Bronco Production Update From MAP - July 19th 🏭

[BuzzyBud]

In my unsolicited opinion, this would be the best course of action:

"We're sorry to share with you that the Molded-in-Color hard tops arriving at our production facility from a supplier have failed to meet the standards we have for a product as exciting as Bronco. Going forward, all Bronco 4-door units will be shipped with the factory soft top until a new hard top is available, at which point one will be available to you through your dealer. Two-door Broncos will be shipped with the Bestop soft top. As an appreciation for your patience and understanding, we've automatically credited your FordPass Rewards account with an additional 25,000 points, and you'll soon receive an email with a lifetime premium membership to Bronco Nation. There's still some wild out there, and we can't wait to help you find it."

Cutting their loss NOW would make a huge difference in what they're on the hook for down the road.

@PREMiERdrum Ross, I sure hope Ford reads your post! I love this idea for the 2-Door reservation holders. Speaking for myself, I have felt abandoned by Ford. I stripped out all the constrained commodities from my order except the 2-door to help Ford. I would gladly take a Bestop soft top.

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[okbob]

If they are Mannequins/Demo Units then they were more than likely built back in May and were waiting to get shipped.

That's not my point, why aren't they sitting in the drive way of someone who ordered them. They're hard to fill orders supposedly, but there they are for all to see lol.

 

[WillisC’onnors]

@PREMiERdrum Ross, I sure hope Ford reads your post! I love this idea for the 2-Door reservation holders. Speaking for myself, I have felt abandoned by Ford. I stripped out all the constrained commodities from my order except the 2-door to help Ford. I would gladly take a Bestop soft top.

At this point it’s probably too late for me to consider switching(scheduled for tomorrow)BUT, I would probably go for this. If the hard top was available through the dealer and I could use my collective 220k plus for pass points to get the hard top when available…..guess the issue becomes what to do with all the soft tops afterwards?

 

[okbob]

@PREMiERdrum Ross, I sure hope Ford reads your post! I love this idea for the 2-Door reservation holders. Speaking for myself, I have felt abandoned by Ford. I stripped out all the constrained commodities from my order except the 2-door to help Ford. I would gladly take a Bestop soft top.

Heck yes there are thousands of us who would go for that in a heartbeat! And yes Buzzy I feel for guys who did what Ford suggested with zero outcome still.

 

[Sooner]

That's not my point, why aren't they sitting in the drive way of someone who ordered them. They're hard to fill orders supposedly, but there they are for all to see lol.

I agree with Bob these should have gone to reservation holders, if there were Mic top 4 Dr units out there your would hear the roar from space!
this is probably due to more dealer whining so they can get a huge ADM when there time limit is up.

 

[Beach_Bum]

@PREMiERdrum Ross, I sure hope Ford reads your post! I love this idea for the 2-Door reservation holders. Speaking for myself, I have felt abandoned by Ford. I stripped out all the constrained commodities from my order except the 2-door to help Ford. I would gladly take a Bestop soft top.

Having experience with the BesTop Twill soft tops, I would pay more to not have the stain of Webasto on my Bronco and replaced with a superior quality top.

 

[okbob]

I agree with Bob these should have gone to reservation holders, if there were Mic top 4 Dr units out there your would hear the roar from space!

Hey look here's one that was sent out for a test drive with review....... 2 door Badlands and Wildtraks being sent out are not isolated events, they appear everyday somewhere on social media.

 

[Rlack75]

Enough about bad roofs, late scheduling, and multi-week gate holds to check the roof panels, okay? The fine men and women of MAP are ramping up at an exciting pace to get as many of your builds out the door as possible.

The current pace of production is seeing nearly 900 units daily roll off of final assembly as we sit just 2 weeks away from "full blend" line speed. That 900 figure is split between Bronco and Ranger, currently running about a 60/40 split. Bronco's body shop has been pushing out as many as 300 rigs per shift, as they are running ahead of final a bit on speed. Units are only going to paint when there is room for them on final after, so there will be some ebb and flow here.

We've all been let down by the issues surrounding the MIC tops - my own included - and I have to believe that there is a fix in the works. All I can say for certain is that issues are being documented thoroughly and I expect some customer-facing movement on this soon.

As you've seen, production mix for the coming months is shifting outside of demand for hard tops (and all 2 door units). There was optimism in the last 6 weeks when output at the Plymouth plant ticked up a bit, but the multiple issues with delivered roof units has popped that balloon quite quickly. I can't say for sure what the final mix will be, but dealers are being asked to program retail stock builds (all 4 door soft tops, mostly base and Big Bend trims) so that MAP has a pool of backup builds in case they run out of buildable units. They will NOT build appreciable stock units IF there are buildable customer units in the queue. It's just a matter of what they're able to build.

IF you're lucky enough to get a hard top Bronco delivered, document the heck out of your roof at delivery. Take pictures of the entire inside and outside in detail. Note any inconsistencies - however small - so the dealer has record of it for when a solution becomes available.

The more I hear from my folks and spend time watching how my roof is reacting to everyday use, it's becoming sadly apparent that the design might only work if manufacturing were 100% perfect.. and even then it's iffy. Specifically, the raw edges where all 3 layers are cross-sectioned is just begging for material loss from the core (mine has happened in a pretty dramatic fashion in the last 3 weeks), leaving little cavities where water can accumulate and cause havoc when the weather shifts.

Annoying roof issues aside - that I'm confident Ford will address - these rigs are sweet. They're fun an engaging to drive, they're comfortable to live with, they do what you ask them to without any protest, and they catch the eye of everyone around you.


Q&A:



With all that I've been told (much of which I've shared with you, but certainly not all), the part is very difficult to manufacture under ideal conditions, and some of the final design designs - notably the raw exposed cut edges - are questionable.

That Webasto is an absolute dumpster fire (and that's insulting to campus parties down the street at THE Ohio State University) just took a small issue and turned it nuclear.

It’s great that they are able to ramp up production.

I scrolled through 5 pages of posts before I asked this question.

What is the plan to address those of us in “In Production” limbo?
Personally my blend was the famous 6/30 and it’s been “In Production” since 7/1.

It was amazing to see Broncos go from In Production to Built and Shipped in a matter of days last week.

And at the same time it was depressing wondering how long ours will be parked before being shipped.

Any words of encouragement for the 6/30 blenders?

 

[Jr87mustang]

With this news I would be so surprised if Ford handed out any VINs next week that had MIC tops. It just wouldn't make any sense. They need to slow Webasto down, make good hartops for people with VINs they already handed out. Then stop totally and get the problem fixed ASAP. Just crazy, literally the slowest train wreck any of us have ever seen.

 

[WhiteMamba]

@PREMiERdrum So for us that have 2 door build dates in August… do you think they are going to push or will be built with the top that could or could not be up to spec?

I would imagine after they held up all these 6-28-6-30 blends to recheck that they paying a lot more attention to what comes in the loading dock….

 

[Tangent27]

I would imagine after they held up all these 6-28-6-30 blends to recheck that they paying a lot more attention to what comes in the loading dock….

And 7-1, 7-2 as well.

 

[RednWhite89]

Enough about bad roofs, late scheduling, and multi-week gate holds to check the roof panels, okay? The fine men and women of MAP are ramping up at an exciting pace to get as many of your builds out the door as possible.

The current pace of production is seeing nearly 900 units daily roll off of final assembly as we sit just 2 weeks away from "full blend" line speed. That 900 figure is split between Bronco and Ranger, currently running about a 60/40 split. Bronco's body shop has been pushing out as many as 300 rigs per shift, as they are running ahead of final a bit on speed. Units are only going to paint when there is room for them on final after, so there will be some ebb and flow here.

We've all been let down by the issues surrounding the MIC tops - my own included - and I have to believe that there is a fix in the works. All I can say for certain is that issues are being documented thoroughly and I expect some customer-facing movement on this soon.

As you've seen, production mix for the coming months is shifting outside of demand for hard tops (and all 2 door units). There was optimism in the last 6 weeks when output at the Plymouth plant ticked up a bit, but the multiple issues with delivered roof units has popped that balloon quite quickly. I can't say for sure what the final mix will be, but dealers are being asked to program retail stock builds (all 4 door soft tops, mostly base and Big Bend trims) so that MAP has a pool of backup builds in case they run out of buildable units. They will NOT build appreciable stock units IF there are buildable customer units in the queue. It's just a matter of what they're able to build.

IF you're lucky enough to get a hard top Bronco delivered, document the heck out of your roof at delivery. Take pictures of the entire inside and outside in detail. Note any inconsistencies - however small - so the dealer has record of it for when a solution becomes available.

The more I hear from my folks and spend time watching how my roof is reacting to everyday use, it's becoming sadly apparent that the design might only work if manufacturing were 100% perfect.. and even then it's iffy. Specifically, the raw edges where all 3 layers are cross-sectioned is just begging for material loss from the core (mine has happened in a pretty dramatic fashion in the last 3 weeks), leaving little cavities where water can accumulate and cause havoc when the weather shifts.

Annoying roof issues aside - that I'm confident Ford will address - these rigs are sweet. They're fun an engaging to drive, they're comfortable to live with, they do what you ask them to without any protest, and they catch the eye of everyone around you.


Q&A:



With all that I've been told (much of which I've shared with you, but certainly not all), the part is very difficult to manufacture under ideal conditions, and some of the final design designs - notably the raw exposed cut edges - are questionable.

That Webasto is an absolute dumpster fire (and that's insulting to campus parties down the street at THE Ohio State University) just took a small issue and turned it nuclear.

You deserve a pay raise for the communication alone! Appreciate the update!!

 

[DudeBronco]

My 4 door Badlands with MIC was built today, I was super pumped...now reality is sinking in that the MIC top is going to be a piece of shit - SMH.

Guess I'll just take it off, put a bimini on it for the summer and hope they get it dialed in and new ones shipped before winter.

 

[ChrisD]

Enough about bad roofs, late scheduling, and multi-week gate holds to check the roof panels, okay? The fine men and women of MAP are ramping up at an exciting pace to get as many of your builds out the door as possible.

Thanks, Ross!

I really appreciate all you do for the community here.

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