Bronco vs. Wrangler

Let's face it, the few die-hard people that really love off-roading and really love low tech can (as long as gas is still available) buy up old Jeeps, Broncos, Blazers, 4x4 trucks, Old land Rovers and old Toyota Land Cruisers, fix them up and go wheeling. Unfortunately people like that aren't where the money is made selling new cars.

Selling new cars is all about:

1. Perceived reliability
2. Style and image
3. Branding and loyalty
4. Utility and function

(Depending on the car buyer, not necessarily in that order.)

Jeep and Bronco are both competing on items 2&3. Before this new Bronco, absolutely no one was competing with Jeep on that playing field. Jeep has just had the ball and been running with it. Give kudos to Ford for stepping on the field and at least playing in the game.

I will say this: Fiat Chrysler has a lot more to lose than Ford does. Jeep is the Fiat Chrysler milk cow.
 
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Irishguy said:
Let's face it, the few die-hard people that really love off-roading and really love low tech can (as long as gas is still available) buy up old Jeeps, Broncos, Blazers, 4x4 trucks, Old land Rovers and old Toyota Land Cruisers, fix them up and go wheeling. Unfortunately people like that aren't where the money is made selling new cars.

Selling new cars is all about:

1. Perceived reliability
2. Style and image
3. Branding and loyalty
4. Utility and function

(Depending on the car buyer, not necessarily in that order.)

Jeep and Bronco are both competing on items 2&3. Before this new Bronco, absolutely no one was competing with Jeep on that playing field. Jeep has just had the ball and been running with it. Give kudos to Ford for stepping on the field and at least playing in the game.

I will say this: Fiat Chrysler has a lot more to lose than Ford does. Jeep is the Fiat Chrysler milk cow.
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I would add that part of Jeep's challenge is that Ford put more weight on #4 than Jeep has been. When you can buy a $29k base Bronco and simply add an option package (can't wait to see the price of that package) to get 35" mud tires and lockers instead of stepping all the way up to the $45k trim level...that leaves #3 as the only reason Jeep will sell a single Rubicon in 2021, as long as Ford is smart about pricing the Sasquatch package.
 
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Irishguy said:
1. Perceived reliability
2. Style and image
3. Branding and loyalty
4. Utility and function

(Depending on the car buyer, not necessarily in that order.)
Click to expand...
Don't forget "Luxury and gadgets"! That's the number one thing car shoppers look for first. Or so the CarCos would have us believe as they use it as an excuse to load every vehicle they sell with such things.
 
InOmaha said:
I'm not sure how you can say you don't like the JL then say you'd buy something bigger over it. Styling difference or something?
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It's not all about the size. I rented a Gladiator and drove it 1500 miles in 5 days, and didn't like the way it drove. I feel no connection to it at all, and I don't identify with the culture they're selling (I felt the same way when I owned a Sportster). I think the Bronco looks better.

I'm not sure what Jeep can come up with to stay relevant with the hardcore Jeepers and still exist as a company.
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They don't have to abandon what they have. They could start with offering a trim level that doesn't force you to buy all the extra luxury gadgets to get offroad capability, and charge a price reflective of what you're getting. You could buy a base model JL and make it equivalent mechanically to a Rubicon for $5k, and there's no way the factory isn't doing it for less than that, yet they tack on the rest of the trim package and a pair of hood decals and mark it up to $20k. To someone who knows what's involved, that should be insulting.

You probably wouldn't buy what they have to offer if they update it or go more retro.
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I have better things to spend my money on than tens of thousands in depreciation so I'll wait until about 2028 and buy a low-mile 2022 Bronco when somebody else has taken most of the hit, so you're right that the car makers probably shouldn't pay any attention to my preferences when it comes to marketing a new car, but if they want to use resale value as a selling point they'd better start paying SOME attention to the secondary market.
 
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L J said:
:ROFLMAO:

Ferd cared so much about their own heritage that they released the abomination known as the Bronco II and then killed the model all together.
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It's not like Bronco is Ford's only heritage...they're the only domestic automaker to have a significant motorsports presence outside of NASCAR. The Wrangler pretty much is the only thing Jeep has, so killing their flagship in the 90s when people weren't really buying 2 door utility vehicles while Ford and GM didn't need them in their catalog would have been a death sentence.

It's not the only time Ford has done something weird/dumb with a name or brand, but if the model is simply the product, then they just renamed them Explorer and Expedition as their first move in a strange 15 year effort in trying to have all their van and SUV names start with an E and their cars start with an F.
 
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Irishguy said:
Has anyone seen how the Bronco soft top works?
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hopefully they took some notes during their partnership with Mazda, because in my experience the MX5 has the best soft top ever devised. I could put it up or down with one hand without unbuckling my seatbelt and it fit the car perfectly. It's competition of the time, the Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice tops might as well have been tarps and ratchet straps by comparison.

I realize that level of ease is probably not possible on an SUV the way it is a 2 seat roadster. I also haven't experienced a Mustang's soft top, or for that matter, a JL. I do like the removable freedom panels on the JL, and hopefully the Bronco executes that as well as Jeep did since a Bronco would replace my wife's 4Runner and would have a hard top.
 
How about the slide out from the rear floor? Like having a tailgate when you want it and hidden when you don't.
 
freedom_in_4low said:
I would add that part of Jeep's challenge is that Ford put more weight on #4 than Jeep has been. When you can buy a $29k base Bronco and simply add an option package (can't wait to see the price of that package) to get 35" mud tires and lockers instead of stepping all the way up to the $45k trim level...that leaves #3 as the only reason Jeep will sell a single Rubicon in 2021, as long as Ford is smart about pricing the Sasquatch package.
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Everyone keeps saying this but everywhere I've read the $29 base model requires a 2.7L automatic transmission upgrade to get the sasquatch package. Your total add-ons would put you up to $40,000 so by then you may have well just moved up 2 models. There's Ford's dealer upsale. "Starting at $29,000" Wranglers start at $29,500.
 
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InOmaha said:
Everyone keeps saying this but everywhere I've read the $29 base model requires a 2.7L automatic transmission upgrade to get the sasquatch package. Your total add-ons would put you up to $40,000 so by then you may have well just moved up 2 models. There's Ford's dealer upsale.
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That would indeed be disappointing if true, and indicative that Ford is following Jeeps approach of "let's see how much we can get for this" instead of "lets ask for less so we can take more business from our competitor".
 
InOmaha said:
Everyone keeps saying this but everywhere I've read... There's Ford's dealer upsale. "Starting at $29,000"
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And you don't have to do much because it is "shovel ready" with a set of 35" wheels OEM.

Edit: ironically, Chrysler now is bought by Stellantis.
 
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