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I think what some people, both in this comments section, and on other discussion boards aren't realizing as much as they should, is new cars have gradually transitioned from a need, to a want item. Wind the clocks back 4-5 decades and people genuinely needed new cars. Cars didn't last a very long time, you had to replace them frequently, often with a new car. You bought a new car because you needed to get into something dependable. Or because your wife was pregnant and you needed something more practical. These days, you still see small issues, but catastrophic strand you in the side of the road issues are significantly less common than they used to be. Your car will generally last a really long time if you take care of it. So there's less need to upgrade to a new car, the car I already own is perfectly fine, why spend the money? That's why it's really important to make more emotional, exciting cars, the kinds of things you've always dreamed about owning. That gives you an incentive to buy that new car where there's no practical need to. Some may doubt Ford's strategy, but appealing to people who genuinely love cars seems like a brilliant strategy moving forward.

Ford’s problem is cost which is high due to warranty costs plus mismanagement of platforms. They solved the latter starting with C2 and seem to be on track to solving the first one but that will take years to pay off and requires consistent effort.

The American Truck Historical Society (ATHS) had its annual show in June at the PA State Fairgrounds in York PA. A total of 898 trucks were on display from all over the US and a couple of foreign countries. Of the top five, Mack had the highest representation at 185, with Peterbilt second at 146, Kenworth third at 124, Ford fourth at 58, and International fifth at 55. Not surprising that Mack, Ford and International did as well given eastern location. Closer show is held closer to west coast, Paccar rules. Nice to see the ATHS show issue of 180 pages had this "two story Falcon" on the cover. Company that owns this also had a beautiful LT 9000 at the show and both are still used moving equipment. Note cover refers to this as an LTL an obvious error as it is a CLT

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2024/10/15/2025-ford-bronco-stroppe-special-edition-honors-the-original-baj.html Looks pretty sharp! Two door only

Here's the official '25 order guide.... 2025 Bronco Order Guide (bronco6g.com) Good news - digital gauges across the board and rear HVAC on all auto 4-doors. Bad news - trims were dropped - Black Diamond is now a Big Bend package, and Wildtrak and Everglades are gone. That also means the tan interior option is now gone.

With due respect, I think you’re using too much confirmation bias in making your case on importance of emotional and exciting vehicles. Obviously very few buyers want boring cars per se, but I think you should ask what an “exciting” design is worth monetarily on average to most buyers. If you’re going to make money off excitement, you should know it’s true value, right? I personally prefer an exciting car over a boring one, but won’t pay a significant price premium, or compromise much on function, comfort, reliability, fuel economy, or pretty much anything else. So other than appearance of looking nicer, what exactly is “exciting”, and is it the same for all buyers? I seriously doubt it. This forum is primarily for car guys and we are becoming an increasingly smaller percentage of population, so we should take our collective minority feedback and ideas accordingly. Everyone agrees exciting is better than boring, but I have yet to see a clear definition of what that actually means beyond marketing speak that means very little to most real buyers.

Think about it. Toyota and Honda have thrived on appealing to non car people who just want an A to B pod. Most of the people who buy from those brands couldn't care less about cars. What happens to those kinds of brands as ride sharing, driverless car, walkable communities, and public transit become more common and accessible? It seems like the only way long term a car company will be able to appeal to a large group of buyers is by making things people actually want to own. A Corolla owner will probably one day just start taking the bus if it's convenient. A mustang gt or bronco owner is gonna be owning, buying, and loving those cars until they die. Ford's appealing to the people who love cars, and who will always want to buy them regardless of other transportation options. That's brilliant imo.