rather than the new Victor FD. The Ranger was better able to meet local content targets set by the South African government.

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