Ford USA - Ranger and Bronco Return?

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Bronco Heritage Edition


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There's even a lil Bronco Sport version

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Buyers will be able to spec every iteration of the Bronco (two-door, four-door and Sport) with the package. But, it’s a limited supply. Ford intends to produce just 1,966 examples of each model. That number commemorates the year the original Bronco was launched.

The full-size Bronco Heritage comes with a two-tone paint scheme with signature Oxford White accents. That color is found on the roof, radiator grille (that also includes red FORD lettering) and 17-inch vintage style wheels wrapped in 35-inch tires. It’ll also come with squared fenders with Sasquatch-width fender flares. It harkens back to the original Bronc’. Standard equipment includes a powder-coated steel bumper with built in recovery points and fog lamps. Ford says the Heritage is available in five paint colors including Robin’s Egg Blue and Yellowstone Metallic.

When you step up to the Bronco Heritage Limited, those white wheels are replaced by glass-black 17s with “dog dish” center caps. Inside the Heritage Limited there are a slew of other changes, like new badging and different seat upholstery.

[...] The Sport Heritage will be based off the Big Bend trim level. [...]

It’s going to be powered by standard engines that come in the Bronco Sport, and it’ll get returned front struts and springs as well as an increased ride height. Sports will also get larger 29-inch all-terrain tires and leather-trimmed seats with white door inserts.
  • Bronco Sport Heritage: $34,245
  • Bronco Sport Heritage Limited: $44,655
  • Bronco Heritage: $44,305
  • Bronco Heritage Limited: $66,895
 
I like the way those heritage editions look, it's a shame that dealers will add $30,000 to the price though.
 
That red 2-door is absolute perfection in 4x4 form. 😍

I wish Ford would shove the Escape PHEV drivetrain into the baby bronco. That would be a hot ticket.
 
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I like the way those heritage editions look, it's a shame that dealers will add $30,000 to the price though.
Ford needs to get tough. Apparently Jim Farley is pissed off because dealers are hurting sales and the brand image.
 
Ford needs to get tough. Apparently Jim Farley is pissed off because dealers are hurting sales and the brand image.
They should classify certain models as ineligible for allocation to bad behaving dealers for like a 60 month period. No Shelbys, no Rapters, no limited production variants, no halo vehicles. You want to play games? You get Ecosports.
 
Or, hear me out, they could just do away with the dealership model because it's useless. Have Ford-owned stores that sell vehicles and service centers, allow me to go online and schedule a test drive at said store, and when it's time to buy allow me to place the order through the store or online.

I know the dealer lobby is strong, but dealerships are just so incredibly useless now. Buying a car should be no more difficult than buying something on Amazon.
 
Or, hear me out, they could just do away with the dealership model because it's useless. Have Ford-owned stores that sell vehicles and service centers, allow me to go online and schedule a test drive at said store, and when it's time to buy allow me to place the order through the store or online.

I know the dealer lobby is strong, but dealerships are just so incredibly useless now. Buying a car should be no more difficult than buying something on Amazon.
You won't hear an argument against that from me - I despise dealerships. But it would require changing laws in many states.
 
What is going on at Ford? It was mostly Ford that made some really strange decisions with what cars to show at NAIAS, mainly with model years. Their production timelines aren't lining up with the usual timeline for year model debuts. They had expensive cars like the Bronco Raptor and Lightning unlocked. They had some 2023 models on the floor like the Bronco Heritage trims and the Maverick Tremor (by far the most popular car on their floor) but they were locked. Then they didn't have some really basic, obvious cars like a regular 2022 Maverick on the floor, unlocked for people to check out, but they did have a Bronco Sport. The Mustang was also a 2023 but wasn't on the floor, it was the showpiece - maybe those press release cars are all they've produced so far. Pretty much all the EV trucks have had slightly weird production timelines, as apparently the Lightning and Hummer EV are technically 2022 models, but even in Detroit they weren't actually driving around en masse until spring 2022 which seems nearly 6 months too late for a 2022 model to hit the showroom floor. There was also no mention at all of the 2023 Ranger, presumably another very popular truck, despite the fact that the Australian version debuted literally 9 months ago, with the American-market Ranger Raptor debuting 8 months ago. Apparently Ford is taking orders for trucks that don't exist yet, neither in real life nor on their website. How can you order a car you can't even configure? How have you not built a single example of an American-market truck to show to the public nine whole months after it debuted? I went to the show fully expecting to see these vehicles that I knew had debuted online some time ago only to be left walking past irrelevant model years.
 
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Looked at a 2 door full sized bronco at a used car lot a few weeks ago. Just had base wheels and tires. Did not realize how small the 2 door version is. Looked like a toy relative speaking. Certain would not have any issues finding parking spot.

I am not really interested any more. Would be cool to have, however think the novelty has already run its course. See one or two full size 4 door ones to or from work everyday.
 
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I don't think they did enough. Sort of like the Nissan, the interior of this new Ranger is already dated and uninspiring, but unlike the Nissan the exterior is also dated and uninspiring. The Maverick is somehow a more appropriate truck design, especially with respect to the cab. Australia has a weird infatuation with soft, "girly" truck designs and the steeply raked windshield on the Ranger is evidence of this. I don't know, something about it just looks super basic like they didn't try hard enough. In an era where the glorious Bronco exists, the Lightning is both modern and tough, and the Maverick is literally maverick product design, this Ranger is so lame its dragging down the rest of the fleet.
 
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I don't think they did enough. Sort of like the Nissan, the interior of this new Ranger is already dated and uninspiring, but unlike the Nissan the exterior is also dated and uninspiring. The Maverick is somehow a more appropriate truck design, especially with respect to the cab. Australia has a weird infatuation with soft, "girly" truck designs and the steeply raked windshield on the Ranger is evidence of this. I don't know, something about it just looks super basic like they didn't try hard enough. In an era where the glorious Bronco exists, the Lightning is both modern and tough, and the Maverick is literally maverick product design, this Ranger is so lame its dragging down the rest of the fleet.
I mean… like the Maverick, the Ranger is a more budget-oriented alternative to the traditional full-size pickups. Yes the F-150 may have an interior that looks straight out of an SUV, but that’s only been the standard for full-size pickups for a relatively short amount of time. Before these trucks became luxury-ified and mainstream as an SUV alternative rather than just a workhouse, spartan interiors were common. I agree that the Ranger and Frontier interiors are uninteresting, but that’s honestly what I’d expect from a truck in the mid-20k.
 
I mean… like the Maverick, the Ranger is a more budget-oriented alternative to the traditional full-size pickups. Yes the F-150 may have an interior that looks straight out of an SUV, but that’s only been the standard for full-size pickups for a relatively short amount of time. Before these trucks became luxury-ified and mainstream as an SUV alternative rather than just a workhouse, spartan interiors were common. I agree that the Ranger and Frontier interiors are uninteresting, but that’s honestly what I’d expect from a truck in the mid-20k.
It's not about the interior being "spartan", it's about good design. Ford made a big deal about how the Maverick's interior is indeed cheap but also thoughfully designed, something European designers have been doing for a long time. That's why it's getting rave reviews, because the Mav is a genuinely good product, regardless of price or class. The Ranger is just cheap.
 
Base trim of the Bronco (and Bronco Sport) will be dropped after 2023, resulting in a new starting price just north of $41k, almost $5k more than the current base trim, and $11k more than when the Bronco originally started at $29,900 in 2021.

 
I think this will continue to be the basic strategy of how automakers raise prices over the next few years.

Step 1: Remove base trim from market of existing model
Step 2: (Mid tier trim becomes de-facto base model)
Step 3: Introduce a mid-tier+ trim, for 10-15% more money
Step 4: Update the model and decontent the mid-tier trim of the new model, keep price the same
Step 5: New base established with the price of the old mid-tier model

When Ford refreshes the Bronco, look for the base model to start around 38-40k but with less content/features than the Big Bend. Honda did pretty much the exact same thing with the new CR-V.
 
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