The return of an icon

Ford Bronco: Better than the Jeep wrangler!

Ford took the cover of the new Bronco this week and since then the internet has not stopped talking about it. The new Bronco has ticked two very important boxes, this being nostalgia factor and yet modern looking unlike the land rover discovery that is too modern and doesn’t have any design elements to give buyers that nostalgic feeling. Ford has managed to reach a very wide group of audience by launching three models under the Bronco name. While those who spend most of their time in urban areas but want a weekend getaway vehicle can choose the Bronco sport. The two door and four doors directly compete with the jeep wrangler and are meant for hardcore off-road users. The two and four door models give a complete open-air experience.

The new Bronco 2 door and 4 door Bronco comes with a 2.0L twin turbo 4 cylinder producing 270 bhp and 310 lb-ft of torque, or a 2.7 V6 that produces 310 bhp and 400 lb-ft of torque. These engines come with a 10 speed automatic or a 6+1 crawl gear manual with the 4 cylinder. The car comes with standard 4-wheel drive. The thing that got everyone talking about the new Bronco however is not the power train, it is the host of features that is on offer. These are all features that come in handy while off-roading, things like a phone mounting point on dashboard, or the slide out bench, these are just two features amongst a long list. The off-road industry has been left speechless, as Ford is offering 35-inch tires from the factory and Bilstein dampers with piggyback reservoirs are fitted at all four corners if you select the Sasquatch package.

History of the Ford Bronco

Coming to the history of the Bronco, the car was created or developed under the project name G.O.A.T (go over any terrain), this abbreviation is also found in the new Bronco. The Ford Bronco was designed to create a new market that no manufacturer had entered, the off-road market was mainly filled with military surplus jeep’s, or a dodge power wagon. These two were fabulous off-road but not the best on road. The Ford Bronco was hence created as a car that had the utilitarian looks and yet performed on and off the road. The initial sketches were done by a man named McKinley Thompson, after serving the army corps of engineers in WW2, he won a design scholarship in 1953 called “From Dream to Drawing Board”. He was hired by Ford who was impressed by his work.

The original Ford Bronco came in three different types of body’s, a roadster, a ranger wagon, and a pickup version. The roadster didn’t grab a huge number of sales as it was rather impractical, hence it was taken out of the market in 1968. The first gen Bronco had a barebone interior that spoke of its rugged nature. The accessories list consisted of things such as a winch, shovel, and a snow plough. There was a half cab model as well which was quite innovative but not well received causing Ford to pull it out of production in 1972. The first gen Bronco’s came with the 200 CID inline six engine, this was a very popular engine offered by Ford.  Ford sold an estimated 24 thousand units, however the 1974 model Bronco sold more than 26 thousand as it was offered with a 302 CID V8 and the C4 automatic transmission.  There were two higher trim packages offered called the “Ranger” and the “Explorer”.

After looking at Chevy’s success of cutting costs by shortening their existing pickup truck chassis for the blazer, Ford did the same. For the second gen Bronco Ford used a shortened F-100 chassis. This generation of the Bronco is assumed to have had the shortest life span, lasting from 1978-1979. The reason being, there was only one high maintenance V8 on offer.

During the years 1984-1990 Ford launched the Bronco II. The Bronco had turned into a full-sized SUV hence they created a smaller version of the Bronco. This was discontinued as it was not very stable on road and liked to rollover.

The fourth gen Bronco came in 1987 and in the year 1991 they launched the Nite edition trim which came in a paint called raven black.

The fifth gen Bronco was synonymously known for its use by O.J Simpson, who was trying to get away from the Police. By now the Bronco had become mundane and its sales figures were showing similar results. The fifth gen Bronco was given a major safety update, safety features such as a three-point seatbelt, front and rear crumple zone and driver side airbag was added. The Bronco which always had a removable hard top came across a safety issue causing Ford to fit the roof with tamper proof bolts, they also had to remove the instructions from the user manual.

Reason for decline and ultimate withdrawal of the brand from the market

The reason Ford stopped producing the Bronco was due to the fact that people wanted a more practical vehicle, which the Bronco wasn’t. There was a larger demand for a full-sized SUV with 4 doors. I feel that Ford did the right thing by pulling the plug on the Bronco, one reason being the design was going further and further away from the original bronco, and if Ford had continued then it would have been a forgotten brand. People will say that Ford could have brought back the Bronco five years ago, yeah, they could have. I feel that Ford was late to the game but they at least didn’t kill the brand by launching a crossover with the Bronco name. people were upset with Ford for launching the Ford Puma as a compact SUV. What people don’t realize is that it still has the signature Puma look and handling but with more practicality. There are brands such as the Chevy Blazer, and the Mitsubishi eclipse that have destroyed certain iconic brands.

The present Bronco – My thoughts

Why only two engines on offer in the Bronco? Ford knows the design and features are enough to buy them time and build up hype to introduce the raptor version or even an SVT version who knows? For now, the Bronco has enough talking points to mask the fact that there is no V8 on offer. Over all I feel that the Bronco’s comeback was much needed and Ford has made an amazing comeback.

 

 pictures taken from Car And Drive