Just recently, Ford made the official announcement that the St Paul, MN, plant will be closing at the end of 2009.  This means the Ford Ranger, which is produced at the Twin Cities plant, will be no more after 2009.  The modern day Ford Ranger as we know it has been around for almost 15 years, so it's a branded nameplate in the Ford stable.  It's hard to believe the trusty little truck will soon be at an end.  External assessments indicate that the production cessation is a result of consistently declining sales volumes.  A mere 92,000 Ford Rangers were sold in 2006, a 24% drop from the prior year.  It's not just the Ford name being dinged here, either; Mazda's B-series compact pickups are dropping off as well, with over a 28% decreases in sales versus last year.  Foreign truck makers are continuing to penetrate domestic market sales and the figures Ford and others are posting is a testament to this very fact.  It will be interesting to keep an eye on the truck market, let alone the entire domestic manufacturer market.