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Why is it taking so long for the Bronco to come out?


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It feels like it's been ages since Bronco Power Point Hype.... And ford put up those generic Bronco /ranger coming soon landing pages....

 

How are they so unprepared and behind the times here? Gas is cheap... SUVs and utilities are killing it....

 

And I'm over here driving a 2008 Ford Escape wondering how long it will take to reach 200k. Im ready for a new truck; on the bright side I guess I have more time to save up

 

I guess it hasn't even been a year yet, but I still hoped to hear)see something. It almost seems like they waited until January 5th to start working on it, and all they had to show for it at the Detroit Auto show was that stupid power point.

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The 1994 Mustang seemed to be "coming" for a decade, well maybe it did? It did finally arrive a few months earlier than expected, 12/4/93, instead of spring 94.

 

But they should not announce so far in advance, buyers get sick of waiting and move to other makes.

Edited by 630land
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...I guess it hasn't even been a year yet, but I still hoped to hear)see something. It almost seems like they waited until January 5th to start working on it, and all they had to show for it at the Detroit Auto show was that stupid power point.

I seem to remember a reliable poster recently saying that basically they have NOT started Yet** & that the basic styling keeps failing to get approval

 

** I assume that SOME of the Ranger's engineering will carry-over - at least the Raptorette's version

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If the Ranger and Bronco turn out to be nothing more than slightly warmed over versions of the ROW Ranger and Everest then I would consider the time it has taken to bring them to market a major embarrassment for Ford. Assuming all that is true and if they could not move the Focus out of MAP any sooner than May of next year then they should have found another plant to build the Ranger and Bronco.

 

Not that it would have been my first choice, but they started building a new plant in Mexico for Focus production that has since been abandoned and if not for outside influences they could have just finished that plant and put the new trucks in there instead of farting around with MAP for another year or two...

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If the Ranger and Bronco turn out to be nothing more than slightly warmed over versions of the ROW Ranger and Everest then I would consider the time it has taken to bring them to market a major embarrassment for Ford. Assuming all that is true and if they could not move the Focus out of MAP any sooner than May of next year then they should have found another plant to build the Ranger and Bronco.

I would argue it already is.

 

Not that it would have been my first choice, but they started building a new plant in Mexico for Focus production that has since been abandoned and if not for outside influences they could have just finished that plant and put the new trucks in there instead of farting around with MAP for the last 3 years...

FYFY
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I think the issue is expectations vs reality-

 

Ford only put up the Ranger/Bronco pages in January of this year...barely 11 months ago

 

There where rumors prior to that..but they where just rumors.

 

I expect the Ranger to be launched before end of next year-18 months after announcement. Should they have waited? Maybe...it been pointed out that it seems like Fords management has completely dropped the ball with product launches/updates since Mullally left, but Im starting to wonder if the old Ford silos where starting form again at the end of his tenure.

 

Could it been launched sooner? Maybe...but giving up on a major market segment to pursue one that may or may not pan out wasnt an option for Ford management Im assuming.

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And I'm over here driving a 2008 Ford Escape wondering how long it will take to reach 200k. Im ready for a new truck; on the bright side I guess I have more time to save up.

 

And I'm in the same boat with my '07 Sport Trac. The band-aides are starting to wear a bit thin.

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This is why you dont announce products years in advance. There is no good reason they could not have waited until this years auto show season.

 

Last year's show season was so poorly handled, it's not even funny. And although it seems like the immediate go-to reason, we can't blame it on Fields' move to push back product development. That was a factor, but it's not as if they didn't have anything to announce at NAIAS - 2018 Expedition, F-150, and Mustang all had to be launched. But instead of showing any combination of those at NAIAS, they inexplicably showed F-150 at its own thing a day before NAIAS, Expedition at its own disastrous thing randomly, and then showed Mustang one day with no event at all after the shows.

 

That left NAIAS with nothing to launch, so they had to do something to avoid the complete dud that was yet another "mobility" presentation that nobody cares about, so out came the terrible powerpoint slides with "RANGER AND BRONCO COMINGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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I can sort of understand the delay with the Bronco, assuming it truly is an all new body and not just an updated Everest. However, most of the underpinnings should have been fairly quick seeing as how it is supposedly using the same platform.

 

The Ranger, on the other hand, is mind boggling when you consider that the same basic truck has been on the world market since 2011 and it seems more and more likely that whatever we are eventually going to get is not going to be significantly different.

 

The real issue in my mind is manufacturing capacity, or more precisely, the inability (unwillingness?) to commit manufacturing capacity to products that would seem to be in demand.

 

"He who hesitates is lost"

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Well as a biased EB owner-and my two sons each have one- we are enjoying the run up in value-not that we would consider cashing in- but the marketing hype associated with the EB grows. One of them just sent me a photo of an EB in some yuppie clothing catalog the daughter in law got today. For sure they seem to be the hot marketing image the Madison Avenue types like today. Hope Ford can capitalize on that.

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I can sort of understand the delay with the Bronco, assuming it truly is an all new body and not just an updated Everest. However, most of the underpinnings should have been fairly quick seeing as how it is supposedly using the same platform.

 

The Ranger, on the other hand, is mind boggling when you consider that the same basic truck has been on the world market since 2011 and it seems more and more likely that whatever we are eventually going to get is not going to be significantly different.

 

The real issue in my mind is manufacturing capacity, or more precisely, the inability (unwillingness?) to commit manufacturing capacity to products that would seem to be in demand.

 

"He who hesitates is lost"

 

 

 

When it comes to capacity. Don't worry. The Ranger will be in short supply. When it comes to Bronco though, I would not be to shocked if it gets pushed back. But you would think that working in an assembly plant. People with a ton of time would understand the difference between MY vs CY. So that may be some BS I was told.

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When it comes to capacity. Don't worry. The Ranger will be in short supply. When it comes to Bronco though, I would not be to shocked if it gets pushed back. But you would think that working in an assembly plant. People with a ton of time would understand the difference between MY vs CY. So that may be some BS I was told.

No matter where you work, people gossip and bad information is passed around as fact. Doesnt matter if you have 100 or 1000s of employees. Management needs to keep their workforce informed with the right information.

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No matter where you work, people gossip and bad information is passed around as fact. Doesnt matter if you have 100 or 1000s of employees. Management needs to keep their workforce informed with the right information.

Except at Ford well and every other Company I've worked with/at with more than 50 people. Even when management tells you it is a lie and they are just trying to screw you over. It is all one big conspiracy theory in life.

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Bronco was delayed because Ranger was delayed because Ford (and most people) thought the mid-sized truck market was dying and it wasn't worth the investment. Canyorado proved that to be wrong.

 

Then came the whole debacle with the new Mexican plant and shuffling production around to make room for Ranger and Bronco while also cutting costs to the bone.

 

Better planning could have moved the timeline up a couple of years, no doubt.

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We seem to forget that it’s going to cost $850,000,000 to convert MAP so it can build the Ranger and Bronco. That isn’t chump change and Ford had better do their due-diligence before spending that kind of money. Plus, it took them (too long) to figure out where to source the next generation Focus. Cars may be dying in the U.S. but you still need to sell a small car of some sort here. So if you’re going to stop building the Focus at MAP, where else are you going to build it? (China, of course).

Yes, Ford should have planned better, but even if they planned perfectly, how much time would they have saved? Six months?

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Some good news - to go with all the rumors.

 

I recently had a meeting with an iconic company from the Pacific Northwest that is famous for making a key component for 'real' off-road vehicles. They use the Supply Chain Software that is my area of expertise. We have a consulting and support contract with them. They were discussing of ramping up production of a critical component for two new Ford vehicles. I learned a lot of information - dates and production numbers. Professionally, nobody is ever sure about what they can and cannot say -but in that case I think it best to keep quiet.

 

But I am pretty sure I can say it is happening!

Edited by Kev-Mo
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