2021 Bronco

[robg]

Originally Posted by John V

There's this Wrangler-specific thing I've seen over the past few years, that being coming up with some cutesy name that then gets painted / stickered on the sides of the hood. There is a black and orange one that parks at my office which reads "Pumpkin"

Dunno why, but it came to mind when Josh wrote "Fisher Pricey tough veneer."

Ha- that does seem to be a theme with Jeep owners. On a related note, I saw a Prius with an "It's a Jeep thing" bumper sticker on it the other day. Props to the prius owner- made me laugh.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by John V

You have seen the Kia Soul, Jeep Renegade, et al, yes?

That's what this competes against.

Yep.

Jeep “renegade”

Jeep Cherokee (which is now unibody and FWD based)

The difference is that the the Wrangler Sport is ostensibly a more capable vehicle than the Wrangler Unlimited with its shorter wheelbase. Same powertrains and 4WD systems.

This is an accountants’ sense of humor combined with an easy way to make easy money. All good.

[Jeff_DML]

From the reviews I have read it seems like the Bronco sport is a good vehicle.

Majority of the people buying the "real" bronco should just buy the sport since it can handle their required off-roading, drive better on the street and get better gas mileage.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by JST

I mean, no more so than most of the Wranglers I see.

Dunno. Maybe this will lead to brand dilution. I have questions about Ford's overall brand strategy, which has always been to treat their brand names (other than F-150 and Mustang) as trash to be discarded, rather than assets to be honed. And whether "Mustang" is now also being diluted is another good question.

At the same time, the reviews suggest the Bronco Sport is a pretty good product when measured against its actual competitors, and the Fisher Pricey tough veneer is what buyers in this segment want. I don't think many actual Bronco purchasers are going to be turned off by the existence of this thing.

The Mustang Mach E thing I get. I don't think it's a good idea and I would have weighed in against it if they asked, but they didn't.

The Bronco/Bronco Sport thing is much more like when Ford made a Pinto GT and called it the Mustang II.


It's just bad. Will it prevent an "Actual Bronco purchaser" from buying one? No. Will it cheapen the Bronco brand? Yes. Will that cheapening become a factor in a future potential Bronco purchaser becoming a bought-something-else-purchaser? Probably.

If the Bronco Sport wasn't called "Bronco Sport" all would be good. Yet, here we are.

EDIT: Speaking of the Kia Soul, have those of you with teenagers run across the weird anti-Kia Soul TikTok thing yet?

One of my kids might have mentioned something, but I am the anti-TikToker in my house.

[ZBB]

Thinking about the brand thing...

Anyone remember the Bronco II? My dad had one -- it was basically a 2 door SUV version of the early 80s Ranger small pickup - just like the Bronco at that time was a 2 door SUV version of the F150... The Bronco II was replaced by the Explorer -- mostly since the Bronco II's combination of short wheelbase and high center of gravity lead to a lot of rollovers and a negative reputation. I guess the Explorer survived the Firestone issue since they could blame the tires!

It feels like someone at Ford decided they needed sub-brands -- and Mustang and Bronco would be those sub-brands. And the Bronco vs Bronco Sport is just a way of re-creating the Bronco vs Bronco II market segmentation so there would be a Bronco to fit all the price points (since its pretty clear that the "real" Bronco won't be able to compete on price with the lower-end Wranglers). And now we have 2 Mustang models -- a "real" Mustang and an electric crossover.

Speaking of the Mach E... I think I need to go test drive one. I'm curious...

[clyde]

Originally Posted by ZBB

Thinking about the brand thing...

Anyone remember the Bronco II? My dad had one -- it was basically a 2 door SUV version of the early 80s Ranger small pickup - just like the Bronco at that time was a 2 door SUV version of the F150... The Bronco II was replaced by the Explorer -- mostly since the Bronco II's combination of short wheelbase and high center of gravity lead to a lot of rollovers and a negative reputation. I guess the Explorer survived the Firestone issue since they could blame the tires!

It feels like someone at Ford decided they needed sub-brands -- and Mustang and Bronco would be those sub-brands. And the Bronco vs Bronco Sport is just a way of re-creating the Bronco vs Bronco II market segmentation so there would be a Bronco to fit all the price points (since its pretty clear that the "real" Bronco won't be able to compete on price with the lower-end Wranglers). And now we have 2 Mustang models -- a "real" Mustang and an electric crossover.

Speaking of the Mach E... I think I need to go test drive one. I'm curious...

A friend had a used Bronco II for a short while in the late 80s. The things we did to that thing...not sure how we didn't roll or die in it.

I think the idea behind the Bronco badged Escape is simply to sell more Escapes on the tails of the Bronco myth. Had they hit the streets at the same time, or the Bronco before the Broscape, it probably would have worked pretty well. That the Broscape hit the streets does not help that plan succeed, but does not rule it out.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by clyde

A friend had a used Bronco II for a short while in the late 80s. The things we did to that thing...not sure how we didn't roll or die in it.

I think the idea behind the Bronco badged Escape is simply to sell more Escapes on the tails of the Bronco myth. Had they hit the streets at the same time, or the Bronco before the Broscape, it probably would have worked pretty well. That the Broscape hit the streets does not help that plan succeed, but does not rule it out.

BroScape. That is funny.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by lemming

BroScape. That is funny.

I just read some Bronco Sport write ups... My god, the Bronco Sport really is just an Escape with a suspension package and body kit. I probably should have skipped mentioning the Mustang II and Pinto. They were so much closer to being completely separate for the comparison to the Broscape.

[JST]

I remember the Bronco II, yes; learned to drive on one. I’d have to sit down and count but I think our family had...5 of them?

We used to tow our boats with them, which given the short wheelbase probably wasn’t a good idea, but it was the 80s.

My favorite of the group, and the one I learned to drive on, was a bright red Sport with a manual. That thing was hilarious, especially on dirt or snow covered roads.

[JST]

Like this one! They are apparently pretty rare these days.

Anyway, since the mid 70s the Broncos were basically just station wagon versions of pickup trucks. The full size Bronco’s clearest equivalent today is the Expedition.