Stacy94PGT

Ford Ready to Take on Scion

Inside Line


Ford's production version of the baby Bronco will be assembled in Mexico. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)


The '04 Bronco concept used Ford's Fiesta as its base. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

Ford Motor Company is working on its own small Scion-fighter — in fact, a brace of them — also to be built in Mexico, with some engineering sourced from Ford of Europe and from Mazda in Japan. One of the new B-segment models reportedly will be called "Bronco," with retro styling cues derived both from the original 1966 Bronco and the 2004 concept vehicle of the same name. The Ford twins are due to reach U.S. showrooms in late 2008, as 2009 models.

Ford looks back

Ford, meanwhile, continues to pursue its retro tack, building on the Bronco concept that was revealed at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The neo-Bronco and a companion five-door hatchback are to be aimed, like the Dodge Hornet, at Gen-Y buyers who have been drawn to the Scion xA and xB and are expected to be the primary audience for such recent and upcoming entries as the Honda Fit, the Nissan Versa and the Toyota Yaris.

Like DaimlerChrysler, Dearborn searched around the globe for the right combination of platform and production sourcing, rejecting one proposal to import a small Fiesta-based utility vehicle called "EcoSport" from its Brazilian subsidiary.

Ford's Japanese affiliate Mazda already is doing the engineering development work on the next-generation Fiesta for Europe, Asia and Latin America, but the new B-segment platform was deemed too expensive for the '09 baby Bronco, which Ford hopes to price from under $10,000.

So two strategic decisions have been taken — one, to base the Bronco on the current Fiesta to keep costs down and, two, to assemble the car at Ford of Mexico's Cuautitlán plant, which currently makes the Fiesta-based Ikon sedan for Latin American markets. Originally, the Bronco was to have gone into production in fall 2007, but the program recently was delayed by a year and a second model added.

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Stacy94PGT
My first car was a 67 Mustang Coupe, 2nd one was a 67 Cougar XR-7, 3rd one was a 66 Mustang Coupe. Why did I get rid of these cars for ? I know why, because I'm stupid, stupid, stupid.

My next Ford.....

 

Mylesofsmyles

What is Ford thinking? I read on this forum, that people are writing letters rebelling against what Ford is attempting to turn the Bronco into; I have half a mind to do so as well. As a pure nostalgic motoring fan, I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the classic/original Bronco. Seeing what Ford has done with the remake of the classic Mustang, I would favor such an execution with the Bronco. The new Bronco needs to share common trends with the classic. An optional V8 is a must! Styling wise, the concept is dead on, georgious vehicle. I would love to park such a vehicle in my garage, but not as a miniature Scion-beater. For efficiency sake, Ford may want to consider utalizing the Escape Chassis/Platform to build a Jeep Wrangler sized Bronco. They could offer 2-3 powertrain options efficiently: I4, V6 and V8. If they use the Escape Platform, a Hybrid model wouldn't be out of the cards either.

Overall, I am more than pleased with the asthetic elements of the Bronco concept. I would love to see it become a reality soon, but with more emphasis on recreating the classic Bronco vibe. As a final production vehicle, I would love a V8 Bronco with a Bronco Sport trim option. Hopefully someone in Detroit is listening in.