Bronco Owners Going Soft?

[Rogues Gambit]

You're not old, hardly old, I've slept with women older than you when I was in my raging hormone 20's

Naw, just people venting, end of the day, we're definitely more rugged than most people out there, especially Hybrid drivers

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[BernR6]

42 year old here...I see both sides of the argument. I can understand experiencing the latest tech and the difficulty of doing without...my first car was an 87 plymouth horizon, stick, no a/c, manual windows. I don't know if I could go back to that bare minimum. However, I've always been a function over form guy though. I'm going with a base, 2 door, don't really care what color, etc. - they're well equipped for a modern "base" model so I have no complaints. I don't need any of the other tech, other than the safety features when driving with the wife and daughter. I'm just happy to be able to drive a true 4x4 with a manual transmission.

 

[BuckinT29]

As I spent some time perusing the site this weekend I was taken aback by some things.

To me (as a 47 year old guy) the Bronco harkens back to the rugged individualists like our fathers and grandfathers. A tough as nails ride that could do things unheard of at the time for a commercially produced vehicle.

But are we too modern? Are we too soft?

I see threads complaining about not being able to get air conditioned seats at a certain trim level. Do you think your grandad was worried about cold air blowing up his rear end while he ran his Bronco down to the lake to go fishing? If cold air up the backside is so important then just maybe a vehicle designed to have the top and doors off may not be right for you.

Lots of complaints about vinyl seats being too hot and sweaty. Basically, see the above comments. Some of y'all never rode around on vinyl bench seats in your grandmas old car without air conditioning back in the day and it shows. I can remember peeling myself off the vinyl/pleather seats in an old VW my aunt drove back then. No permanent harm. You too shall survive.

I saw some nit picking about not having built in garage door openers in the visors at some trim levels. Really? Are we really this needy? Is the indignity of having to carry around a garage door opener just going to be a deal breaker? It's possibly the most capable off road vehicle straight off the showroom floor ever produced. . . but we're going to stress no opener. C'mon man.

Complaints about not being able to get a 12 inch screen at some trims abound as well. You're driving a vehicle, not watching netflix. You don't need a giant flat screen planted in the middle of your dash in order to properly operate your rig. Look out the window. See the world around you. Pay attention to the idiots driving around looking at their screen(s) and take evasive action. Stop staring at the thing parked in your dash. It's overkill.

I think some here may be better serviced by getting something like a Land Rover/Range Rover or other luxury SUV. There you can ride around pampered, cold air blowing up your arse, as you push the button to open the garage to park your ride in so it won't dare get dirty. I've owned those. They are great. But they are a FAR cry from their off road/rugged heritage. If that's what you want or need, go get it.

A Bronco is going to be many different things to many different people but the breed/brand is hard and outdoorsy. It's not refinement and luxury. It's rugged and rough around the edges. It is not skinny jeans sipping a latte on the way to spin class . . . it's wearing carharts with some black coffee on the way to spend time in the outdoors on a mountain bike. So behave accordingly.

Just one grumpy old man opinion. Rant is over. Now, get off my lawn. ;-)

I went pee pee sitting down today!

 

[gocats132]

Ive got to convince my wife to let me spend over 50k on a toy. She isn't going to want sweat stains on the back of her shirt when we show it off to all her friends. If this was priced like my fathers bronco I wouldn't worry about all the niceties, but its priced more like my Expedition. So give me those extras, let me get muddy in comfort!

 

[Bison]

I enjoyed reading this thread. One of the best ones yet. I got some good laughs.

 

[Digital_Synapse]

Adjusted for inflation, the 1966 Bronco would be about $22,000. I’d say the current prices reflect the current offerings of vehicle performance and creature comforts.

 

[THEMANatwar]

There's not really much left to say at 11 pages in. But....

But you know you can have both ruggedness and luxury at the same time?

 

[Bronc-O]

Totally understand where you're coming from, but everyone has their own reasons.

You are correct in that many years ago the luxuries people expect in modern-day vehicles were never even an option or something you cared about. There is one difference though, the money . Ford thankfully has a Bronco for everyone. The trim levels from base to wildtrak offer the features you dont want or do want based on your preference. Seeing as the First Edition and Wildtrak and many more of the Broncos are going to range from 40 to 60 grand, I could understand people wanting certain features at a price that steep.

To each their own

Back in 1966 when I got my first car, the radio had a rear speaker and my friends thought that was the best thing ever. Today, I'd love to have the new F-150 with B & O Unleashed with 18 speakers. Times were simpler, but somehow better.

 

[jaspercasidino]

I'm old school. I don't want or use Sync 4 stuff. Auto driver assist packages are completely unwanted as well. I'm the driver. I can handle it. Don't want a computer trying to drive it for me.

Had a rental suburban last august and didn't realize it had drivers assist on. Nearly wrecked trying to overcorrect when it objected to me crossing lanes without a blinker on. Couldn't turn all that off quick enough. I do not want in any way a computer making decisions on how to pilot the vehicle. I'm of the Terminator generation. No good can come of it.

Nice... and that's coming from a BMW driver!

 

[thehermdawg10]

Whenever my base model Bronco comes in, it'll be a definite downgrade in terms of features from the Acura I'm driving now, with all the driver safety features, a banging stereo, red leather interior and ride comfort.

But thats not the point of the Bronco, I was drawn in by how capable it is, and how sharp looking it was. And its not like the base model is exactly short on features, with CarPlay finally being standard on all trims, which is the only convenience feature I really have to have these days.

I don't believe people are getting soft though, its more about what becomes standard on cars as time goes on. Just look back 10 years ago, bluetooth wasn't even standard, and now we have Android Auto/Apple CarPlay replacing it. Its now an expectation to have certain items and if you don't then you won't appeal to as wide of an audience, which at the end of the day is the point of selling cars.

 

[Xodric]

I have never had a new vehicle. I drive a 79 F150. Crank windows, push locks and an AM radio. If I could get a price drop for all manual interior I would. New fangled AC seats? Im not interested in the slightest.

 

[Sammy7]

A person’s softness shouldn’t be defined by the amount of comforts they desire, it’s about their inability to function when those comforts are removed. There’s nothing wrong with wanting technology to help improve our lives; it’s how we got this far as a civilization.

 

[bbqbronco]

Anyway you're not even that old. You make it sound like you're out there wrestling grizzly bears. Put some cream in that coffee. How soft I'll be when I'm cruising down trails in my bronco with IFS..

 

[Axxlrod]

As I spent some time perusing the site this weekend I was taken aback by some things.

To me (as a 47 year old guy) the Bronco harkens back to the rugged individualists like our fathers and grandfathers. A tough as nails ride that could do things unheard of at the time for a commercially produced vehicle.

But are we too modern? Are we too soft?

I see threads complaining about not being able to get air conditioned seats at a certain trim level. Do you think your grandad was worried about cold air blowing up his rear end while he ran his Bronco down to the lake to go fishing? If cold air up the backside is so important then just maybe a vehicle designed to have the top and doors off may not be right for you.

Lots of complaints about vinyl seats being too hot and sweaty. Basically, see the above comments. Some of y'all never rode around on vinyl bench seats in your grandmas old car without air conditioning back in the day and it shows. I can remember peeling myself off the vinyl/pleather seats in an old VW my aunt drove back then. No permanent harm. You too shall survive.

I saw some nit picking about not having built in garage door openers in the visors at some trim levels. Really? Are we really this needy? Is the indignity of having to carry around a garage door opener just going to be a deal breaker? It's possibly the most capable off road vehicle straight off the showroom floor ever produced. . . but we're going to stress no opener. C'mon man.

Complaints about not being able to get a 12 inch screen at some trims abound as well. You're driving a vehicle, not watching netflix. You don't need a giant flat screen planted in the middle of your dash in order to properly operate your rig. Look out the window. See the world around you. Pay attention to the idiots driving around looking at their screen(s) and take evasive action. Stop staring at the thing parked in your dash. It's overkill.

I think some here may be better serviced by getting something like a Land Rover/Range Rover or other luxury SUV. There you can ride around pampered, cold air blowing up your arse, as you push the button to open the garage to park your ride in so it won't dare get dirty. I've owned those. They are great. But they are a FAR cry from their off road/rugged heritage. If that's what you want or need, go get it.

A Bronco is going to be many different things to many different people but the breed/brand is hard and outdoorsy. It's not refinement and luxury. It's rugged and rough around the edges. It is not skinny jeans sipping a latte on the way to spin class . . . it's wearing carharts with some black coffee on the way to spend time in the outdoors on a mountain bike. So behave accordingly.

Just one grumpy old man opinion. Rant is over. Now, get off my lawn. ;-)

Well, sir. You don't get to tell me what I need.

I don't give a crap what features my grandfather had or didn't have in his vehicle. I doubt he had power steering, brakes or windows. Do you not want those?

Ford is pricing this vehicle high in comparison to the competition. If I'm paying north of $60K, damn right I want and expect all the features. That doesn't make me soft. It makes me want value for my dollar.

 

[MJJ]

As I spent some time perusing the site this weekend I was taken aback by some things.

To me (as a 47 year old guy) the Bronco harkens back to the rugged individualists like our fathers and grandfathers. A tough as nails ride that could do things unheard of at the time for a commercially produced vehicle.

But are we too modern? Are we too soft?

I see threads complaining about not being able to get air conditioned seats at a certain trim level. Do you think your grandad was worried about cold air blowing up his rear end while he ran his Bronco down to the lake to go fishing? If cold air up the backside is so important then just maybe a vehicle designed to have the top and doors off may not be right for you.

Lots of complaints about vinyl seats being too hot and sweaty. Basically, see the above comments. Some of y'all never rode around on vinyl bench seats in your grandmas old car without air conditioning back in the day and it shows. I can remember peeling myself off the vinyl/pleather seats in an old VW my aunt drove back then. No permanent harm. You too shall survive.

I saw some nit picking about not having built in garage door openers in the visors at some trim levels. Really? Are we really this needy? Is the indignity of having to carry around a garage door opener just going to be a deal breaker? It's possibly the most capable off road vehicle straight off the showroom floor ever produced. . . but we're going to stress no opener. C'mon man.

Complaints about not being able to get a 12 inch screen at some trims abound as well. You're driving a vehicle, not watching netflix. You don't need a giant flat screen planted in the middle of your dash in order to properly operate your rig. Look out the window. See the world around you. Pay attention to the idiots driving around looking at their screen(s) and take evasive action. Stop staring at the thing parked in your dash. It's overkill.

I think some here may be better serviced by getting something like a Land Rover/Range Rover or other luxury SUV. There you can ride around pampered, cold air blowing up your arse, as you push the button to open the garage to park your ride in so it won't dare get dirty. I've owned those. They are great. But they are a FAR cry from their off road/rugged heritage. If that's what you want or need, go get it.

A Bronco is going to be many different things to many different people but the breed/brand is hard and outdoorsy. It's not refinement and luxury. It's rugged and rough around the edges. It is not skinny jeans sipping a latte on the way to spin class . . . it's wearing carharts with some black coffee on the way to spend time in the outdoors on a mountain bike. So behave accordingly.

Just one grumpy old man opinion. Rant is over. Now, get off my lawn. ;-)

If these options were available in the 60’s and 70’s and our grandfathers and dads could afford it, would they have passed on them? I can survive in a house without air conditioning but do I want to when I can get it and afford it.

Previous generations made the most of it because they didn’t have other options.

BTW - I am older than you and can be a curmudgeon at times as well. I respect the greatest generation like no other.

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