Ford Bronco Megathread

[mmcartalk]

I thought this was a generally nice, well-made video trying to separate fact from fiction and fantasy on the new upcoming Bronco. The narrator does use one or two words that are NWS, and I don't agree with his negative assessment of the current-generation, post-2014 Impala.....though not an SUV, he brings that up in a side-reference to retro-nameplates through the years. But, overall, IMO, he does an excellent job separating what is (currently) known about the new Bronco vs. what is not. It will take about 15 minutes to watch it. Enjoy.

(Just as an aside note, I hope they, in fact, do the 2-door version pictured behind the narrator, though it may (?) be just a photoshop. That image, IMO, is probably the best-looking SUV I've seen in a long time. I love the chunky squared-off look, round headlights, and the two doors....reminds me of the old 70s-vintage Ford Bronco, Chevy Blazer, and Plymouth Trail-Duster/Dodge Ramcharger twins I used to ride in with some of my colleagues).

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Agreed, the 2-door looks amazing and really sells the heritage.

 

[mmcartalk]

Agreed, the 2-door looks amazing and really sells the heritage.

Especially the bright-blue one shown behind the narrator in the video, with the traditional grille and big round headlights. I didn't care for the other version with the big bull-dog grille. But, we'll see which one Ford chooses...or if it is something still hidden.

 

[Och]

Didn't watch the video, but how does it manage to meet pedestrian safety requirements with that square front?

 

[mmcartalk]

Didn't watch the video, but how does it manage to meet pedestrian safety requirements with that square front?

Well, the video explains that. None of the pictures or images depicted in the video are actual verified shots from Ford. They are basically Internet guesses (and photoshops) of what people either want it to look like or imagine it will look like. The actual vehicle remains to be seen yet.

I myself hope it looks like the squared-off, bright blue vehicle behind the narrator in the video. That has a strong retro-resemblance to the old 70s Bronco/Blazer/Ramcharger style.

 

[Och]

Lets see what they do, hopefully they don't ruin it.

 

[Gecko]

Baby bronco leaked:

This thing will sell like crazy. The actual Bronco is in the background shadow of the middle pic... shape is similar to a Wrangler or G Class.

I hope Toyota has plans to launch FT-4X sometime soon. In this market, they could stand to bring back FJ Cruiser too... but I'll settle for a new 4Runner in the meantime

 

[mmcartalk]

Baby bronco leaked:

I understand that traditional 2-door SUVs are out of fashion today, but, nevertheless in my book, a true Bronco has two doors.

 

[ssun30]

And what's stopping Toyota from building a proper FJ Cruiser when there is a clear demand for it?

 

[Gecko]

And what's stopping Toyota from building a proper FJ Cruiser when there is a clear demand for it?

And what's stopping Toyota from building a new 4Runner when there is a clear demand for it?

And what's stopping Toyota from building a new Tundra when there is a clear demand for it?

And what's stopping Toyota from building a new GX when there is a clear demand for it?

And what's stopping Toyota from building a new LX when there is a clear demand for it?

And what's stopping Toyota from building a new Land Cruiser when there is a clear demand for it?

And what's stopping Toyota from building a new Sequoia when there is a clear demand for it?

 

[Ian Schmidt]

The baby Bronco's adorable, but like @mmcartalk I'm old enough to remember when Broncos had 2 doors only

And yeah, the FJ Cruiser would be a license to print money if they were still making it.

 

[Gecko]

With it looking like the Bronco will directly challenge the Wrangler, I wish Toyota would do the same with the FJ. I remember that for the last gen, they had plans for versions with lift off tops, four doors, etc - just like the Wrangler - but then the whole project was discontinued. There is a lot of opportunity here.

 

[Motor]

 

[Motor]

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2020/07/13/all-new-2021-bronco-two-door-and-first-ever-four-door-models.html

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Coming straight at the Jeep Wrangler is such an obvious idea I don't know why everyone isn't doing it, but this certainly looks like how you do it right. Great combination of raw capability from name-brand suppliers (Dana axles, Bilstein suspension), improvements on the classic Wrangler virtues (detachable doors and roof, but you don't lose the side mirrors when you take the doors off), and some nice new tech. And it's rolling out at launch with 2-door, 4-door, and grocery getter versions. Seems like really strong execution by Ford, be interesting to see reviews of production units.

 

[suxeL]

Good launch thus far. Dont know if the other launch reviews are the same but, the presenter for the Edmunds thing really was pushing "Removable". is this a buzz word that Ford PR is pushing out, or is it just him?

 

[mmcartalk]

This is going to make the people who designed the latest Blazer look like chumps (which I predicted some time ago). They probably took one look at this introduction and said to themselves ........"Oh, **** ". 😮

 

[Carmaker1]

Having first seen this vehicle as a CAD rendering and fiberglass 1:1 back in early 2019, glad to see the good reception it's getting.

During much of covid-19 shutdown, my partner was working on our remote workstation setups, on both this and next-generation Ranger (P703).

It's been a very long journey since final styling sign-offs were made in mid 2018 and full freeze almost two years ago as of this fall.


I give thanks to Anthony Meyer, Robert Gelardi, Chris Young, Paul Wraith, Ryan Olsson, and a few others on our Ford Design set.

As well as the rest of the T6 architecture engineers in both Melbourne and Dearborn.

 

[Carmaker1]

And just a correction to the title, I have long said for 3 years now, this U725 vehicle was going to be a 2021 model and was never a 2020 model year vehicle.



This is from 2016, during U725 development. Job 1 of course changed twice. First time in mid-2018 once major targets were set and recently due to none of us being able to work at PDC in Dearborn, suppliers being held back, and various factors.

 

[ssun30]

Might consider finally selling my JK Wrangler! Looks interesting.