Painted Tops Anyone?

[North7]

A lot can change in 7 months

This was posted by an insider, @D2dhanover in November, so 4 months ago they were seen in testing.

Where was it confirmed. All the ones I’ve seen in testing were fiberglass

As with all good Ford leakers @D2dhanover posts have all been deleted and his member account disabled, another sure sign he was a legitimate Ford leaker that Ford discovered an squashed.

Here are some additional modular painted hardtop intel links I reported back in November as well.

Here is the modular top intel we have at the moment:

I have a friend at Webasto, supposedly they are in fact prototyping making the Modular Top. I'm not sure if several companies are pursuing it as well but that's very interesting. I actually would suspect that company could very well be a supplier if they got the chance.

So for starters I’ve heard rumors Webasto is preparing for production of the Soft Top. I’m not sure if Haartz is having a hard time with demand or that was the conversion of the existing contract for Hard Top production just so they can at least do something still.

As for the Mod top I know the process is definitely a bit different, it’s thicker and overall better. The physical design is identical to the current Hard Top apart from the materials, finish and of course removable windows on both two and four door units and then the center hatch on two doors.

I wish I could provide absolute conviction that the Mod Top will turn everything around but it’s impossible to say. They know they need to get it right. Though as far as I’ve been able to find out the issues rely mainly with Webasto as the design involved an entirely new process for them and it was their first go at it. Granted this was designed by Ford as you said, Webasto was struggling to achieve it while saying they’d be able to every chance they got. Also what I’ve heard is that at the time they started doing this, their headquarters were the first to shut down for Covid at the beginning, their tooling supply comes from wuhan and the manufacturing of the tooling assemblies came from Italy. All terrible blends of issues.

My son works for Teijin (was Continental Structural Plastics). They are in phase I of prototyping for a Bronco top.

What I don’t know is if it is for Ford or an aftermarket company, as his plant makes F150 Raptor parts and EVO Mustang hoods (along with Corvette body panels). They supposedly are picking up some Jeep work too.

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[TSGibbs]

This is the email I sent the dealership 3 days ago about our order being submitted with a MIC top instead of waiting for a black painted top.
I have erased the names of dealerships because I am not into dealership bashing. They all suck as far and I am concerned now.

Good morning.

I am a bit disappointed in this whole process, Ford, and Ford.

I really want to convey this information to you face-to-face, but work makes that difficult. Plus I am aggravated, and I need to air this laundry out.

Converting my reservation to an order 18 months ago was the first problem we encountered on this journey to buy a Bronco.
As I tried to solve that problem, Ford Customer Service asked me numerous times if we wanted to change to another dealer.
I said no, giving Ford the benefit of the doubt. Plus, you guys came highly recommended from Jimmie Conley here in Franklin. Jimmie and I have been friends and motorcycling buddies since the late 1980s. I value his opinion, especially since he and his family have been in the car business for over 60 years.

My wife is currently driving a 2020 VW Tiguan and really likes it. So, we are very content to wait until 2023 to get a black painted top on our Bronco. I am positive this was conveyed to Andy on the phone, in-person, and text messages from October 14, 2021 "...All other options will remain the same", April 30, 2021 "We are black painted roof orderers", April 6, 2021 "We will stay with black painted top and be pushed out..."
We wanted the black painted top because the grey of the molded-in-color top is not quite a match, and does not look good with the iconic silver (in our opinions).
Again, we were very content to wait for the black painted top.

Then we get the email with build date and VIN from Ford.
I am a bit perplexed because we were expecting to wait until 2023 for the black painted top. We had seen nothing on Bonco6g forum, or Bronco Nation forum, on the imminent release/arrival of the painted tops.

So, our order was submitted with a MIC top. Not what we wanted.
I understand the black painted top was not on the order blanks for 2022, nor was it for 2021. Why couldn't we 99 the order again until 2023, or whenever the back painted tops appear (as they have on the picture of the Bronco Raptor I sent to Andy)
If we had known that the order was going to be submitted instead of 99, then we would have changed the color of the Bronco to better match the MIC grey top.

Now we have no choice. Take it or leave it. Damn......

One of the questions I have is why were we not asked/called about this top change before the order?
Andy called me to take the tow package off, but I could not be asked/called about submitting the order with the top WE DID NOT WANT?

I don't get it.

The more I think about this, the more I feel that is like other Ford dealers that are being bashed on the forums for not being totally straight up.
I read a lot about Ford not communicating with its' dealers, and dealers not communicating with customers.
Here we are.
Dang that is disappointing. I skipped Ford (which I have bought 3 Fords from previously with not a problem), Ford (never), Ford, or any other Ford dealer within driving distance. All of this based mostly on a friend in the auto sales industry advice, and the promise of MSRP (No ADM).

Now, to get a Bronco, we have to get a color, and options (MIC top), that we don't want.

Are we playing a game where you guys order a Bronco with maybe the thought that we won't buy it? Then you guys get the Bronco to add to your stock, and mark it up with ADM?
Is that really how you guys work with customers?

Again, sorry for an email. I would rather have this conversation in person.

I feel like I have been manipulated and ignored. I am super disappointed.

Andy, I have tried to include Jackie in this email but maybe don't have the correct email address for her.
Please feel free to send this on to Jackie, if I did not get her email address correct.

Thanks for reading through this email.

Sincerely,
Todd Gibbs
7/23/2020 original reservation
#10722066

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[TSGibbs]

Also, I have not gotten a reply from the salesman, sales manager, or owner of the dealership responding to my email.
There are questions embedded within the email that I would have thought someone at the dealership might have wanted to answer.

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