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New Bronco - press conf from Ford

FSRBIKER

Sr. Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2002
Messages
943
Loc.
Oak Ridge, NJ
Looks like you can't get the manual tranny with the larger motor. That blows.
Ill wait for the V8 and manual trans swap

So disappointed that the manual isn't available with both engines. I won't buy an automatic Bronco so Ford probably lost a sale from me.
 

TAC71

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2012
Messages
463
So disappointed. Cant even get the manual with a V6... Don't they have any faith in the IFS. I could possibly live with the IFS but with no V8 AND manual, its not a Bronco. Its just a reskinned Explorer.
The 2 door from most angles looks ok, 4 door not so much. Yes they will probably sell very well. Unless my wife wants one to go to the mall there won't be one in my driveway.
Been driving my 71 daily for 36 years... looks like it will be many more.
 

daddycreswell

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 30, 2011
Messages
2,823
Loc.
Lebanon, TN
I really don't know what everyone was expecting for a 2021 Bronco. They were not made to be an Early Bronco, so why does everyone compare it to one? 90% of the members here don't have a Bronco the way it rolled off the line. I for one and glad I'll have one in the driveway, along with my 73 beside it. I'm getting the blue so they match, I hope when it's all said and done that a white top is available. The 73 is a street queen and the new one will be also. Ya'll go buy that Jeep V8, I'll take the Bronco all day.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

Dlish

Sr. Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2011
Messages
552
I am very happy for everyone who got one reserved and are happy with the new Bronco.
But, this whole circus reminds me of the Camaro relaunch. Big news and excitement amongst the Camaro faithful and even broader media, and a decade on the Camaro is on the chopping block every year after sales that can't compete with Mustang. Sure, there are cool models (ZL1), but the beancounters can't justify the program. I do hope that Ford is able to catch magic and keep the Bronco around again, but I just don't see this eating into the Wrangler market that much.

Toyota and LandRover have proven that IFS can work, but it has limits. So just look at the Maxslider ad, first thing they did in the rendering was junk the IFS. Part of the Jeep magic is easy and relatively cheap, replacing the Bronco's smart suspension or IFS is not going to be easy or cheap. But, as a compromise, maybe its perfect. There are loads of Jeeps around me on 33 or 35s and a couple inch lift, so the Sasquatch package may just satisfy most of the people that spend 95% of life on the road.

My daily driver is a Tahoe with a 6.2l V8. For the same money I could be in an Expedition or Raptor. But I prefer a V8. My Bronco has a NP435. Obviously Ford lost this sale pretty quick.

Cant wait for Wildhorses to get a package together with that 7 speed manual to swap behind the 351 in my EB.
 

okorangebrnco

Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 25, 2004
Messages
1,656
Considering the world today, I think it is a home run! Sure a lot could be better or different, but who knows how much better or worse just yet. I am just excited for the return and it actually looks and appears to be rugged enough.
 

sprdv1

Contributor
REBEL
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
81,962
Hell yeah..... congrats

Got mine.....
7dc3f8cb004dff12a84c8372803ee38b.jpg


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

Remos69

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Messages
660
Loc.
SW Florida
Going to hold off until I see all the specs, especially towing, it lists 3500lbs on the white sheet, but under specs it is TBD for all models and engines. Need the capacity, never needed to be the first kid on the block unless the wife wanted it, she still has her 2006 Ridgeline with 100k miles and no desire to get rid of it.
 

ep67bro

Bronco Junky
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
3,740
Loc.
Easton, MD
From what I saw it is pretty cool. I will need to see one in person before Ford gets any of my money. I think it is a good adaptation of the the Bronco. People need to wake up its not the 60s or 70s anymore you are not going to get a solid axle, manual trans, V8 removable top 4x4. Well unless Jeep builds that Hemi Wrangler but it will be stupid expensive. And well its still a god dam Jeep!

No auto maker can please everyone. They have to build cars and trucks that sell. I bet Ford will sell the crap out of them!
 

LSharpNM

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2020
Messages
164
Just saw this on Ford Lovers fb -

Gordon Moore
Amazes me how the page is Ford Lovers forever and all of these people are on here bagging on it... having been a Ford guy my whole life and a Ford Dealer tech for 30+ years it amazes me some of the stuff people bitch about.. this thing may be the best offering Ford has had in 15-20 years.. everyone says “oh it’s not a big bronco.. well, Ford quit making them because people quit buying them,and oh it doesn’t have a V8.. well, no-but it does have a 295# All Aluminum 2.3 making more power than any Bronco had from the factory, and a 490# V6 that is likely making near double of any of the Bronco offerings previous.. and if IFS is so bad why are all of these Rock buggies people are building being built that way����...

I am a Ford man and have owned nothing but Fords in my entire life. I currently own 8 including two early Broncos. Just because I like Fords and own Fords doesn't mean I am blindly loyal and will buy whatever garbage they may or may not pump out.

The new Bronco is something I have been following and waiting 16 years for (ever since the 2004 concept). There are a lot of cool and interesting things Ford did right, but they are too far off the mark on many others in my opinion to get me interested enough to buy one. I still look forward to seeing them out on the trail, but for my money, I am pretty sure I would go with a JL if I had to buy something new.

I will await more details, but from the specs they published, the two door Bronco is going to be significantly larger than a two door JL, which is a bad thing for people like me who like to run tight, technical trails. I would like to find out the width at the body, but I suspect it is over 70" wide seeing as the width without mirrors ranges from 75.9-79.3". The JL is 73.9", but the body is only about 65" wide and the tires (and flares) are what make it 73.9" wide. I don't mind the tires sticking out, but I don't want width at the sheet metal. Also, the two door Bronco is listed as being 173.7-174.8"long compared to 166.6" for the two door JL, so about 7-8" longer. For reference, the early Bronco was ˜69" wide and 152.1" long (without the spare tire, so probably ˜165" with a spare).
D3en8BC.jpg


As far as IFS goes, They showing their ignorance. There is not a single rock buggy I am aware of competing with independent suspension. Yes, many Ultra 4 cars are running IFS these days so they can be faster in the desert since they usually just winch through all the hard spots at the Hammers. The thing is, the IFS on those Ultra4 cars, trophy trucks, and side by sides is fundamentally different than the SLA IFS on the new Bronco that only musters 8-9" of travel depending on trim despite its substantial girth. The Raptor is as wide as a dually and can't even do 14" which really isn't that much in the world of desert racing. The IFS in these performance applications everyone uses to justify the IFS in the new Bronco use center-mounted, narrow differentials that allow for more travel in a narrower package than SLA IFS. Not to mention that off road IFS systems are substantially more complicated and expensive to build than their solid axle counterparts. Had the new Bronco had TTB, a center-mounted differential, or portal axles (like the HMMWV) I could probably get excited. TTB drives a lot like a solid axle, and you can get huge travel inexpensively and maintain a narrower track width than any other form of IFS. I have a TTB wheeler on 37" tires with ˜13" of travel that I run hard trails with, and it hangs pretty well with the Jeeps, but I am at the point where the shortfalls of IFS are becoming apparent in the rocks. I prefer the solid axle setup in my other rigs and don't really see any distinct advantages of the IFS over the solid axles in my other rigs on the street, or at higher speed off road.

Finally, engines. I am not an Ecoboost-hater, but I would personally prefer equivalent naturally-aspirated engines, particularly a V8. I prefer the better off-idle torque of a larger displacement engine and the relative simplicity and lower cost of a naturally aspirated engine (if it weren't for Ford's price-fixing). I would argue that a V8 is a huge part of the Bronco's identity and maybe even more so than the Mustang's since Broncos have always had available V8s (some years were exclusively V8s) and there was a time when Mustangs weren't available with a V8. Besides, everyone knows the Ecoboost engines sound like crap! Just go watch one of the Bronco R videos if you need a reminder. The 5.0L Coyote weighs in at ˜450 Lbs. and makes 395 HP and 400 LbFt in the F150s. That is 85 more HP than the top option 2.7L Ecoboost and the same amount of torque in and engine that weighs the same or maybe even slightly less. Plus the 5.0L is perfectly happy running on regular even at full load in 100ºF+ weather. I don't think it is unreasonable at all that people are disappointed in the lack of V8 availability in the Bronco.

I really wanted to like the new Bronco and was prepared to custom order one as my first new vehicle purchase (and probably only) and keep it for the rest of my life, but the three factors I've outlined above are a deal-killer for me. The lack of a manual-shift transfer case, over-abundance of non-mandatory electronic nannies and fluff, and styling that missed the mark are the final nails in the coffin. Looks more like an enlarged Suzuki Jimny/modern Scout interpretation with some hints of Landrover Defender than the original Bronco to me. Regardless, it is an interesting vehicle, and Ford could have done much worse, but it is not for me, and I am not the only one who feels this way, and that is okay. Not everyone has to love it just because it is the successor of the original Bronco that we all love for varied reasons.
 
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cannunz546

Contributor
Bronco Owner and Admirer
Joined
Sep 2, 2017
Messages
554
Loc.
Northwest Suburbs, Chicago
I placed a deposit on the First Edition. They are completely non-binding, refundable, and really don't mean much, at least at this point. We'll see how the process progresses. Hopefully, smoothly.
 

FordFarmer

Contributor
Full Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
305
Don't like:

Fender flares, even in body color. Too much tech. The support for this stuff just can't last that long. We have a '13 Flex with Sync and there are feautrues that Ford doesn't support anymore. My '04 BMW Entertainment/Nav system has shit tons of missing pixels and the buttons don't work anymore. No options for slide in replacements on either of those cars and nothing period on the Flex because the climate system is tied into it. Would be cool to see a Double DIN option, maybe on the base model. That way as tech evolves you can upgrade your audio/nav. A little weak on the initial towing specs. My X5 can tow 6k# and I think that's adequate for a midsized SUV. I grew up on a farm and I love my trucks but since I'm stuck in suburbia I'm also really liking the no truck lifestyle. A well built utility trailer serves my purposes when needed.

What I Like:

Pretty much everything else. Love the Vinyl and wash out interior. Even for those of us that don't wheel like a lot of you guys do, it's great for the kids, dogs, cargo etc. Excepting the flares I like they style. Hoping maybe a Raptor version with flared or swelled steel fenders and quarters comes out in a couple years. I like the modular top and the fact that you can store the top and doors in the truck. There are other things I'd like to see, 3.5 EB, 5.0, packages that were named like the original (Sport, Ranger, Explorer) but that's just nitpicky personal crap. Overall I think Ford did a really nice job and the marketing is crazy good in my opinion.

If it weren't for the fenders I'd be ordering one. I'm sure future models or the aftermarket will solve that "problem." Or, when they drop a Coyote in it for 2023 and half of CB.com trades theirs in I'll get a lightly broken in model from one of you! Regardless of the hits and misses I'm excited for some of you to get your hands on one and give us your thoughts.
 
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