This is going to be a disaster. The market doesnt want another SUV. The first prototype was sleek, new and exciting. Everything since then as looked like a mini version of the Explorer. That isn't what people want. Please re-evaluate this decision. I work for Ford Stamping and promoted Fords for 24+ years. I would hate to see them get this wrong. I would like to see a sleek version but rough and tough look. Get off the Explorer platform or this will go no where. Give the Bronco some curves and sleek spots. Get away from the box look. Just saying. Proud Ford owner!

 

Hi and welcome Timothy....I'm in the Detroit area. Are you in Michigan or Buffalo or at a different stamping plant? Any inside info on the Bronco would be great!

I'm confused about your poll.

Are you talking about the 2004-5 Bronco prototype? That was a complete box, with the outside corners nipped off at the bottom. And it was built on an Escape platform from what I recall. So it looks like a bobbed 2008 Escape with big tires and a squarer greenhouse. I definitely like it but it's tiny and building it on a Ranger frame, even sawed off, is gonna be tough.

I'm also not clear what Explorer you're talking about--the original 1991 model, the 2002 redo, or the current 2011+ unit body. I like the '02 look with round wheel wells and truck styling cues. Actually the '08 Escape resembles the '02 Explorer in the big round wheel well shape and I like that look also. Not sure which Explorer you're going negative on....

Which curvy exciting old Bronco are you talking about? The stock '66 was a dorky looking boxy thing with rounded edges and dorky body lines that looked like an old Falcon...they looked cool when you added wheel flares and giant rubber but stock they look silly and wimpy with the flat windshield and hubcaps/small tires. The 1978 Bronco looked like an F150...nice dentside truck look but not curvy nor exciting IMO. Add bigger tires and they look cool. (I had a '78 F100 Flareside pickup.)

With the choices you provide, you are obviously leading toward an answer you want--which is an Escape based prototype that is not curvy at all, but your choices are completely unclear without links to illustrations or something. Did you actually look at photos of the vehicles you are describing? Not intending any offense here... The current Explorer is the curviest vehicle of all the ones you mention....

George

 

I like the look of the 2004 Concept. Wish it was a bit larger though with that look

 

If it is a real competitor to the Jeep Wrangler then I'm interested if it's going after the Toyota 4runner market I'm out... way out.

 

I agree with Tim. The concepts I have seen are boring and do not appeal to anything "Bronco" as far as Im concerned. They look like just another SUV

The Bronco has always been special, a bit different. It needs to be a 2-door and needs to look and be tough.

Either one of the ones I posted would be acceptable. I like the big one better.

 

I would like to add my opinion of your opinion. It is the most "curvy" bronco ever made. Also; tough, overbuilt, curvy, tons of factory options and solid axles isn't exciting? I spend a lot of time promoting and saving these rare Broncos and I hate seeing comments like this.

 

Wow, you are truly off base here. My comment re the 78 was that the LOOKS were not curvy or exciting, nor did I want them to be. Nowhere did I talk about function or toughness. I BOUGHT a brand new '78 F100, my first new vehicle, because I really liked AND STILL LIKE the truck-like looks and the toughness. The '78 is a box, with beveled edges (look at the hood), a forward-leaning flat grille, flat window glass. Rounded edges are not curves.

Look at a pic of the 1997 (F series and Expy) to see an example of Ford's "curvy" truck lines, which started with the Taurus, applied to a truck. Most truck guys I know disliked the '97. I don't like it that much although I'm used to them. In 2004 Ford went back to boxes.

Trucks don't do well with curvy styling IMO... The Jeep CJ/Wrangler is totally flat/square including the 3-line wheel wells. The Bronco concepts that people seem to like are squared off also.

 

Not sure what the first and fourth choices mean, but I will say this - If the new "Bronco" is ANYTHING like the Dodge Caliber wanna-be I've seen posted - it will be a FLOP. I've got FIVE Ford trucks parked in the driveway right now, including a Bronco.

 

One question I have for the multi-truck owners is how many of those trucks you bought new and how often you buy new ones? Ford is in the business of selling new cars and trucks and is designing vehicles to deliver max profit and max market share to NEW TRUCK buyers. If you have a stable of 10, 20, or 40 year old antique trucks, does it make sense for Ford to design for you?

To put things in perspective, if you have a '78 Ford Bronco and are talking about what you want in new ones, it would be like you talking about your preferences for the new '78 Bronco in 1978 and owning a '37 Ford truck... Ford designed the '78 for the market conditions at the time, and they are designing the new Bronco/Ranger for current (and future) market conditions.

The '37 Ford pickup was definitely curvy, though

If you seriously are in the market for a new Bronco (and I very possibly am), then your opinion should matter to Ford. Otherwise, you're kind of "bench racin'" as we used to say.

George

 

Excellent points.

I, personally, am not getting a Bronco. With the chances of me ever getting an SUV of any type, I'm definitely an outsider. However, I'm excited to see Ford getting back into the off-road SUV market for the US. You could call me Ford's cheerleader, among all of the doubt surrounding the Bronco project lately...

 

In my opinion, of course Ford should care about the opinion of old Ford fans, even if they might not be purchasing new. We have not had a Bronco in 20+ years now, so if we have a Bronco, its old and good chance was not purchased new.

The opinion of the secondary market reflects directly on Ford. Ford should care about the opinion of the secondary market because when people go buy a new car or truck, one of the considerations is how much can I sell it for in ___ years? When you lease a truck, the monthly lease payment is strongly influenced by the anticipated resale value. Both of those depend on how desirable, in the opinion of used Ford buyers, the truck is.

In every post of yours that I have read, you seem to be telling people they are foolish to expect Ford to give us a new Bronco that looks like or respects the image of one of the old Broncos. You keep reminding us over and over that Ford is in this for the money as if that is the reason we should be happy with whatever Ford dumps on us and calls a Bronco.

When Ford tells us, after 20 years, that it plans to bring back an iconic truck like the Bronco, it is not unreasonable for anyone to want it to look like a Bronco. What seems completely unnecessary and unreasonable is for Ford to tell us they are bringing back the Bronco and give us a 4-Door SUV from India. Yes, they can call it what they want... does not mean we have to like it.

 

This is a good discussion and I certainly don't mean to tell anyone they are foolish. But IMO it is as unrealistic to expect a new 1966 or 1978 Bronco as it is to expect a new 1966 or 1978 F series pickup. You don't have to like the new F series trucks (6 cyl Ecoboosts, aluminum, etc.) but Ford is selling a lot of them. I can't tell you to be happy with the new Bronco or F series, nor can I control what Ford brings to the market. I am trying to forecast what the Bronco will be but ultimately my opinion is worth what you're paying for it

I seriously want Ford to do well with these vehicles because the Wayne, MI plant is in the Detroit metro area, where I have lived all my life, and I come from a UAW and auto employee family. My son is an Univ of Mich engineering grad and is working for a Tier 1 auto supplier.

The Everest and Ranger were designed in Australia, not India, and will hopefully have a large percentage of American content. It puts a bad taste in my mouth that the Focus which is now built in Wayne is going to CHINA for production. The success of local plants impacts my city and metro area.

The little EcoSport is the vehicle to be built in India and is Fiesta sized.

We shall see what styling the new Bronco brings to the market; it won't necessarily look like the Everest, but it will be built on that platform. Maybe Ford can bring in some styling cues from the old Bronco. But in recent years, Ford has saved money by standardizing its platforms worldwide. The Transit van and Transit Connect are obvious examples of this--they do have US specific drivetrains.

The secondary market, which I see as mostly off-lease vehicles, is not much different from the new car market in terms of what is in demand. Ford's current crossovers like the Explorer do very well in that secondary market. (Cars are bombing in both the new and used markets; SUV's are the new *thing* and cash cows for mfrs. Leases on Focuses stink because their residual value stinks.)

I do believe that the Bronco will be a legitimately tough and capable vehicle, and we know it will be truck, not car, based. That is the important difference between the Bronco and Ford's other crossover SUV's (except the Expedition, which is also truck based).

 

Yes it looks like it's going to be a huge bust, the jeep wrangler will be the only real game in town as usual. This new Bronco is going to be a convertible explorer along with the independent suspension, no manual transmission , and many more no's . But it will have four doors and lots of luxury features and a great ride. The opposite of what a real bronco buyer wants. Somehow the females at Ford in charge decided that what the public really misses about the bronco is it being a convertible , everything else they forgot.

 

I am a Michigan man that 9 months of the year drives his 1975 Bronco to work and 3 months of the year gets it ready for next year. That being said, there is a reason I drive my Bronco. v8 Power, Solid axles, a top that comes off, and a style to die for. People get excited to see this old Iron on a northern Mi road. If Ford cant get these 4 things right, please dont build it, you will just destroy a solid name plate.

 

I understand your feelings about how the new Bronco should be, but how does the lack of a V8 destroy the Bronco's namesake?

The first-gen Bronco had an I6 standard without a V8 initially, and the second-gen had an I6 standard as well, starting in '80. The Bronco II never had a V8 AFAIK.

V8s used to be used to compensate for the lack of adequate power out of a smaller engine, but modern V6s and even some I4s can create many times more power than most big block V8s during the fuel crisis years, and even a few years after.