• ford showed dealers the small, entry-level, unibody pickup it has been expected to be preparing.
• the pickup is slated to go on sale in 2021 and will be priced starting under $20,000.
• the honda ridgeline is the only other unibody pickup available on the market currently, and it starts at just over $35,000.

it was early last year that ford first confirmed that a small pickup is destined to enter their lineup, a model intended to slot underneath the ranger. in a meeting of dealers, ford chief operating officer jim farley showed off the forthcoming pickup, revealing its unibody design and saying it will be priced starting under $20,000, automotive news reports.

the yet-to-be-named pickup will go on sale in 2021, joining the ecosport in the automaker’s entry-level lineup. although ford says that the vehicle will start under $20,000, we suspect that pricing doesn't include destination. the ecosport, without destination charge, starts at an attractive $19,995, but add in the mandatory charge and that price jumps to $21,090.

the truck's unibody design would put it into a small group of vehicles. currently, the honda ridgeline is the only unibody pickup available on the market, but hyundai recently unveiled plans for a santa cruz unibody pickup slated to begin production in 2021. one dealer in attendance told automotive news that the truck looked like the original ranger.