Pickuptrucks.com is reporting that Ford plans to discontinue its Explorer Sport Trac model after the 2010 model year. My first reaction was, "Ford was still making it?" Although I was aware of  the vehicle's existence, it was so obscure in the last few years, I assumed it had been quietly put out to pasture, or was slowly winding down production anyway.

However, another co-worker of mine seemed upset at its passing. Ironically enough, he also owns a Ford F-150 SuperCrew, which is a much more capable vehicle than the Sport Trac in almost every respect.  

But if one scratches below the surface, I think there is method to this madness. It's no huge secret that the 2011 Explorer is going to go onto a unibody platform, likely based on some variation of the Flex chassis. It's also widely believed the U.S. market is going to get some version of the outstanding Asia-Pacific Ranger in 2012, and the likelihood we're going to get a crew-cab model is almost a given, considering nearly every other company offering a midsize truck has a crew cab variant.

Since the Sport Track neither offers a full-length bed, nor a Chevy Avalanche-style midgate, it seems to me a convetional crew-cab truck is a much more practical all-around proposition anyway.

What do you think? Are you upset at the Sport Trac's passing, or do you really even care?