Ford Bronco is back: It's official

[Yaj Yak]

Me too, but even a unibody and IRS can be competent off-road. I believe Land Rover/Range Rover is moving their vehicles to unibody.

competent isn't the same as "no compromise"

 

[jason05gt]

The Expedition is still being sold, and is still a body on frame.... we can dream!

The current Expedition is not long for this world. Ford is working on a new generation Expedition/Navigator. The Navigator concept was at the autoshow last year, so maybe Detroit 2018?

 

[Dasfinc]

i agree, i've said that on here before, i would LOVE to be proven wrong though.

if anything it will have a solid axle out back i'd think, and independent up front.

The Expedition chassis started life as an F-150 chassis with SRA out back (which is what underpinned the last generation Bronco essentially...)

The current Expedition is not long for this world. Ford is working on a new generation Expedition/Navigator. The Navigator concept was at the autoshow last year, so maybe Detroit 2018?

All the more reason to take advantage of the tooling that would otherwise be retired?

I could see Ford leveraging the discontinuation of the Expo into building the Bronco from a tooling/Mfg. perspective.

Again, just wishful thinking, but that's basically why Wranglers are so profitable for FCA, it hasn't fundamentally changed in over a decade which keeps Mfg. costs down.

 

[Yaj Yak]

The Expedition chassis started life as an F-150 chassis with SRA out back.



All the more reason to take advantage of the tooling that would otherwise be retired?

I could see Ford leveraging the discontinuation of the Expo into building the Bronco from a tooling/Mfg. perspective.

Again, just wishful thinking, but that's basically why Wranglers are so profitable for FCA, it hasn't fundamentally changed in over a decade which keeps Mfg. costs down.

who cares what it started as? since at least 2003, aka, 14 years ago, they have had independent rear.

suburbans used to have solid axles front and rear.

THEY GONE.

i bet new bronco and new expedition don't share anything but interior tidbits & ford emblems.

 

[Dasfinc]

who cares what it started as? since at least 2003, aka, 14 years ago, they have had independent rear.

suburbans used to have solid axles front and rear.

THEY GONE.

i bet new bronco and new expedition don't share anything but interior tidbits & ford emblems.

your probably right , they never graced that platform with the new 5.0, I'm sure there was a reason behind it.

I have an unhealthy desire for a 2005ish crew cab F-150 with a Coyote swap...

 

[Yaj Yak]

new bronco/ranger are said to be global platforms... so i'd bet not much different from current australian ranger.

 

[EmersonHart13]

My early guess is IFS. Just a gut feeling here.

But bring it!!

 

[P40E]

Sounds like the bronco will probably be a glorified 2010 Explorer .

 

[jason05gt]

competent isn't the same as "no compromise"

That's marketing language. There's always compromises

 

[Yaj Yak]

OH SNAP

The New Ford Bronco Will Be A Real Body-On-Frame SUV

After the reveal today, I ran down to the mob of journalist pestering Bill Ford about the company’s future plans, and heard executive chairman say this thing is going to be a tough truck with a true body-on-frame layout.

This is a big deal for off-road enthusiasts. In extreme rock-crawling situations, unibody vehicles tend to crack over time, since the stresses are distributed throughout a very stiff body. With a dedicated frame to comply with the terrain and take up the stresses, the Bronco might just be able to hold its own against the king of off-road, the Wrangler.

Not to mention, the frame also allows for easier modifications like body lifts and long-arm suspension setups— this is important, because aftermarket support and mod-ability will play a huge part if Ford wants to really compete with the big guns at Jeep.

Of course, where the Ford might fall short of the Jeep in off-road capability and aftermarket support will be in the front suspension. Will Ford have the balls to throw the more rugged, better-articulating solid axle up front, or will they go with the more comfortable independent front suspension setup found in pretty much every non-heavy duty truck (including the Ford Everest, on which many think the new Bronco will be based)?


I’d venture to guess they’ll throw an independent front suspension up there. But I kind of hope they surprise me.

 

[LoveSpank]

If this is true my wife is gonna get a Bronco!!!

 

[guspech750]

Hmmmm, sounds like a newer Bronco II just a tad better and modern tech. But not a full size Bronco.

It's not a Bronco unless it's a full size Bronco.

Might be cool for a small truck to pick up men in drag.

Not impressed.................

 

[Yaj Yak]

 

[Pressure Ratio]

*IF* the Bronco is going to be some bad ass off road rig I could see them basing it off the F150/Raptor. Throw a cab on the back, throw some interior in there and call it a day.

Maybe the global Ranger will get an upgraded, more capable model, called the Bronco?

I am interested to see what happens. I would love to see a retro design on the 87-96 design. But I doubt we will see a true retro design.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

I have no idea why I'm so rock hard.

 

[P40E]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154731534420049&id=22166130048

 

[SMRTSS1]

If this is true my wife is gonna get a Bronco!!!

If this is true I have to explain to my wife why I'm getting a 2 door Bronco and getting rid of a 4 door truck.

 

[The Beast]

Taking orders just let me know how many broncos u want

 

[Chester Copperpot]

This fuckin guy.

 

[Pressure Ratio]

This fuckin guy.

Wait till he requests deposits in cashier's checks that are in his name.

 

[The Beast]

This fuckin guy.

So do you want to place your order or not ?

 

[The Beast]

Wait till he requests deposits in cashier's checks that are in his name.

I'll see u Friday Pratt to place your order

 

[Jeffs FRC]

Gomez I sent you an envelope with my cash deposit. Lock my order in.

 

[EmersonHart13]

Gomez I sent you an envelope with my cash deposit. Lock my order in.

 

[Primalzer]

Yesterday's big news out of the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit was all about Ford trucks. Namely, the automaker officially announced the return of the Ford Ranger pickup in 2019, followed by the Bronco in 2020.

And that's about all Ford said. There were no details given. Neither a Bronco nor a Ranger were rolled out on stage. As Executive Vice President Joe Hinrichs spoke onstage, video footage of a European-market Ranger rolled behind him; when he broke the Bronco news, only the Bronco logo appeared on the screen.

But we got a very brief chance to speak with Hinrichs at the Ford display later that day. And he confirmed a few choice new details on the hotly-anticipated return of the Bronco.

First off, this won't be the full-size 4x4 we all remember from the OJ chase. Hinrichs confirmed that the 2020 Bronco will be built on the 2019 Ranger's frame. To recap, the Ranger that will return to the US market in 2019 will be largely based on the midsize pickup by the same name that's currently sold in Europe.

So if you're looking for an idea of the Bronco's dimensions, the European Ranger would be a good place to start. All versions of that truck ride on a 126.8-inch wheelbase with a 73.2-inch-wide body. The longest Ranger, the four-door Super Cab, has an overall length of 211.1 inches. That's longer than the 184-inch length of the current four-door Jeep Wrangler—perhaps the Bronco's most natural competition—though the two vehicles are nearly identical in width.

Hinrichs would not offer any details on the Bronco's body style, nor would he comment on whether the upcoming 4x4 would be available as a two-door, four-door, or both. Yes, we've all been hoping for a chunky, upright two-door 4x4, like the Troller T4—a Brazilian-market off-roader built by a company recently acquired by Ford.

But a Reddit poster claiming to be a designer at Ford's Product Development Center in Dearborn has spilled some other details on the upcoming Ranger, and while we can't 100-percent take a Redditor at their word, the information sounds plenty believable.

According to the anonymous (but verified by the moderators of the Ranger reddit) insider, the only Ranger that will come to the US market will be the four-door Super Cab version. It'll be structurally identical to the current European-market Ranger, albeit with updated front and rear exterior styling, altered interiors, and different drivetrain options. This information coincides with what we learned from Hinrichs at the auto show.

The Redditor also goes on to claim that the US-market Bronco will be nearly identical to the Ford Everest, a body-on-frame Australian-market 4x4 built on the Ranger Platform.

Yes, that means the 2020 Bronco will only be available as a four-door SUV. Or so the Redditor claims.

.