1 of 5
Courtesy of Ford
Ford’s 4WD Phoenixes
2011 Ford Ranger Wildtrak
2 of 5
Courtesy of Ford
Ford’s 4WD Phoenixes
The off-road inspired Ford Ranger Wildtrak could be very similar to what we will get in 2018.
3 of 5
Courtesy of Ford
Ford’s 4WD Phoenixes
A designer’s impression of what the next Bronco could look like.
4 of 5
Courtesy of Ford
Ford’s 4WD Phoenixes
The 2004 Bronco Concept was great looking a decade ago, and with a bit of touch up, could still work today.
5 of 5
Courtesy of Ford
Ford’s 4WD Phoenixes
We love the retro look of the Bronco Concept.
By Budd Stanley, photos courtesy of Ford
We’ve been hearing rumours for quite a while now that Ford is secretly planning to sneak two iconic 4WD’s back into its line-up. Through several internal plans to rework manufacturing facilities, and proposals to build four brand new SUV nameplates that will compete in markets Ford doesn’t currently build vehicles for, one can only connect the dots and realize that a return of both the Bronco and Ranger are imminent.
Ford has already revealed that a “new product” will be built at the Wayne plant in 2018 and that the Focus and C-Max currently being built there will be shifted to Mexico. It just so happens that the global Ranger platform will be due for its scheduled three-year redesign at this time making for an ideal time to introduce the mid-size. We suspect the Bronco, coming online in 2020, will also be built in this factory.
However, like all manufacturers, they “never talk about future products” so we just don’t get any confirmed schedule for such developments. Well, that has recently changed, and ironically it was not an automotive journalist that squeezed the information out of Ford, but non other than Donald Trump… sort of.
When Trump lambasted Ford over sending manufacturing south to Mexico, the chairman of the UAW Local 900, Bill Johnson, countered Trumps comments when talking to the Detroit Free Press.
"We hate to see the products go to Mexico, but with the Ranger and the Bronco coming to Michigan Assembly, that absolutely secures the future for our people a lot more than the Focus does," Johnson told the Detroit Free Press.
So good news for 4WD fans as Ford will have two new… well… retro new vehicles to choose from. But the big question spreading across the interwebs is, what will they look like?
As the Ranger continues to live on globally, we’re quite certain the redesign will not stray too far from what you see pictured here. However, the Bronco is the great unknown. Will it look like the 2004 concept vehicle or will it take a different direction like that thought up by a creative member of the bronco6g.com forum? Either way, we love both concepts.
The other question is what segment will the new Bronco play in? For Ford to go the full-size route, plugging an SUV body onto an F-150 frame with similar design cues, makes a lot of sense. However, if the next Bronco will truly go after the much sought after Jeep Wrangler market, the fact it will be built in the same factory as the Ranger would lead us to believe lopping a smaller body onto the Ranger frame makes even more sense. Toss a 2.7L EcoBoost or even the Rangers current 3.2L diesel into the equation, and we’re thinking there is a whole lot of awesome coming our way from Ford in the future.