Bronco colors: Then & Now

[Rick Astley]

I've been doing a slightly deeper dive into historic color pallets as my '51 is nearing time in the paint booth so tangentially comparing some Bronco colors wasn't such a stretch.

Obviously colors such as black, white, silver, metallic gray and bright or metallic red don't need much of a comparison, and they make up a huge chunk of the 2021 Bronco pallet. AMB only has a comparison to a custom 1-off color Jay Leno used

Then: Chrome Yellow (1967)

Now: Cyber Orange

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Then: Acapulco Blue (1970)

Now: Velocity Blue (sorry, don't have a Bronco pic in VB)

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Then: Arcadian Blue (1966)

Now: Cactus Gray

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[Lab00Rat]

Not overly excited...
No green. Very "fleet" or "corporate-safe" colors.

 

[Rick Astley]

Not overly excited...
No green. Very "fleet" or "corporate-safe" colors.

Not disagreeing with you and certainly not promoting the Bronco color pallet as anything other than "tepid at best". However, it is fun to see the few creative colors they did use in their historic reference.


Having pairs of uninspiring colors make up the lions share of your color options was pittiful. But it's what car companies have been doing for decades and it works. You can speak with your wallet!

• Black & Antimatter Blue = why? Was there a quota on black?
  
  
• Race Red & Rapid Red = unnecessarily duplicative even if just trying to have two "cost option" colors, grabber green or anything else would have been creative with the "cost option" option.
  
  
• Iconic Silver & Carbonized Gray = If you prefer to fit in with the crowd, you aren't picky enough to need TWO metallic silver options

 

[porjos]

I'm just glad they offered colors outside of the normal realm of Ford colors - Cyber Orange, Area 51, Cactus Grey, etc.

I don't disparage people wanting Green, you like what you like - but it's one of the least accepted colors on the market. If not offering Green was one of the overall determining factors of keeping costs down - I'm ok with that. On a side-note, I would've gone with that Filson concept green though, especially with the two-tone!

 

[MannyG20]

I know colors choices are very personnel and it would not be economical for Ford, but I would have liked Ford to offer a palate of the original colors for the first year buyers. This would be a great incentive and keep the first year Broncos as a unique car.

 

[DGTUX20]

Please give us a green for ‘22

Hoping for something like this

Add some flake and BOOM!

or this...

 

[UPnort]

Nice comparison with the side by side picks. I am glad there are at least few original colors to chose. Would like more, but appreciate there is at least an option.

A week ago i checked my local dealer site for 2020 f150s so i could go see in person. They had 22 new trucks still.

8 in white
7 in black
3 in silver/gray
2 rapid red
1 velocity blue
1 just labeled blue (guessing blue jean)

That tells me a few things. 1. All the fun and exciting colors sell first and there is a demand for them. Or 2. These colors just are not offered in volume so people are forced into the concrete camo pattern. Keep in mind i dont know the full f150 color spectrum. I know there is a magma and the Ranger has an orange (which the dealer also did not have). Anyways, my point being, its hard to speak with your wallet when the options are just not out there or offered.

My ideal bronco would be a sky/baby/powder or i guess its called Acadian blue and a close 2nd is a blood orange color. I understand the problem is finding 1 mil other people who feel the same way though. Im glad i can consider A51, CO, and a few others.

 

[Rick Astley]

Nice comparison with the side by side picks. I am glad there are at least few original colors to chose. Would like more, but appreciate there is at least an option.

A week ago i checked my local dealer site for 2020 f150s so i could go see in person. They had 22 new trucks still.

8 in white
7 in black
3 in silver/gray
2 rapid red
1 velocity blue
1 just labeled blue (guessing blue jean)

That tells me a few things. 1. All the fun and exciting colors sell first and there is a demand for them. Or 2. These colors just are not offered in volume so people are forced into the concrete camo pattern. Keep in mind i dont know the full f150 color spectrum. I know there is a magma and the Ranger has an orange (which the dealer also did not have). Anyways, my point being, its hard to speak with your wallet when the options are just not out there or offered.

My ideal bronco would be a sky/baby/powder or i guess its called Acadian blue and a close 2nd is a blood orange color. I understand the problem is finding 1 mil other people who feel the same way though. Im glad i can consider A51, CO, and a few others.

What I get from the color observation is that Floorplanning still determines what vehicle/trim/options will be on the lot. I've said it before on these forums and i'll say it again: The dealership is the customer of Ford, not you.

When over 80% of customers can be talked into buying black, white or a shade of silver/gray, irrespective of what color they wanted when they walked in, THOSE are the colors that will be purchased by the dealership.

Us lucky folks pre-ordering our Broncos are lucky indeed. Spoiled for choice and quite vocal about our squabbles that we get to order exactly the vehicle we want. Starting in mid 2022 model year, almost every Bronco will be selected by the dealership and you can bet they are going to be mostly black/silver/grey/white with an occasional bright colored Wildtrak in there every other year for maximum profit.

For those who don't comprehensively understand what "floorplanning" is and why it dominates what dealerships have on hand, you should read this:

https://blog.nada.org/2017/11/13/dealerships-101-what-is-auto-floor-plan-lending/#:~:text=But few dealerships have the,vehicle and its VIN number.

EDIT: Adding the wiki link as it has a short paragraph about curtailing and mentions the dreaded 30/60/90/120 day deadlines for payments. Dealerships need to move cars FAST to avoid these triggered deadlines and only pay the daily floorplan rate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retai...g (also referred,new and used car dealerships.

And because i'm feeling saucy, i'll even include this link with Bonus wisdom

 

[Ripcurl]

I still love the CO....wonder if it is one and done or will settle in as a mainstay..........or be the one they swap out for the next brighter/louder color

Gets a lot love on here but I suspect Jane or Joe Public has less interest in it down the road because it also gets a lot of hate on here

 

[JonChicago]

I wish they would have included one heritage color per model year. It would be a cool way to highlight a model year and tie back to the bronco history.

 

[Philly]

I would kill for Grabber Blue. I am shocked it was not an option. Velocity Blue is a great color too, but I am not a huge fan of metallics. It really depends on the type of car for me and I won't be sure about it on the Bronco until I can see a real life photo of it instead of CGI.

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

I'm surprised (and also not surprised at all) that Ford didn't use a couple of EB colours exactly. Y'know....that nostalgia and heritage they keep talking about.

I'd love Arcadian Blue, Mallard Green, or even Wimbeldon White over any of the current offerings.

 

[VegasKoop]

I've owned two EBs. One in original two tone red and white, and one resto in '05 Soltice burnt orange.

And tbh, I do not care about trying to reconnect with the history of the Bronco.

That being said, the colors are terrible imo. The duality of CO, CarbG, RR and AB immediately take four options off my plate. A51 and CacG are just too bland, and silver and black and all the dual tones seem to gloss up in the sun but look like they need a wash when in the shade

No Brown, green or anything matte is also disappointing.

Oxford white?.....seriously? C'mon man. Nothing like choosing my dream bronco color by which one I hate least.

 

[t3n2and4]

What I get from the color observation is that Floorplanning still determines what vehicle/trim/options will be on the lot. I've said it before on these forums and i'll say it again: The dealership is the customer of Ford, not you.

When over 80% of customers can be talked into buying black, white or a shade of silver/gray, irrespective of what color they wanted when they walked in, THOSE are the colors that will be purchased by the dealership.

Us lucky folks pre-ordering our Broncos are lucky indeed. Spoiled for choice and quite vocal about our squabbles that we get to order exactly the vehicle we want. Starting in mid 2022 model year, almost every Bronco will be selected by the dealership and you can bet they are going to be mostly black/silver/grey/white with an occasional bright colored Wildtrak in there every other year for maximum profit.

For those who don't comprehensively understand what "floorplanning" is and why it dominates what dealerships have on hand, you should read this:

https://blog.nada.org/2017/11/13/dealerships-101-what-is-auto-floor-plan-lending/#:~:text=But few dealerships have the,vehicle and its VIN number.

EDIT: Adding the wiki link as it has a short paragraph about curtailing and mentions the dreaded 30/60/90/120 day deadlines for payments. Dealerships need to move cars FAST to avoid these triggered deadlines and only pay the daily floorplan rate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail_floorplan#:~:text=Retail floor planning (also referred,new and used car dealerships.

And because i'm feeling saucy, i'll even include this link with Bonus wisdom

Thanks for posting that. I suspected something along these lines but never read the details.

 

[PSUTE]

What I get from the color observation is that Floorplanning still determines what vehicle/trim/options will be on the lot. I've said it before on these forums and i'll say it again: The dealership is the customer of Ford, not you.

When over 80% of customers can be talked into buying black, white or a shade of silver/gray, irrespective of what color they wanted when they walked in, THOSE are the colors that will be purchased by the dealership.

Us lucky folks pre-ordering our Broncos are lucky indeed. Spoiled for choice and quite vocal about our squabbles that we get to order exactly the vehicle we want. Starting in mid 2022 model year, almost every Bronco will be selected by the dealership and you can bet they are going to be mostly black/silver/grey/white with an occasional bright colored Wildtrak in there every other year for maximum profit.

For those who don't comprehensively understand what "floorplanning" is and why it dominates what dealerships have on hand, you should read this:

https://blog.nada.org/2017/11/13/dealerships-101-what-is-auto-floor-plan-lending/#:~:text=But few dealerships have the,vehicle and its VIN number.
ou're buying
EDIT: Adding the wiki link as it has a short paragraph about curtailing and mentions the dreaded 30/60/90/120 day deadlines for payments. Dealerships need to move cars FAST to avoid these triggered deadlines and only pay the daily floorplan rate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail_floorplan#:~:text=Retail floor planning (also referred,new and used car dealerships.

And because i'm feeling saucy, i'll even include this link with Bonus wisdom

Makes sense. If you're buying off the lot, dealers are risk averse. They stock colors that are not deal breakers. That's how I ended up with two silver vehicles. Never again will I buy a silver vehicle, which makes me the exception that proves the rule. The hatred now runs that deep...

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