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Wieck
The Great Bronco Hope
Ford Bronco Concept
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Photos courtesy of Ford
The Great Bronco Hope
The original Bronco is now cultivating a cult following, even spawning a retro concept in 2004.
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Photos courtesy of Ford
The Great Bronco Hope
The last time a new Bronco was sold was the1996 Bronco II.
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Photos courtesy of Ford
The Great Bronco Hope
Previous rumours touted the Troller T4 (Troller owned by Ford) to be the likely Bronco replacement.
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Photos courtesy of Ford
The Great Bronco Hope
The Bronco Concept from 2004, likely one of the greatest concepts to never be put into production.
By Budd Stanley, photos courtesy of Ford
Ford to add four new SUV names by 2020 – will Bronco be one?
We haven’t had a new Ford Bronco for two decades. While some may say “good riddance,” to many of us in the off-road world, this has been a travesty. To the loyal Ford followers, Ford has handed the off-road SUV crown over to the Jeep Wrangler without a fight. I’m sure the Jeep enthusiasts are just fine with this, however there should be some competition, some kind of rivalry. But what if Ford were thinking about reviving the Bronco?
There are a lot of people that would love to see the return of the Bronco, and Ford knows it. For over a decade, they have been testing the waters, tossing suggestive hints out into the social media sphere and even delighting the faithful with a retro concept back in 2004. However, it seems as though the rumours and innuendo are reaching a fever pitch lately, and Ford recently stoked the fire.
Before we get to that, lets call to the witness stand a story by The Detroit Free Press who reported in November that the Ford Ranger and Bronco could return to North America by "no later than 2020," according to details in a proposed UAW contract. Included in the new product investments commitment is the mid-sized Ranger pickup — currently built in South America and not exported — and a Bronco revival.
Recently at the Chicago Auto Show, Ford announced a bold new plan to add four new SUV’s to the lineup by 2020. They cited that as millennials mature to start families and baby boomers continue to prefer their SUV, that it was paramount to grow the SUV line. However, of even more interest to the off-roader, was Ford’s declaration that all four of these new nameplates will be “in SUV segments in which the company does not currently compete.”
This is the statement that has sent the Bronco lovers beserk; drunk on the idea that the beloved Bronco could make a return. One very noticeable SUV segment that Ford doesn’t currently occupy is the rugged mid-size off-road focused body-on-frame market, one that happens to be dominated by the aforementioned Jeep Wrangler.
This is a very rousing announcement from the blue oval. A new UAW Tentative Agreement also shines light on the fact that Ford are injecting $9 billion into manufacturing plants across the U.S. Of particular attention is the $700 million infusion into the Michigan Assembly plant to open up a new line for 2018, which is expected to be the new home of the Ford Ranger, followed by the Bronco in 2020.
With this announcement, a lot of people are quite certain that the Bronco, and the Ranger for that matter are a done deal, some even posting that it has all been publically confirmed. Ford Canada has definitively said there is nothing to report at this time, however there is evidence backing up the excitement building around the Bronco.
So, lets make some predictions, based off totally unconfirmed facts, because we like this sort of thing. We expect the return of the Ranger to indeed come in 2018, likely made public in about a year’s time at either the Detroit or Chicago Auto Shows. It will likely be based off the global Ranger platform, because that's what Ford do, and they would be foolish not to. We’ve had some time behind the wheel of that truck and really can’t understand why we don’t already have it. Expect the Bronco to come a few years later, built off the Rangers platform and likely sporting a proper 2-speed transfer case, likely the 2.7L EcoBoost and possibly the 3.2L turbo diesel.
Regardless, the next couple years should be interesting as we start to get confirmed information from Ford. Here’s to the great Bronco hope, and the possibility we might have two proper off-road SUV’s to choose from in the near future.