Ford USA - Ranger and Bronco Return?

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Looks like you'll be able to get this from the factory with triple lockers. This is going to be serious.
 
Curious to know which models are available with that manual box, whether its just the base models or if I could get a fully loaded one with it. Seriously considering a Wrangler or Gladiator simply because I can get a fully loaded one with a manual, but this might make me consider a Ford, which is something I never thought Id say as a pretty diehard Chevy guy.
 
Fastcarguy
Curious to know which models are available with that manual box, whether its just the base models or if I could get a fully loaded one with it. Seriously considering a Wrangler or Gladiator simply because I can get a fully loaded one with a manual, but this might make me consider a Ford, which is something I never thought Id say as a pretty diehard Chevy guy.
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The only thing we have to go on is that picture. But I love to speculate. That's a big infotainment screen...I'd guess that the base model would have a much smaller screen with a big 'ol bezel around it.
 
Fastcarguy
Curious to know which models are available with that manual box, whether its just the base models or if I could get a fully loaded one with it. Seriously considering a Wrangler or Gladiator simply because I can get a fully loaded one with a manual, but this might make me consider a Ford, which is something I never thought Id say as a pretty diehard Chevy guy.
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That picture shows a C on the gear stick indicating a crawler gear, so it's at least on the most off-roadish model.
 
I hope they have an OJ Special Edition (it's Ford, they'll be no less than two million special editions) that comes with ill-fitting gloves and a sensor that says "The Juice Is Loose" whenever you go over the speed limit. I'd buy that.
 
Wow that looks really good. And also not huge. Well done Ford..at least so far. I'll wait for better images...but I'm thinking I actually like this better than the Wrangler. Also, yellow. 👍
 
It gets my vote. That would slay over here. The failed "new" FJ, just didn't get the traction it needed. Had it been as capable as an L70, it might have been trouble for any newcomers. This Bronco is welcome.
 
Jeep CJ owned the utilitarian market (pickup trucks excluded of course) from around the mid 40's until 1961, when International introduced the Scout. Ford saw this growing market and decided to introduce an even more refined version, the Bronco. The Bronco was truly a revolutionary vehicle for it's time and market. Chevy was late to the party, and quite frankly, never really competed in the market with it's full sized version Chevy Blazer in 1969. Although I will argue that the greatest looking 4x4 ever produced was the '69-'72 Chevy K5 series, preferably the GMC Jimmy with it's split grill sporting quad headlights... Mmm.

So it doesn't surprise me that Ford is finally capitalizing on the Jeep Wrangler market. And Jeep should be scared! The new Bronco is gorgeous, and a fully loaded Wrangler will easily push north of $40,000. Hat's of to Ford, they amazed me with the Raptor, a truly remarkable and incredibly capable off-road vehicle straight out of the box. And now I'm equally amazed with a direct competitor to the Jeep Wrangler, in a non-competitive segment of the industry for way too many years.

FYI, I personally own a completely custom Jeep CJ-7. But I"m a person that doesn't do favorites when it comes to vehicle brands. The more the merrier. They all have their cool parts. My choice of a Jeep CJ-7 came from the fact that it suits my off-road needs, was easily modified (Scout drivetrain from the AMC 360 bellhousing back), and I just love cruising in the summer with no roof or doors.

But this new Bronco... It's friggin' badazz!!!
 
Gr8_Lakes
Jeep CJ owned the utilitarian market (pickup trucks excluded of course) from around the mid 40's until 1961, when International introduced the Scout. Ford saw this growing market and decided to introduce an even more refined version, the Bronco. The Bronco was truly a revolutionary vehicle for it's time and market. Chevy was late to the party, and quite frankly, never really competed in the market with it's full sized version Chevy Blazer in 1969. Although I will argue that the greatest looking 4x4 ever produced was the '69-'72 Chevy K5 series, preferably the GMC Jimmy with it's split grill sporting quad headlights... Mmm.

So it doesn't surprise me that Ford is finally capitalizing on the Jeep Wrangler market. And Jeep should be scared! The new Bronco is gorgeous, and a fully loaded Wrangler will easily push north of $40,000. Hat's of to Ford, they amazed me with the Raptor, a truly remarkable and incredibly capable off-road vehicle straight out of the box. And now I'm equally amazed with a direct competitor to the Jeep Wrangler, in a non-competitive segment of the industry for way too many years.

FYI, I personally own a completely custom Jeep CJ-7. But I"m a person that doesn't do favorites when it comes to vehicle brands. The more the merrier. They all have their cool parts. My choice of a Jeep CJ-7 came from the fact that it suits my off-road needs, was easily modified (Scout drivetrain from the AMC 360 bellhousing back), and I just love cruising in the summer with no roof or doors.

But this new Bronco... It's friggin' badazz!!!
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The big issue the new Bronco is going to have is the IFS. No matter what they do to it, it’s gonna be less capable than it would’ve been if it had a solid live axle. The FJ Cruiser from a while back had the same problem; very good fourby, but never quite to the level of a Wrangler because of the IFS.
No doubt there’ll be live axle conversions available on the aftermarket within a year of launch.
 
Frank McGank
The big issue the new Bronco is going to have is the IFS. No matter what they do to it, it’s gonna be less capable than it would’ve been if it had a solid live axle. The FJ Cruiser from a while back had the same problem; very good fourby, but never quite to the level of a Wrangler because of the IFS.
No doubt there’ll be live axle conversions available on the aftermarket within a year of launch.
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For a vast majority of buyers, an IFS is completely fine and is much more suited for on-road travel. With proper tires and a good driveline, you really don't need a solid front axle unless you're planning on doing extreme rock crawling. You can easily conquer the Rubicon, Black Bear Pass, or any number of other gnarly trails with a properly outfitted IFS vehicle. The Bronco's ability to disconnect the front swaybar will also help immensely with its stock off-road ability.
 
Joey D
For a vast majority of buyers, an IFS is completely fine and is much more suited for on-road travel. With proper tires and a good driveline, you really don't need a solid front axle unless you're planning on doing extreme rock crawling. You can easily conquer the Rubicon, Black Bear Pass, or any number of other gnarly trails with a properly outfitted IFS vehicle. The Bronco's ability to disconnect the front swaybar will also help immensely with its stock off-road ability.
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It’s supposed to be a Wrangler competitor, though. Neutering the off road performance for roadability sort of defeats the purpose, don’t you think? The Wrangler clearly has no problems moving units despite riding on the same sort of setup the original Willys MB did during the war. Like you said, ‘extreme rock crawling’ Wrangler is currently the only marque that can come close to that out of the box. Either the Bronco is a Wrangler competitor or its not. Trying to dip a toe in both pies is just going to lead to the same issue the FJ Cruiser had, and it will just make it look like Ford were too scared to commit to anything beyond surface-level looks. There’s a reason the Wrangler outsold the FJ Cruiser at a ratio of 10:1.

Besides, wouldn’t disconnecting the sway bar on independent suspension have the opposite effect? The bar should be the only thing keeping the suspension from compressing enough to allow the oil pan to get friendly with rocks and stumps. A live axle benefits from swaybar disconnect because the axle pulls all the family jewels up and out of the way as the suspension works. IFS for obvious reasons doesn’t work that way.
 
Frank McGank
It’s supposed to be a Wrangler competitor, though. Neutering the off road performance for roadability sort of defeats the purpose, don’t you think? The Wrangler clearly has no problems moving units despite riding on the same sort of setup the original Willys MB did during the war. Like you said, ‘extreme rock crawling’ Wrangler is currently the only marque that can come close to that out of the box. Either the Bronco is a Wrangler competitor or its not. Trying to dip a toe in both pies is just going to lead to the same issue the FJ Cruiser had, and it will just make it look like Ford were too scared to commit to anything beyond surface-level looks. There’s a reason the Wrangler outsold the FJ Cruiser at a ratio of 10:1.

Besides, wouldn’t disconnecting the sway bar on independent suspension have the opposite effect? The bar should be the only thing keeping the suspension from compressing enough to allow the oil pan to get friendly with rocks and stumps. A live axle benefits from swaybar disconnect because the axle pulls all the family jewels up and out of the way as the suspension works. IFS for obvious reasons doesn’t work that way.
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It can compete with the Wrangler and still have IFS. It's going to depend on the setup it has, which we don't know yet. An IFS can be plenty capable, even in stock form, if it's setup correctly from the factory. My Tacoma never once let me down on any trails after I swapped out the terrible OEM tires. I never once wished I had done a SAS upfront and I didn't exactly do the easiest trails with it either. I only lifted it because I wanted 33's and that was more because I liked the way it looked than actually needing any improvements.

As for a stock Wrangler being an extreme rock crawler? It's not even close to that. Yes, it can manage the Rubicon in stock trim, but so can an FJ and more recently, a 4Runner. While the Rubicon is indeed tough, it's not so extreme that you need a dedicated trail rig to tackle it. What I'm talking about is some of the trails in places like Moab that require an extreme degree of flex in order to navigate. A stock Wrangler isn't going to be able to do that any more than any other stock off-road vehicle.

The Bronco is also based off the Ranger platform, which is IFS. It wouldn't make a ton of sense to re-engineer the front of the platform to accommodate a solid axle, especially because the Bronco will probably be more of niche vehicle that won't sell millions.

Yes, the Wrangler did sell more than the FJ, but the JK also came in more configurations than the FJ. The JK also had the added benefit of being offered in 2 and 4 doors, plus it's starting price was about $5,000 less than the FJ. The FJ was also not exactly practical with backseats that sort of sucked, not much cargo space, virtually no visibility, and it was also horrendously ugly. None of that helped its sales. I don't know what the global sales figure for the FJ vs. the JK is, but in the US the ratio was closer to 5:1 in favor of the JK. Globally, I'm guessing that ratio is lower. Seems about right for a vehicle that has more configuration options and a cheaper price.

Regarding disconnecting the front swaybar, it's a common thing to do when off-roading. The suspension itself will limit how much the flex is and you're probably not in any danger of smashing the oil pan. When I'd disconnect mine, my tires would hit the inner fender long before any vital components would hit the ground. Anyone who does moderate off-roading though has a skid plate though to prevent anything like that. I assume the Bronco will come with one stock since most off-road-oriented vehicles do.
 
I doubt most Wrangler buyers even know what the differences between IFS and SFA even are. The Bronco does not need a solid front axle to be a competitor to Jeep. It needs things like refined-but-still-utilitarian looks (check), a variety of models at different price points (check), a lot of ability to personalize (check, probably), underlying credentials of off road capability (check), heritage that is well known (check) and doors that come off (check). To compare the Bronco to the FJ Cruiser as a way to predict its failure is flawed. The FJ Cruiser was too expensive, too niche, too uniform, too big, too unfun/uncharming, and (IMO) too ugly to pose any meaningful threat to the Wrangler. It wasn't because it had IFS.

I like the idea of the Wrangler, generally, but its capabilities in base form are way, way overkill for how I would use the car - basically a daily driver with some ability to go off road. If I'm spending 90% of my time on road, and the other 10% on dirt roads...why on earth would I want a solid front axle? It will literally make the car worse for the entire 100% of my driving. I won't buy a Wrangler because of it. The Bronco actually interests me quite a bit...
 
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