United Auto Workers union chairman Bill Johnson told The Detroit Free Press that Ford is soon going to start with the production of a new Bronco and Ranger. If you expected that the new pickup has a retro look combined with state-of-the-art equipment and futuristic design, you might be wrong. Although the production of the Ranger was ended in 2012 in the USA, this mighty truck is popular across the world. However, we will not talk about Ford Ranger, but we will take a look at what the new Bronco might look like.
We have a reason to believe that the Bronco will resemble the broad-faced 4×4 Ford Everest with four doors produced in Australia. Due to the simple body-on-frame construction, the Everest has that truck personality, although it has some crossover characteristic. The Everest is actually great for off-road driving, and it even comes with a terrain-response traction control system. The body style that you can see on the Everest was introduced last year, and it is not difficult to see the resemblance between the Everest and the Ranger. Once they return to the USA, we expect to see something new on these models.
Speaking of the new Ford Bronco, there is a possibility that Blue Oval will decide to produce a vehicle with some wacky details, which might look like the Bronco concept we had the chance to see back in 2004. Five years after that, they did something different and a bit unexpected, and as a result, we have the top-notch F-150 Raptor. However, the chances that the American carmaker opts for a completely new and unexpected design are small. Instead of starting from the beginning, they can build on the version of the vehicle which is sold across the globe.
It is a tough choice for Ford to decide how to rebuild their Bronco. For example, if they decided to assemble a Jeep Wrangler rival, they would go against one of the best powerhouses in the United States. Moreover, it would be hard to manufacture a vehicle which would combine tremendous off-road abilities with buyer’s standards for comfort.
Toyota tried to challenge the Wrangler with their FJ Cruiser, so did Nissan with the Xterra, but unfortunately, the attempt to beat the Wrangler was unsuccessful. The sales speak of the Wrangler’s success as about 15,000 units are sold each month, which is an outstanding figure for a vehicle in that segment. Speaking of the Bronco, we can say that it would attract a lot of customers and steal some of those sales from the Wrangler. The new Ford Bronco could come out also as convertible with removable doors and solid axles, but it could also go the other way and become a complete failure. This means that Ford needs to examine the market and see what the people actually want.
Be that as it may, the new Bronco would definitely be a large truck, and we would like to see the Bronco on the US market again. We might even see the new Bronco which will resemble the pleasant and practical Everest. The Everest is a solid off-road vehicle with 9 inches of ground clearance, which can go into the water two and a half feet deep. In addition, it comes with an impressive 25-degree departing, 21-degree ramp break over angle, and 29-degree approach. It is a 4WD vehicle with a diesel engine under its hood and hill descent control, traction control settings for snow sand and rocky surface and electronically locking differential. This truck can be compared to the Wrangler when it comes to off-road driving to some extent.
So will the new Bronco for the US market actually be the Everest or closely based on that model, which is built in Australia? The chances are small, but this may happen. What do you think?
