'20 Bronco Rendered

[akirby]

 

Yeah, would MAP be the single Bronco plant for the world?

 

I would say yes - just like Mustang at FRAP. Don't they also export Edge to Europe from Oakville?

[rmc523]

 

I would say yes - just like Mustang at FRAP. Don't they also export Edge to Europe from Oakville?

 

It'd either have to be that or from China.

[fuzzymoomoo]

 

I would say yes - just like Mustang at FRAP. Don't they also export Edge to Europe from Oakville?

I think so

[2b2]

IMO the Everest represents what the Explorer would have been had it stayed BOF. I suspect there might even be a limited market for it in NA. It could even be enough to justify including it in the mix at MAP, especially if the Ranger and Bronco do not sell in high enough numbers to meet plant capacity. While that might seem unlikely today who knows what the market will look like in two years? There could also be buyers who want a more rugged SUV but not necessarily one that looks like a Bronco but perhaps more like the current Ford SUV lineup. I could see it selling in Flex numbers and you could even compare it to the Flex in that it was built in the same plant with other models that shared the same platform.

 

And/or exported to other countries.

 

Yeah, would MAP be the single Bronco plant for the world?

afaik, it oughta be easy to add Bronco (&or the Ranger bits) to any other T-# factory

&

I remember hearing a 3rd vehicle was a possibility for MAP...

...don't see why more future variants aren't possible

Edited July 17, 2017 by 2b2

[bzcat]

Bronco could be build wherever Ranger is assembled. I wouldn't assume MAP is the only place it will be made.

 

I think we need to understand what Ford has planned for next gen Everest to figure out where else Bronco will be made.

[akirby]

May not be enough Bronco volume in ROW to tool up another factory. It's still pretty much an American icon.

[tbone]

Because of this, perhaps they will make an effort to keep its manufacturing here.

[fuzzymoomoo]

Bronco could be build wherever Ranger is assembled. I wouldn't assume MAP is the only place it will be made.

 

I think we need to understand what Ford has planned for next gen Everest to figure out where else Bronco will be made.

total guess here, but I think the overall plan is for the Bronco to replace the Everest globally, with production coming from MAP and much as capacity will allow it.

[tbone]

total guess here, but I think the overall plan is for the Bronco to replace the Everest globally, with production coming from MAP and much as capacity will allow it.

I hope you're wrong about that. Because my vision for the Bronco is not even remotely close to the Everest. And if they need something comparable to the Everest for ROW, then the Bronco won't be the vehicle I was hoping for, which will be very disappointing for me.

[fuzzymoomoo]

Replacing Everest doesn't mean it IS Everest....

[tbone]

I understand, but there's a big difference between an SUV like an Everest and a Wrangler type vehicle.

[bzcat]

May not be enough Bronco volume in ROW to tool up another factory. It's still pretty much an American icon.

 

Unless the two are just the same vehicle with variation in length. I'm not saying that is the case, but until we know what next gen Everest will look like (should debut after Bronco), we can't rule that out.

[fuzzymoomoo]

Ugh, just debut them already!!!

[bzcat]

total guess here, but I think the overall plan is for the Bronco to replace the Everest globally, with production coming from MAP and much as capacity will allow it.

 

I doubt the plan is to export Bronco from the US to China to replace the locally assembled Everest. So if they end up being the same, Ford will have at least two different production sites.

 

Another thing to consider is how many sites will Ford need for Ranger. It is currently produced in Thailand, South Africa, and Argentina. With US in the mix, that will be 4 production sites. If that too much? Not enough? I don't know. Ford is also interested in entering the pickup truck market in China which will require local assembly (it currently only sells low end JMC branded trucks, and F150 Raptor, nothing in the middle of the market).

[rmc523]

Ugh, just debut them already!!!

 

We'll probably see a Bronco "concept" at NAIAS.

[fuzzymoomoo]

 

We'll probably see a Bronco "concept" at NAIAS.

I hope so. I'm tired of waiting. I'm ready to start building them.

[rmc523]

I hope so. I'm tired of waiting. I'm ready to start building them.

 

I think a lot of people are. As I've said many times, having a "big debut" that was a powerpoint slide saying "RANGER AND BRONCO COMINGGGGGGG (in 3 years)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! was stupid.

[tbone]

 

I think a lot of people are. As I've said many times, having a "big debut" that was a powerpoint slide saying "RANGER AND BRONCO COMINGGGGGGG (in 3 years)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! was stupid.

It was totally stupid, and frankly a little embarrassing. It just made them look unprepared, with nothing ready. It would have been better to let the media continue speculate in my opinion.

[rmc523]

It was totally stupid, and frankly a little embarrassing. It just made them look unprepared, with nothing ready. It would have been better to let the media continue speculate in my opinion.

 

I definitely agree. They should've debuted the 2018 F-150 and Mustang refreshes at NAIAS, and not even talked about Ranger/Bronco until this autoshow season when they show the production Ranger and/or concept Bronco.

[blksn8k2]

I think there were a couple of reasons why they did that. First of all, the union had already let the cat out of the bag in response to all the bad press being generated by Trump. Confirmation that American jobs were being protected got them a little positive press, for a change. Second, by making that announcement they probably convinced a few buyers to wait rather than buy something from the competition. Too bad the wait isn't significantly shorter. A lot of those prospective buyers probably have already grown impatient and have or will go elsewhere anyway long before we see job 1.

[tbone]

I think there were a couple of reasons why they did that. First of all, the union had already let the cat out of the bag in response to all the bad press being generated by Trump. Confirmation that American jobs were being protected got them a little positive press, for a change. Second, by making that announcement they probably convinced a few buyers to wait rather than buy something from the competition. Too bad the wait isn't significantly shorter. A lot of those prospective buyers probably have already grown impatient and have or will go elsewhere anyway long before we see job 1.

It's way too long. I need a third vehicle by next March, and I have been been eyeing the Wrangler for a while. Once I heard there was a Bronco coming I got pretty excited, but the timeline is pushed out so far that I don't think it is going to work out.

[rmc523]

I think there were a couple of reasons why they did that. First of all, the union had already let the cat out of the bag in response to all the bad press being generated by Trump. Confirmation that American jobs were being protected got them a little positive press, for a change. Second, by making that announcement they probably convinced a few buyers to wait rather than buy something from the competition. Too bad the wait isn't significantly shorter. A lot of those prospective buyers probably have already grown impatient and have or will go elsewhere anyway long before we see job 1.

 

Let's hope Hackett can somehow pull up that timeline.

[jpd80]

I think there were a couple of reasons why they did that. First of all, the union had already let the cat out of the bag in response to all the bad press being generated by Trump. Confirmation that American jobs were being protected got them a little positive press, for a change. Second, by making that announcement they probably convinced a few buyers to wait rather than buy something from the competition. Too bad the wait isn't significantly shorter. A lot of those prospective buyers probably have already grown impatient and have or will go elsewhere anyway long before we see job 1.

I wouldn't be the first time Ford has drip fed information via other sources,

it makes sense for the UAW to announce something like that informally,

it really gets the tongues wagging.....

[jasonj80]

 

Let's hope Hackett can somehow pull up that timeline.

I hope so, but I also know that while you might be able to get a 6-9 month pull up of product a lot rides on that. Ford also has to look at what else is launching at that time, you only have so many launch teams and if you pull one thing up you well may very well be pushing something back and is that product more important to the bottom line. (Would you delay the next Escape/Kuga launch 6 months to pull up the Bronco 6 months, what about the Fusion or next Mustang?) You have to look at everything from that plant to other plants, is the Fuel Tank plant ready for the product, is the Stamping plant ready for the product, is the planned powertrain for that going to be launched have capacity or done with durability testing. How will this new vehicle impact CAFE and was the vehicle I pushed back needed to make sure I still hit my CAFE numbers on this new product.

 

Ford needs to make sure the Bronco is done RIGHT, if that means that it is a year later so be it however no matter what it is people are going to b**** that it isn't what it was. Ford also has a TON of product coming starting later this year through 2020, that is the common theme in people at Ford I've talked to as the issue with Fields, he was cutting so much from future product budgets that they weren't able to meet timelines and were not going to be launching class leading vehicles when they did, they were going to be "Competitive" product development was starting to see a loss of young people leaving for other companies and there was a pretty hard revolt going on.

 

Ford is also in the middle of a huge plant overhaul all around Detroit, and haven't even started working on some plants that will see major development. There is actually a massive shortage of skilled labor in the market now because of the massive projects going on all over, and no one wants to apply for the apprenticeship programs that are available.

Edited July 20, 2017 by jasonj80

[fuzzymoomoo]

I hope so, but I also know that while you might be able to get a 6-9 month pull up of product a lot rides on that. Ford also has to look at what else is launching at that time, you only have so many launch teams and if you pull one thing up you well may very well be pushing something back and is that product more important to the bottom line. (Would you delay the next Escape/Kuga launch 6 months to pull up the Bronco 6 months, what about the Fusion or next Mustang?) You have to look at everything from that plant to other plants, is the Fuel Tank plant ready for the product, is the Stamping plant ready for the product, is the planned powertrain for that going to be launched have capacity or done with durability testing. How will this new vehicle impact CAFE and was the vehicle I pushed back needed to make sure I still hit my CAFE numbers on this new product.

 

Ford needs to make sure the Bronco is done RIGHT, if that means that it is a year later so be it however no matter what it is people are going to b**** that it isn't what it was. Ford also has a TON of product coming starting later this year through 2020, that is the common theme in people at Ford I've talked to as the issue with Fields, he was cutting so much from future product budgets that they weren't able to meet timelines and were not going to be launching class leading vehicles when they did, they were going to be "Competitive" product development was starting to see a loss of young people leaving for other companies and there was a pretty hard revolt going on.

 

Ford is also in the middle of a huge plant overhaul all around Detroit, and haven't even started working on some plants that will see major development. There is actually a massive shortage of skilled labor in the market now because of the massive projects going on all over, and no one wants to apply for the apprenticeship programs that are available.

Two things:

 

Every plant has its own launch team. They were trying to consolidate them and make them more "regional" (meaning one group would cover 3-4 plants) but I think they've rethought that idea since there's so many new products coming in the next 3-4 years.

 

Ford is addressing their aging trades team. They just launched a new apprentice program last spring so there's fresh blood on the waitlists (god I can't wait....). Some plants are taking people as they go onto the list.