Rangers to the Rescue - Meet the Pickup Owners Who Can’t Help but Help

DUNTON, UK – Ford Ranger is Europe’s best-selling pickup and now independent research commissioned by Ford has revealed that no fewer than 95 per cent of European pickup owners would assist someone they know in need.

Nearly half of pickup owners (48 per cent) surveyed have performed an off-road recovery for a car owner.

And 22 per cent of pickup drivers have earned nicknames from grateful local communities – from the prosaic (Bob Pickup) to the descriptive (Rescue Rick).

It seems that pickup owners can’t help but help, whether performing an off-road recovery, carrying bulky items or, in one case in France, taking a wild boar to the vet.

Ford’s researchers approached 500 pickup drivers and 500 car drivers from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. They showed just how useful a Ranger PHEV can be in the local community – 49 per cent of car drivers have been helped by a pickup owner at some point, the main reason (72 per cent) being to transport large items such as furniture.

Friends and family mean a lot to pickup drivers, 64 per cent of whom help at least three times a year. It is no small sacrifice of their time – the majority of pickup drivers (58 per cent) spend at least two hours a month helping people. That’s the equivalent of a full 24-hour day, per year.

Ben Glenister, 35, from Farnham, UK, is just one of many pickup owners who selflessly use their trucks to help others.

“I’m a Ford Ranger owner, and yes, I’m definitely community-minded. I’m a cub scout leader, I help out all the neighbours. I get called when there’s something wrong with the sink or the toilet’s not working. I just like helping people – I’m that guy, basically.

“I didn’t buy Wilma the Wildtrak, as we’ve renamed her, so I could help people. I loved the idea of being able to drive some of the green lanes nearby. I just wanted a vehicle that could do it all – we were constantly having problems with needing to tow, or having to borrow someone’s car, having to switch a towbar between vehicles, or not having enough power to tow a double horsebox.

“My mother-in-law has horses, and we’re often asked to pick them up or move them from one field to another. We thought the Ranger would be a good idea for helping family… turns out it’s a great idea, but you never stop helping people!

“Word spreads. People in our friendship group know we have Wilma. It might be helping someone to pick up a set of shelves one evening – it’s no hassle and they’re not having to hire a van. Then they tell three, four, five people and you get a phone call or message from someone new saying, “Is there any chance you can…”

Ben adds: “The toughest ask was harrowing a field for the local horse school – the usual access was blocked and I feared descending a slippery slope that I couldn’t even walk down, but Wilma made it easy. And she made short work of climbing out of there too. I know she’s not, but she feels indestructible, and she’s so versatile.

“I feel gratification when I help someone. I know it can come across that I’m doing it for myself, a bit big-headed, but when you think about it no one else was going to show up – they all say they can do something, but they don’t. I take a lot of pride in making time to help people.”