97XEB said:
I sent my comments and complaints in via a form on the corporate site. (Couldn't find a Ford specific email address...which is just ridiculous.)
My feeling is that if they're not going to make the new Bronco a very capable, truly off road worthy vehicle, consistent with its lineage...they shouldn't call it Bronco!!! To do so would be a huge insult to us and our vehicles.
I think if they just took some risk and built the new Bronco to compete head on with the Wranglers, Hummers and PowerWagons they would not only have vehicle truly worthy of the Bronco name, but also a HUGE winner on their hands. Make it solid axle FRONT and rear. Build it on a TRUCK frame and drivetrain... even the Explorers. Make selectable front and rear lockers factory options. Make 33s factory options. Make a 4.x low range transfer case a factory option. Don't make it a mainstream marketing off roader, ie the FX4 package. Make it a very capable, real World off roader. Test it out at Moab or on the Rubicon - like both Chevy and Jeep do.
For better, or for worse, off roading is getting more and more mainstream than ever before. In order to explore / exploit this potential new, major niche market, many other major car manufacturers have come with vehicles that are truly off road worthy and capable. (Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Hummer H1-3, Dodge PowerWagon, etc.) Ford really needs to a risk - they might just be rewarded more so than ever expected.
COME ON FORD!!! Have some Balls! Take a risk. Make a real Bronco, or don't call it a Bronco!
Ok, I'm done now....
Maybe this helps to illustrate the point (USA Today)
Automakers jack up mpg PDQ
And with gas at $3 a gallon, they're not being shy about it
USA Today 09/16/05
by Chris Woodyard
(Copyright 2003)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- At the debut of its new midsize sedan here last month, Ford Motor honchos noted that the Fusion's raised rear will give it a gas-saving edge as it slips through the wind.
At General Motors, engineers are eliminating the radio antenna mast in the next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe being unveiled Tuesday. By imbedding the antenna in window glass instead, the full-size SUV will save a tiny-but-every-bit-counts 0.001 miles per gallon of gas.
Not to be outdone, Chrysler Group's new chief is curious about whether some of the horses in its engines can be put out to pasture to boost fuel economy. Even the vaunted Hemi isn't off-limits.
In America's auto industry, alarms are sounding about sky-high gas prices. Executives watched helplessly as sales of their most profitable vehicles, large SUVs, slipped amid escalating gas prices even before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.
Fearful that the shock of having to shell out $3 for a gallon of gas may warp buyer sensibilities, auto executives are scrambling to find ways to play up fuel savings.
Detroit is in a short-term bind, there's no question about it, says industry consultant Peter DeLorenzo, publisher of Autoextremist.com. People are finally realizing, `Maybe I don't need to get 13 miles per gallon.'
Automakers are rushing out ads and showroom signs to point out gas-stingy vehicles. They're trying to figure out how to retune existing models to squeeze a few more miles a gallon out of them. And they're trying to perfect aerodynamics of new models to boost sales as they work feverishly to move hybrid gas-electric models to market.
The sudden interest marks a reversal from the horsepower wars that dominated the industry until summer, says Jeremy Anwyl, president of car buyers research site Edmunds.com.
At least the latest gas crunch hits at a time when the industry, in a modest break from years of dependence on high-profit SUV sales, is coming out with some smaller, more-efficient models. Ford says its Fusion gets up to 31 mpg on the highway. And GM's Chevrolet division just started selling the HHR, a small SUV rated at 30 mpg.
Fuel savers can't arrive soon enough. Rising gas prices have wreaked havoc on sales of large SUVs this year. Sales of the Dodge Durango, GMC Yukon and Ford Expedition plummeted 20%, 30% and 40%, respectively, in August, Autodata reports, although inventories were low after the summer's booming employee discount promotions. Overall in August, Detroit automakers' combined sales were only off 3.2% compared with the same period last year.
Some of the bigger vehicles from the Japanese and South Koreans suffered, too. Toyota saw 4Runner SUV sales fall 16%. Hyundai Santa Fe SUV sales were down 48%.
Recent polls validate the auto industry's thinking. Nearly half of the adults responding to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Aug. 28-29 said they would seriously consider buying a hybrid car even if it meant having to pay $3,000 more.
Even though only 2% were paying more than $3 a gallon for gas when the poll was taken, nearly 40% said they expect the price of gas to top $3 next year.
Another poll taken about the same time found six out of 10 potential car buyers said soaring gas prices have either changed their minds or strongly influenced their purchase decisions, a strong increase from July, according to the Kelley Blue Book/Harris Interactive survey.
As far as shopping for a car, it's No. 1, pharmacist Todd Key, 34, in Liberty Township, Ohio, says about gas mileage. He says he's ready to ditch his 1998 Ford F-150 pickup because it gets only 13 miles a gallon and buy a fuel-efficient small sedan -- probably a Ford Focus or Honda Civic -- because gas is taking money out of my pocket.
With gas prices trickling back down as the Gulf Coast's oil industry revives, it's yet to be seen whether consumers will abide by their newfound energy vows. Gas prices will have to approach $4 a gallon and stay there for a year before consumers are willing to downsize to smaller vehicles, says Tom Libby, analyst for J.D. Power and Associates.
In the past, analysts said the same thing about $3-a-gallon gas.
There was a bit more to the story, but I think that makes the point.
I personally think that a new F-150 based Bronco could fit the bill. The SuperCrew uses a nice strong rear end, the front suspension is ready made for coil-overs/air bump-stops (check out the Fabtech kits that are out for the new F-150, they're sweeeeeeeet). Unfortunately, anything that will satisfy our needs would surely be a gas sucker. I agree that the Bronco name shouldn't be used for anything other than a Bronco. Just as the Mustang name shouldn't have been put on a Pinto....unfortunately it was.
hogback said:
businesses that adapt live, those that don't die. Plain and simple....
I couldn't have said that better myself.
