That ain’t a van in these pictures.

While it is true the internet had a collective aneurism when Ford brought back the Ranger, there were some pockets of consumers who had a coronary when the company released pricing details. They also carped about the size of the thing, pointing out that it is several orders of magnitude larger than the old Ranger which disappeared from our shores almost ten years ago.

Ford may have an answer to those critics. Eagle-eyed spy photographers have captured this rig running around Michigan highways. While it looks like a small cargo van, it is also very possible that this is a small unibody pickup based off Ford Focus bones.

Look closely at the images and you’ll see why we don’t think this is a van. Behind the driver is what appears to be a sliding rear window, something that’s generally the domain of vehicles with a truck bed. Around back we find some totally fake barn doors and a hastily installed trailer hitch.

The timing of these photos couldn’t be better, as those in the know at Ford have been quietly suggesting such a vehicle is being seriously considered. Such a rig could use the platform and mechanicals of the current-gen Focus but copy-and-paste a cargo bed in place of its sedan or hatchback bodywork. Ford’s initial salvo into the small truck market all those years ago was called the Courier, you’ll remember.

If it were launched for the 2020 or 2021 calendar year, the Courier would slot in Ford’s lineup below the Ranger and be marketed as a small carry-all type truck. Blue Oval fans outside America have been able to buy such a car-based machine for years.

Adding fuel to the speculation fire is the development that Ford applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the right to use the Courier name in this country. Approval was granted earlier this year. It is true that car companies sometimes go through the trademark process to simply protect a name with no intention of, y’know, actually using it on a real car.

Ford is planning to slowly bin the Focus and its car brothers, so this approach would be a way to continue using a platform that has had an untold number of development dollars shovelled at it over the years. Using an existing platform would also keep dev costs relatively low. The company also needs to backfill product into entry-level pricepoints once the Fiesta and Focus vanish from dealer showrooms.

Do you think American would buy a front-drive unibody pickup the size of a small sedan? Would you? We may not have to wait long to find out.