My family has a policy. Never buy a new model in the first year after release.

quote:

Really Ford "clearly failed to vet" this company LOL I doubt seriously that Ford dumped a billion dollars on their largest gamble and said " aw don't sweat it, use Webasto, never heard of them but hey they are cheapest, lets give them the contract for $100 mill of tops no reason to check them out, we'll be fine...

Most likely it's something thats coming out once mass production has started that didn't happen in a tighter controlled development stage. Happens all the time.

FYI:

Webasto is a global company with $3.9 billion in sales, it's not Charlies Fiberglass Tops and Strip Club on 8 Mile..

Finally, someone who understands supply chain and manufacturing processes and hurdles. The amount of armchair quarterbacking when it comes to manufacturing is nauseating in any public sphere.

If I wanted a real off road ready vehicle, I’d buy a Wrangler, not this thing. I need ground clearance and live axles, not to mention not getting a first production run.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
I saw a brand new Ford Bronco in its natural element. Buried up to its axles not even 250 feet from the entrance at the Outer Banks, NC driving beach. It was basically a car that looks like an SUV, with no ground clearance, street tires aired up to 45 PSI. I just shook my head.

It was a pretty bad representation of its actual abilities as the jeeps and other SUV's just drove on by. Even the all wheel drive Subaru cars just drove on by.

That’s the problem with having very different models under the Bronco umbrella. Most people see the Bronco sport which is essentially a better looking Escape. Then see something like this and not know there is also going to be more of an off-road capable version on a completely different platform. It like comparing a Jeep Compas to a Jeep Wrangler.

According to this Reuters news article, Ford is moving toward a build-to-order business model, proving dealers very few vehicles upfront so as to reduce the need to offer incentives:

'"Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said the automaker was intent on shifting away from making vehicles that wind up stockpiled on dealer lots, to building them to customer orders, reducing discounts required to make a sale.

"We are really committed to going to an order-based system and keeping inventories at 50 to 60 days' supply," Farley said.'

 https://www.reuters.com/busine...-quarter-2021-07-28/ 

I'd wager the other manufacturers will move toward this model.

My local dealer has about 30 of them on the lot (not sports) They are having some kind of Intro event at Gunstock Mountain, all of them had plates/were registered. Most were hard tops in upper trim levels. Some of the hard tops had irregular gaps in the fit which does not inspire confidence. I’d go soft top. I don’t know if it was for this event or not but the badges on the fenders looked like cheap stickers. Overall they look nice to me though. All of them on the lot Stickered from 49K to maybe 56K or so.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
If I wanted a real off road ready vehicle, I’d buy a Wrangler, not this thing. I need ground clearance and live axles, not to mention not getting a first production run.

The Bronco has 11.5" of clearance with 35" tires (OEM Package which is available on all models). 8.5" with stock tires which is about an inch shorter than the stock wrangler (9.5"). You can get 35" tires on the wrangler Rubicon but you have to get the etorque engine - So only available on their high-end model. But the benefit is if you want larger than 35s, there is the aftermarket for jeep. I don't know the IFS on the Bronco will allow anything bigger but I'm sure someone will try.

And do you mean a live suspension? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you don't mean a live axle since it is a 4x4.

I agree with you about the first run though. In Fords case the first run seems like it'll run across several years.

I'm not saying one is better than the other but your "line in the sand" seems odd to me.

I used to be into rock crawling 15 years ago. Live axle is a term used to describe a solid axle. IFS or independent front suspension is not as desirable since it tends to hang wheels rather than articulate the axle. The point is to keep all wheels in contact. Once a wheel hangs above the surface you lose the benefit of that whole end of the vehicle unless you have lockers. Anyway there’s more to it than I have patience to describe. I don’t even know if the new Bronco is IFS or not

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
Note that Ford is making two Broncos, the larger Bronco, which this article is about, and a smaller one, the Bronco Sport which this recall doesn't affect.

I have the 2021 Bronco Sport and it's styled much like the Generation I Bronco made from 1966 to 1977 and I prefer it to the later models, Gens 2 thru Gen 5 and I also prefer it to the current larger Bronco. It's also 20 inches longer than the Gen 1 Bronco. It doesn't seem to have the teething problems the larger Bronco has at all. Mine has been flawless so far.

And the reason Ford quit making cars is that almost nobody was buying them, so they lost money on them. There are enough people who want a car instead of a Truck or SUV to support a few car makers, but not all of them.

Isn’t it 3 different Broncos on at least 2 different platforms. The Bronco sport is on the Escape platform and there is a 2 and 4 door model on a different platform.

I guess Ford is following Jeep. When someone says Jeep these days it could be any number of different vehicles on multiple different platforms.

Okay, it's 3 models. A 2 door, a 4 door and a Sport.

https://www.businessinsider.co...Droad%20capabilities.

There are seven Bronco trims and five Sport trims.

All offer 4x4 off-road capabilities.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
My first thought when I saw the new Bronco was it's a nice looking truck. My second thought was too bad it's a Ford.

My first thought was, Oh look, an FJ Cruiser.

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And do you mean a live suspension? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you don't mean a live axle since it is a 4x4.

I meant a solid live axle; a solid unit as opposed to IFS. The only IFS I’d want is what comes on the USGI Hummer.