Ford pins hopes on bling for Broncos

LAS VEGAS — For Ford Motor Co. dealers, accessories are far from an afterthought on the revived Bronco SUV.

After some stores encountered issues during last year's launch of the Ranger pickup, Ford is making significant changes to encourage Bronco buyers to load up with all-weather mats, soft tops and as many other add-ons as possible.

Those extras are key to boosting dealer profits on the Bronco and reasserting Ford's credibility in the off-road space so it can steal share from Jeep.

Ford's lofty volume target for the Bronco family of vehicles adds urgency to the accessories strategy. The automaker told dealers it's aiming for combined sales of 200,000 next year for the SUV and a smaller crossover it's calling the Bronco Sport.

The automaker in recent months has replaced more than half of its regional accessories distributors, updated a website for dealers and promised faster parts shipments when the rugged utility arrives in early 2021. Officials plan to initially offer more than 150 Bronco accessories, all of which can be warrantied and financed through Ford Motor Credit Co.


more here

https://www.autonews.com/sales/ford-pins-hopes-bling-broncos

 

The Bling makes a lot of sense.

How many Wranglers do you see with bling on them that approaches the original purchase price of the vehicle?

I am really looking forward to the new Bronco.

If it comes with one of the Ecoboost V6 engines, it will clobber the Wrangler.

There is nothing currently on the market like a Wrangler but a Wrangler, which is built (I use the term "built" loosely, or maybe I should say loosely assembled) by FCA.

FCA always sits at the bottom of reliability rankings for a reason and it's not because of a recurring statistical anomaly.

A Ford built utility with similar capabilities and customization options will woo buyers who would never think of an FCA product (after buying a brand new 2017 Wrangler I am kinda on that list myself now)

After the initial crowd of Gotta Get It Firsts thins out and prices return to normal, maybe the Bronco will be the wife's new ride.

See the Jeep Gladiator for a prime example of the Firsts getting soaked by paying over MSRP (for a vehicle that is still being built!) only to have the same vehicle available a year later with $10k discounts.

 

As the owner of a JK Wrangler that's getting long in the tooth mileage wise, I'm rooting for Ford to get this one right. For the love of Pete, don't sully the Bronco name the way Chevy has the Blazer.

FCA's arrogance from their monopoly of the segment should have been checked years ago. A well done competitor will give all but the hardest core Wrangler owners another option. Aftermarket support will bring even more to the fold. Come on, Ford.

I'm still in awe of FCA's ability to separate folks from their money with the Gladiator.

 

@Gunshot-6A

What has Toyota done to the Tacoma, exactly? They're still better than Ford and GM!

 

They haven't done almost a thing. Which is my point. People were pumped in the 2019 or 2020 Tacoma when we got a power driver seat. They've been riding on street cred for far too long and are playing up reliability as their trump card. It's working, but when you see the number of recalls for leaking diffs, and all the other stuff on here (vocal minority aside), that reliability thing is starting to slip too.

Canary in the coal mine is when the roof rack can't work on the 2020's yet because they moved the shark fin an inch forward and it hits now. That should be like question #3 on the friggin checklist before you release that change.

 

I hope the next generation has standard intermittent windshield wipers, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a reintroduced regular cab model!

 

Wipers - maybe, more likely automatic

4wheel disks - not likely. Not even sure why people want these. whats wrong with brakes that stop effectively, and need changing every 100K miles? (I know you had that issue with the mechanic, but that's a fluke)

Regular cab - fat chance, never gonna happen. Economy of customer demand is king, and nobody wants a regular cab. Not worth the tooling cost and depreciation they'd eat for the amount of RC tacos they would sell.

 

Actually, the problem ended up being the front brakes...

From the driver's seat it sounded like it was coming from the rear; The front brakes were safe and in good condition, but my dad's longtime mechanic determined they were contaminated...

He turned the rotors and installed new pads, and the sound was immediately gone!

 

So you want disks on 4 wheels despite those being the issue and the drums being totally fine? I don't understand the incongruity.

 

No, I no longer want 4-wheel disc on my truck; I'm fine with my truck...

However, if I buy a newer Tacoma one day I don't think I should be dropping thirty grand or more on something with rear drum brakes, especially when an inferior truck like the Ranger has 4-wheel disc!

 

If you removed what minimalists consider bling from 3g Tacomas, guessing new sales would drop like the DOW the last couple of days.

Many Tacomas are 95+% street used, 4wd for snow, bed for Home Depot stuff. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't take a sport, OR, limited or Pro to fulfill either.

 

That's the thing though, Drums aren't inferior. They may be a little antiquated sure, but provide better stopping power for a given size, and have longer life. Plus they're cheaper. So again, why would I want all 4 disk brakes other than my maintenance on the back could be slightly shorter?

 

Bingo. People love to shit on Ridgelines, but a staggering majority here would be well served with one if they didn't have a choice. But we do, and tacos are rad.

 

google the Ford Dual Clutch Transmission......people have died due to it's design flaws...NEVER BUY A FORD....OR A JEEP PRODUCT

 

You make a very good point and have changed my mind about drum brakes...

However, I still do miss the days of the no-frills regular cab pickup with crank windows and the bare essentials...

My truck's only options are A/C, an automatic transmission, and a sliding rear window; I added intermittent wipers, a backup camera, and a killer stereo system with Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay. What else do I need?

 

at the end of the day its still a Ford

 

Found
On
Road
Dead

Fix
Or
Replace
Daily

 

Citation needed on that one. I'll take your word for it with a reputable source.

Reliability issues? All day
Repeated fixes? Yep
NHTSA finding consumer danger? Nope

 

My friend's husband got into an accident with his 2007 Jeep Wrangler; He flipped it end over end and completely totaled it, but he was uninjured! He used the insurance money to buy a brand new 2014 Wrangler which has almost 100K miles and has had no reliability issues!