Ranger M,
I know the feeling. My wife owns a 1996 Ranger 4 cyl. manual with about 160k miles. It looks and runs great. We have been hoping Ford would simply build a 4-door version of the Ranger for years. The F-150 is way too big for her, and we don't want to buy a Chevy or Chrysler. The japanese trucks are not even an option. We'd rather walk or take the bus than drive a foreign car. With that said, when we were in Europe this past summer we were tempted to buy one of the 4 doors there and have it shipped here.
I wonder why Ford hasn't made this happen. As for design, they should take some reasonable mix of the
F-150 and current ranger. Offer it in a 4 door and be done with it. Not very difficult.
I like my wife's Ranger, but she has the standard cab, so it's annoying as heck to have ZERO storage space behind the seat.
Ford's got the hard part done... (Great reliability). Just unleash it now with a 4 door.