blwnsmoke Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 https://www.motor1.com/news/434165/ford-bronco-goodyear-wrangler-tires/ Automakers are like politicians – they're loathe to acknowledge a rival. Instead, other brands and their products are “the competition,” or something similar. But in developing the 2021 Ford Bronco to beat the snot out of the Jeep Wrangler, the Blue Oval ran into an issue: one of the most popular off-road tires on the market is the Goodyear… Wrangler. Oh dear. It just wouldn't do for Ford's most significant new product in years to feature its arch-rival's name five separate times on the exterior. After all, how silly would a Mustang look with “Camaro” all over it, or an F-150 with multiple “Ram” logos? Exactly. And that's why when the new Bronco arrives in Spring 2021, it will do so with special Goodyear tires that lack the typical Wrangler badging. But not entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 This seems petty and awesome at the same time 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan1 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Only on one side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 So that's something you'll have to pay attention to when you get new tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 LOL, Ranger Raptor gets factory fitted Goodyear Wrangler M/T tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) Well, they could always go to Pep Boys and spec out some Futura tires....oh, wait.... Or, get with Bridgestone/Firestone and put on some Duelers or Destinations. Or, Hankook makes the Dynapro MT2. Or, BF Goodrich.... Point is, there are other options than demanding that Goodyear scrub the name "Wrangler" from the tire. And I am guessing that now with Mahindra dealt with and their case of the curious CJ, maybe FCA will just sue Goodyear to get "their" name off the sidewalls of Goodyear tires . Edited July 16, 2020 by twintornados 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 The point is that Ford already has a big international contract with Goodyear, they have the weight of numbers to influence Goodyear to rename the Wrangler for Ford use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 55 minutes ago, jpd80 said: The point is that Ford already has a big international contract with Goodyear, they have the weight of numbers to influence Goodyear to rename the Wrangler for Ford use. Ford has international contracts with several tire makers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 2 minutes ago, twintornados said: Ford has international contracts with several tire makers... Yes but for Ranger the overwhelmingly prefer Bridgestone by a country mile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) 44 minutes ago, jpd80 said: Yes but for Ranger the overwhelmingly prefer Bridgestone by a country mile. Exactly....Bridgstone Dueler M/T seems like a logical fitment.....unless Goodyear WANTS that business, they'll need to scrub the name. Here's the kicker...Goodyear ALREADY has an M/T tire that is NOT named Wrangler.... https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/fierce-attitude-mt FYI - it comes in a 35x12.50x17LT size Edited July 16, 2020 by twintornados Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 They use BFGs on the the Raptor, so I’m surprised they didn’t roll with them on this and avoid the issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Ford works with tire mfrs on most vehicles. On the Lincoln LS they went through 20 different prototypes with Firestone before settling on the final version. And that was only expected to sell 75k or so per year. They don’t normally just use stock tires anyway. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 They should put Nitto Ridge Grapplers on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) I'm sure Goodyear can make an OEM version without the Wrangler font on the sidewall if they want to supply tires to Bronco. And they appeared to have come to a reasonable compromise per the article: Ford confirmed this to Motor1.com, with spokesman Sam Schembari saying, “[The Wrangler name] will be removed from the Goodyear's side wall on the outboard side. Bronco Customers will not see it unless their tires are off the vehicle and the inboard side is visible.” Why not strip the word off entirely? According to Schembari, it's because the Wrangler name is “still part of [Goodyear's] aftermarket branding OEMs make customer specific versions for non-retail use all the time in every industry. I don't see why this is even a big deal. If Goodyear doesn't want the business, I'm sure Bridgestone, Hankook, Continental, or Michelin are more than happy to take it. Edited July 16, 2020 by bzcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 21 minutes ago, bzcat said: I'm sure Goodyear can make an OEM version without the Wrangler font on the sidewall if they want to supply tires to Bronco. And they appeared to have come to a reasonable compromise per the article: OEMs make customer specific versions for non-retail use all the time in every industry. I don't see why this is even a big deal. If Goodyear doesn't want the business, I'm sure Bridgestone, Hankook, Continental, or Michelin are more than happy to take it. This is how that conversation went. Ford: Hey can you make a version For a Bronco that doesn’t say Wrangler? Goodyear: Sure! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probowler Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 11 hours ago, rmc523 said: So that's something you'll have to pay attention to when you get new tires. So will this mean you can only buy stock replacement tires from Ford? And will they cost more I wonder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice-capades Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 6 minutes ago, probowler said: So will this mean you can only buy stock replacement tires from Ford? And will they cost more I wonder? Tire sales have become an important part of Ford dealership's service and parts business with very competitive prices. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, probowler said: So will this mean you can only buy stock replacement tires from Ford? Of course not. You can always buy aftermarket versions same as today. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, probowler said: So will this mean you can only buy stock replacement tires from Ford? And will they cost more I wonder? No, of course not. My point was just that if you do get the Wrangler ones from Ford, you'll have to make sure they put them on right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probowler Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 3 hours ago, akirby said: Of course not. You can always buy aftermarket versions same as today. No, what I meant was if you want exact OEM replacements, can you only get them from Ford? Or will other tire shops be able to order those specially marked wranglers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 5 hours ago, ice-capades said: Tire sales have become an important part of Ford dealership's service and parts business with very competitive prices. I find the dealers near me don't really carry budget brands though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 2 hours ago, probowler said: No, what I meant was if you want exact OEM replacements, can you only get them from Ford? Or will other tire shops be able to order those specially marked wranglers? All the ones I know about were available to regular tire dealers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 9 hours ago, probowler said: So will this mean you can only buy stock replacement tires from Ford? And will they cost more I wonder? Who chooses Goodyear tires, anyway? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 1 hour ago, SoonerLS said: Who chooses Goodyear tires, anyway? Not me but Goodyear wranglers appear to be popular for off roading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probowler Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 5 hours ago, SoonerLS said: Who chooses Goodyear tires, anyway? Personally I run Cooper RS3s on my Camaro, and I used to rock Dunlop Mud Rovers on the Bronco before they got discontinued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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