you might want to put your order in now for that 2028 so you not waiting tell 2032 to get it.
@Skmac thank you for the insight, regarding the "automation issue" and "redsign it" will they redo the tooling so the edges don't look like they were cut with a saw and have a more finished appearance?
So it sounds like Webasto misled Ford by producing prototypes that were hand done in top quality. Ford signed off on the contract, and then Webasto discovered they couldn't mass produce them.
I hear you...but if Webasto was telling fairy tales, they were telling them to a room full of adults - not toddlers. Ford has been making shit for 100 years...they full-well know the difference between a one-off and mass production. Ford took the approach of "Don't worry - Be happy", and it ended poorly for them...AND us.
You could stamp or hydro form the aluminum top , stiffen it with a paper / polymer honeycomb layer with a polymer inner skin and it would be as stiff as you wanted , sound and thermal deadening and could be recycled into the chassis tubs for Lotus cars by gluing several layers together. The tech in the mic top is elegant but there is obviously a problem either in anticipating demand or manufacturing or both. Hopefully the Modular top will be well executed and worth waiting for but after driving the rest of the truck at off roadeo I expect it probably will be. All new vehicles have toothing problems and any complex creative process is likely to be reiterative with set backs and solutions. The problem is not that this occurred but that we all want this new Bronco so much , like what they have got right so much that it is frustrating to see it held up further. 2 sides of the same coin , high level of engagement /desirability - frustration at the ( somewhat ) inevitable set backs.
hmm, people have been saying Webasto makes the Jeep tops. I tried to confirm that, but never found into online to confirm or deny. Did you read somewhere that Continential makes the Jeep tops?
Ok I saw some mentions of the JK top on CSP site. And read elsewhere that Meridian Automotive Systems Inc had been making Jeep tops, but they went bankrupt, and CSP took over making the tops around 2010 or possibly earlier. So CSP made a lot of JK tops and possibly is making current JL tops, didn't find mention of that though. Either way, hopefully CSP can make a good Bronco top (using a workable design).
I feel like raising an issue about the "paper" here is a bit of a red herring. It's like saying a house shouldn't be built from wood framing timbers because would exposed to the elements eventually rots. That the paper honeycomb is coated resolves any issue of it degrading as it might if not coated. For those who wonder why aluminum (or some other material wasn't used), check the spot price and weight for the other material. Plus, the cost of moulding the aluminum into the required pattern and issues with damage or breakage during handling would not make it ideal for this kind of mass-production.
Which is interesting, because when I mentioned in another thread that the Ford guy who selected Webasto had a career-killing moment, it was suggested they were the only game in town. I'm inclined to believe that only in a highly-specialized market does there tend to be only one company capitalizing and even then, if the margins get too fat, a competitor likely sees an opportunity. It makes sense to me there is more than one company that can do a top like this. Jeep is not the only non-Bronco application for something similar-enough that there are multiple companies with the capability.
Webasto makes the Jeep (semi-permanent) automatic retracting top.
We talking about a different “Continental” maybe?
