First pics of the Baby Bronco

[BarkingGhostar]

Picking on me for something I said two months back is amusing. Maybe they culd issue you a handicap placard for brain slowness. jk

 

[mindless1]

^ I prefer live and let live, rather than poking around in other people's lives judging them... except when they break the law.

Neither of us would like it if someone did the same about our toys.

 

[ultimatebob]

It's cool, but it costs too much. I'm not paying $40,000 for a small SUV to go offroading with... at that price, I'm going to be afraid to scratch the paint.

I kinda hope that Kia or Hyundai do a $30,000 version of something like this eventually. Or better yet, let Mahindra import the Roxor for street use.

 

[mindless1]

^ You pay less up front, and the resale value tanks an appropriate amount. If you hang onto it to avoid resale depreciation, then the hassle and repair costs go up.

Love or hate Fords, one thing they have going for them is a very, VERY strong owner support base and parts support. That can literally save well over $10K initial price difference if you're intent on owning it for the lifetime of the vehicle.

Along the same lines, A Toyota FJ Cruiser was what many wanted except for that buy 'merican sentiment. I'd sooner have a new FJ Cruiser to avoid the nonsense that modern vehicles impose on owners as far as complexity and repair costs. Making a vehicle look simple on the outside but still every bit complex and wrought with failure points and repair expenses, is a bit backwards and contrary to what the target buyer wanted.

Just sayin' that a large % of the potential buyers would as soon have a like-factory-new, original bronco and the prices those fetch restored to new condition, speaks for itself.

 

[zinfamous]

^ You pay less up front, and the resale value tanks an appropriate amount. If you hang onto it to avoid resale depreciation, then the hassle and repair costs go up.

Love or hate Fords, one thing they have going for them is a very, VERY strong owner support base and parts support. That can literally save well over $10K initial price difference if you're intent on owning it for the lifetime of the vehicle.

Along the same lines, A Toyota FJ Cruiser was what many wanted except for that buy 'merican sentiment. I'd sooner have a new FJ Cruiser to avoid the nonsense that modern vehicles impose on owners as far as complexity and repair costs. Making a vehicle look simple on the outside but still every bit complex and wrought with failure points and repair expenses, is a bit backwards and contrary to what the target buyer wanted.

Just sayin' that a large % of the potential buyers would as soon have a like-factory-new, original bronco and the prices those fetch restored to new condition, speaks for itself.

A dude near me has one parked in his driveway, very clean on the outside. I don't know much about Broncos, so I certainly can't identify one on sight, but it's very similar:

I want one, if only because I can drive around and be all crabby towards youngsters, like the coach in Dazed and Confused

 

[ultimatebob]

I'm just saying... how many people buy a $40,000 SUV and then take it rock crawling? I'd love to be the guy who has to file the insurance or warranty claim on that when something breaks.

Sure, the professional YouTubers will do it to show off, but they aren't paying for those vehicles. Ford is probably providing them free of charge.

We'll have to wait 10 years for these things to depreciate to the point where it's safe to use them for the purpose they're showing in the advertising

 

[mindless1]

City dwellers and their assumptions.

Sure they'll push advertising to show off, but you don't have to be some off-road, rock crawling daredevil to benefit from a raised suspension and bigger AT tires.

You could have a farm or other property you need to patrol, and just be off pavement, especially when it's muddy, or you're camping, fishing, beach, etc and the road stops short. You can "maybe" get that done with less lift and lesser tires, but get stuck a few times and you'll wish you hadn't.

Granted, BarkingGhostar made a good point,

Wife accelerated past a Wrangler with a Handicap tag the other day. Got me thinking about how handicap this person really was.

... that handicapped people aren't allowed to camp, fish, or go to the beach. How dare they attempt to do things despite having a handicap.

It a way it's kind of sad that so many people live lives where they never aspire to go anywhere that isn't paved and then some even go as far as to hate on others who do, thinking that if you see a vehicle on a road, it must never go off that road.

All it takes is a snowy winter climate to need something more. You might think mere snow tires would cut it but that won't get you over a >1.5' pile of compressed snow/ice that a plow left at the bottom of your driveway, and possibly not even get you UP an inclined driveway with significant snow on it.

It is true that a wise person would wait till their $40K+ vehicle depreciates to take it off road for certain aggressive sport/recreation uses, and yet the repair costs can be about the same as something older once aftermarket parts are available. If you're going deep off road, then you go the opposite direction and want more reliability, don't want to be stuck from a break down where the average tow service can't get you out and have to hike and wait for an off-road tow capable company to get around to you.

Lastly higher riding vehicles make up for the fact that there are so many taller vehicles on the road these days, giving back better vision of the road and traffic. Race to see who can ride the highest? Not that extreme but these days if you drive a low riding sedan you can feel dwarfed by a few pickups and SUVs around you.

 

[Torn Mind]

Picking on me for something I said two months back is amusing. Maybe they culd issue you a handicap placard for brain slowness. jk

Maybe it's easier to get in and out of the vehicle?

Scion xBs attracted older people for that reason.

 

[ondma]

City dwellers and their assumptions.

Sure they'll push advertising to show off, but you don't have to be some off-road, rock crawling daredevil to benefit from a raised suspension and bigger AT tires.

You could have a farm or other property you need to patrol, and just be off pavement, especially when it's muddy, or or you're camping, fishing, beach, etc and the road stops short. You can "maybe" get that done with less lift and lesser tires, but get stuck a few times and you'll wish you hadn't.

Granted, BarkingGhostar made a good point,

... that handicapped people aren't allowed to camp, fish, or go to the beach. How dare they attempt to do things despite having a handicap.

It a way it's kind of sad that so many people live lives where they never aspire to go anywhere that isn't paved and then some even go as far as to hate on others who do, thinking that if you see a vehicle on a road, it must never go off that road.

All it takes is a snowy winter climate to need something more. You might think mere snow tires would cut it but that won't get you over a >1.5' pile of compressed snow/ice that a plow left at the bottom of your driveway, and possibly not even get you UP an inclined driveway with significant snow on it.

It is true that a wise person would wait till their $40K+ vehicle depreciates to take it off road for certain aggressive sport/recreation uses, and yet the repair costs can be about the same as something older once aftermarket parts are available. If you're going deep off road, then you go the opposite direction and want more reliability, don't want to be stuck from a break down where the average tow service can't get y ou out and have to hike and wait for an off-road tow capable company to get around to you.

Lastly higher riding vehicles make up for the fact that there are so many taller vehicles on the road these days, giving back better vision of the road and traffic. Race to see who can ride the highest? Not that extreme but these days if you drive a low riding sedan you can feel dwarfed by a few pickups and SUVs around you.

A less "aggressive" awd vehicle is what I would choose for city driving in snowy climates. Something like a Crosstrek, Forrester, or any of the other more car like AWD crossovers. These are fine for mild off road use as well. I would consider the Bronco/Bronco II for heavier off roading.

 

[mindless1]

^ For plowed streets, sure, but not as much unplowed deep snow on an inclined driveway or the ice mountain that plows leave at the bottom of one. You might be able to handle driveway snow with the right tires, depends on how deep it is.

Mild off road use depends a lot on whether there's mud or hills... whole different ballgame driving that opposed to flat, dry land. Where there are hills, there tends to be mud between them during or after rain, and you have to have more traction to get up the next hill. Smaller, less aggressive tires tend to just dig holes in this situation.

 

[IronWing]

I'm just saying... how many people buy a $40,000 SUV and then take it rock crawling? I'd love to be the guy who has to file the insurance or warranty claim on that when something breaks.

Sure, the professional YouTubers will do it to show off, but they aren't paying for those vehicles. Ford is probably providing them free of charge.

We'll have to wait 10 years for these things to depreciate to the point where it's safe to use them for the purpose they're showing in the advertising

Nope, 40k doesn’t phase the rock crawling crowd at all. They’ll start with a new Rubicon and rip out the brand new suspension and drive train and dump in another 20K beefing it up.

 

[rstrohkirch]

Saw one of these today. Sat next to it at a stop light for bit.

 

[mindless1]

Nope, 40k doesn’t phase the rock crawling crowd at all. They’ll start with a new Rubicon and rip out the brand new suspension and drive train and dump in another 20K beefing it up.

Of course a few do, but the question was how many. Just as many pick an older body on frame vehicle, swap in a front SAS and lift kit.

One thing to remember is that, or the Bronco, is often not someone's primary daily driver. Considerations of whether that vehicle configuration is best for some other purpose, are unnecessary if the person has another vehicle to do the job if/when "best" really matters.

Granted a little tamer SUV or extended cab pickup would be a better trade off for the average person, and I expect after the initial demand subsides, sales numbers will be lower than other Ford 4WD/AWD like Explorer or F150.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Looks like the made the Flex even uglier.

 

[Kaido]

Saw one of these today. Sat next to it at a stop light for bit.

Local dealership just got the 5-door Bronco Sport in. My knee-jerk reaction was "small, and ugly". I would take the Flex over it lol. Well, I'd need to test-drive the Sport, and also see it with the bigger tires. VERY excited to see the 2-door & 4-door in person! This guy has a review & said he likes it better than the Jeep Renegade, which was my previous car:

 

[darkswordsman17]

Bit of a shame that Ford didn't look to have a hybrid drivetrain ready for release (for both the smaller and larger Bronco). The hybrid Wrangler is interesting to me. Will be curious if we see them meld the Mach-E and Bronco for an electric off-roader, but I'm guessing it'd be the Bronco and what's being used in the electric F150. Which they're supposedly testing out a generator, which to me would be interesting (for the F150 it supposedly would sit kinda like the tool boxes in the beds. A towable trailer one would be interesting for the Bronco.

Looks like the made the Flex even uglier.

When they had the Bronco prototype for the Baja 1000, I thought it looked like a modified Flex, which I think looked pretty good. The Flex looks kinda awkward because it sits more like a minivan, and of course people wanted the serious off roader.

 

[heymrdj]

Local dealership just got the 5-door Bronco Sport in. My knee-jerk reaction was "small, and ugly". I would take the Flex over it lol. Well, I'd need to test-drive the Sport, and also see it with the bigger tires. VERY excited to see the 2-door & 4-door in person! This guy has a review & said he likes it better than the Jeep Renegade, which was my previous car:

Saw a sport yesterday myself. I’m excited. I personally like the looks, but I’ve always liked the polar opposite vehicles. The OBS square edge vehicles, and the weird cars like the Cube, Soul, Renegade, Juke etc. Not so much the “normal “ stuff in between. I’ll probably be in the market for another SUV in a year or so. I have a 2020 Buick Encore GX right now. I didn’t want a first year Bronco, I was almost a first year 2020 Explorer owner and I’m glad I dodged that. With a son, my 2019 Canyon Denali wasn’t cutting it for hauling the family and his stuff around. I have the 2019 Terrain Denali as the main family hauler, so I can still afford a second SUV that more fun than refined.

When an EV maker wants to make a sub 30K SUV in the midsize SUV category with at least 250 miles of range I’ll be interested. I would love to test drive a Mach E when the weather gets warm. I mainly want to compare fit and finish. From what I hear preliminarily, Ford is doing great on the dot and finish. I’m also excited how SYNC 4 will continue to improve with OTA updates across all the new models, gas and EV alike.

 

[Kaido]

Saw a sport yesterday myself. I’m excited. I personally like the looks, but I’ve always liked the polar opposite vehicles. The OBS square edge vehicles, and the weird cars like the Cube, Soul, Renegade, Juke etc. Not so much the “normal “ stuff in between. I’ll probably be in the market for another SUV in a year or so. I have a 2020 Buick Encore GX right now. I didn’t want a first year Bronco, I was almost a first year 2020 Explorer owner and I’m glad I dodged that. With a son, my 2019 Canyon Denali wasn’t cutting it for hauling the family and his stuff around. I have the 2019 Terrain Denali as the main family hauler, so I can still afford a second SUV that more fun than refined.

When an EV maker wants to make a sub 30K SUV in the midsize SUV category with at least 250 miles of range I’ll be interested. I would love to test drive a Mach E when the weather gets warm. I mainly want to compare fit and finish. From what I hear preliminarily, Ford is doing great on the dot and finish. I’m also excited how SYNC 4 will continue to improve with OTA updates across all the new models, gas and EV alike.

I'm hoping we'll see a good production flow of the Tesla Cybertruck next year, but if not, a second-gen Bronco 2-door with big tires looks pretty dang awesome to me lol. A like a life-sized version of a kid's toy, sign me up haha!

 

[heymrdj]

I'm hoping we'll see a good production flow of the Tesla Cybertruck next year, but if not, a second-gen Bronco 2-door with big tires looks pretty dang awesome to me lol. A like a life-sized version of a kid's toy, sign me up haha!

View attachment 36995

It’s the return of the TONKA toy, and I mean that in the best way possible . I do wonder if tires that big on a chassis that short will knock kidney stones loose like it does on the Jeep equivalent.

 

[mindless1]

The irony is it looks more like Bronco II than anything else, so should be called a Bronco III.

 

[pauldun170]

The irony is it looks more like Bronco II than anything else, so should be called a Bronco III.

I loved my Bronco II.
That thing was awesome
Guess I'm old since I would rather my old Bronco II than the new Bronco

 

[mindless1]

^ For simplicity's sake and lower repair costs, (and a frame, since there are salted roads here) I would too, but I recall they were notorious for rollovers. Part of that was the same situation as with the Explorers that came after, that owners were former car drivers not used to vehicles with higher centers of gravity.

On the other hand, the Bronco sport and Escape they're based on, as well as practically anything made in the last 15 years, handle like a sports car compared to a Bronco II. It may have been the worst handling SUV ever, if not a tie with Suzuki Samurai.

 

[pauldun170]

^ For simplicity's sake and lower repair costs, (and a frame, since there are salted roads here) I would too, but I recall they were notorious for rollovers. Part of that was the same situation as with the Explorers that came after, that owners were former car drivers not used to vehicles with higher centers of gravity.

On the other hand, the Bronco sport and Escape they're based on, as well as practically anything made in the last 15 years, handle like a sports car compared to a Bronco II. It may have been the worst handling SUV ever, if not a tie with Suzuki Samurai.

I felt that the Bronco II had character and was joy to drive in the way it was meant to be driven at legal speeds. I enjoyed that car more than my buddies Firebird for daily driver duties.
It could also do a 3 point turn in a bathroom and park in tight enough to keep GTI's hunting for bigger spots.
It's the standard "Back in my day we did "X" and we came out ok". Couple of my friends and co-workers had Bronco II's. This is before every idiot chopped\lifted\modded anything with 4wd so all of ours were stock. Majority were manuals so they never felt slow. No one with any common sense or dignity would drive a Bronco II with the automatic because your parents have failed you if you did suffer through that.

Of course, this is just me as a former owner missing a car he owned back in the old timey days.
Yes all fords from the 80's had a lifespan of 80k
Yes The 2.9 in the Bronco II's had heads that would crack if you farted wrong in the general direction of the engine.


Modern "utes" are of course better in every way from a feature, safety and performance perspective. That's the way it should be even if the vast majority are disposable appliances.

While the Bronco Sport does nothing for me, it would be nice to see if the Bronco 2 dr with the manual recaptures some the character the old Bronco II had.

 

[Pacfanweb]

I loved my Bronco II.
That thing was awesome
Guess I'm old since I would rather my old Bronco II than the new Bronco

I know they had a loyal following, but those things were some of the most unstable vehicles ever made. They were a worse rollover risk than a Jeep.

 

[pauldun170]

I know they had a loyal following, but those things were some of the most unstable vehicles ever made. They were a worse rollover risk than a Jeep.

IF you are going to be all preachy then you should at least have the official reports to shove in everyone's face.
Be informed

https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/808570

Federal Register, Volume 64 Issue 96 (Wednesday, May 19, 1999)

Figure 3 shows that the Bronco II has a first-event single-
vehicle rollover rate similar to several other vehicles, notably
CJ5/6/7 (71-80), Toyota 4Runner, CJ5/7/8 (81-86), Suzuki Samurai,
Isuzu Trooper II, and GM S-10/S-15.
...

Again first-event single-vehicle rollovers and all single-
vehicle crashes were considered, which exclude not only crashes with
other vehicles, but also with moving objects such as animals,
pedestrians, and bicycles. The data are presented in Table 3. The
range of model years included in the analysis was 1984 through 1990,
except for the Suzuki Samurai, which began production in MY 1986,
and the Jeep CJ vehicles. The model year ranges are noted in the
table. The sample size (listed in the table as ``Number of NASS
Single Vehicle Cases'') is small for all vehicles except the Bronco
II and the GM S&T series. Based on comparison of the T-values, the
Bronco II rollover rate is not statistically significantly greater
than that of any other make/model listed in Table 3, except the Jeep
Cherokee. Furthermore, the Bronco II rollover rate is statistically
significantly lower than that of the Suzuki Samurai. Finally, the
Bronco II's rollover rate is not statistically significantly
different from that of all light trucks and vans considered as a
whole.

...
For example, the total number of Bronco II first-event
single-vehicle rollovers is estimated to be about 14,000. During
this same time, the total number of first-event single-vehicle
rollovers for the Blazer/Jimmy (GM S&T models) was about 19,000.
....

The fifth column of Tables 4 and 5 shows that the Ford Bronco II
has a higher percentage of fatal vehicles and fatalities in first-
event single-vehicle rollovers than that of the other five peer
vehicles, although it is somewhat similar to the Toyota 4Runner.
While the Bronco II rollover rate is not statistically significantly
different from that of its peers, these FARS analyses indicate that
there could be an issue regarding the relative crashworthiness of
Bronco II vehicles in rollovers. In an effort to cast additional
light on the crashworthiness issue, several analyses were performed,
as documented in section 7.5.

As for Bronco II's, Samaria, 2dr Blazers, MOntero's
Yes when you put a young male in a tall compact truck you better get your cameras out because fun is about to happen.
There is an old joke about a CRX driver walks into a bar and goes to a Bronco driver that his car is a death trap.

Summary 80's Trucks weeded out bad drivers from the gene pool and I miss my old Truck