Secrecy: How Much Is Too Much?

[Nickp]

Give me some advice here. Not having seen Bronco in either wheelbase, I've been leaning towards the 2-door, as a daily driver. 90% of my driving is in a small town or the national forest - but a couple of times a month I'll drive 2 hours down the interstate to Atlanta & back. And I'll generally drive 20-odd hours each way to hunt up near the Canadian border each fall.

Which wheelbase do you think meets my needs the best?

IMO 2-door jeeps ride terribly compared to a 4-door. Now to be fair, I have only ridden in 4 door JK’s never a 2 door, the 2 doors I’ve ridden in have been TJ’s or older. But wheelbase doesn’t lie, hence why the Gladiator gets so much praise as well. Honestly for your purposes sounds like the 4-door would work out better. The 2 door jeeps are pretty tight on space if your hunting especially if you’ve got a buddy, and you can’t sleep in the back either.

also I should specify. This is all Jeep based and assuming the Bronco will be comparable in size tit-for tat. It’s probably about right based on the mules but only time will tell.

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[Stampede.Offroad]

The problem with that is the short wheelbase that we know the Bronco will have is not good for high speed... and we also know the next gen Ranger raptor is coming to the U.S. a year or two after the bronco. The ranger raptor will definitely be focused on the high speed off road stuff, which would make the Bronco pointless..

While I certainly agree with the unsuitability of the Bronco as a Raptor trim candidate (I've made that argument plenty of times myself) we don't know that isn't what Ford intends to do. There are plenty of "sources" claiming a "Bronco Raptor" is indeed coming -- and Ford hasn't denied them as they have other rumors.

Just because logic or emotion says a Bronco Tremor would be better from a physics or 'Wrangler competitor' angle doesn't mean that's what Ford will do. The screaming masses knew calling that crossover a Blazer was a bad idea, but GM still did it.

 

[Nickp]

There will be a “Bronco Raptor”, but even my buddy said he has almost zero visibility into what they are doing. My guess is that the “Bronco Raptor” is really the rubicon trim competitor.

 

[Jalisurr]

The problem with that is the short wheelbase that we know the Bronco will have is not good for high speed

Short wheelbase doesn't make something pointless for high speed. The maneuverability, weight, and handling benefits of a smaller, shorter wheelbase vehicle can make it superior for high speed driving in a variety of offroad scenarios.

My Pajero Evolution has a wheelbase of 95.3 inches. The racing version also won the Paris-Dakar rally, easily one of the most grueling, difficult off road races in the world, twice in a row. Adding the other generations gives you the most successful ever dakar racer. Shorter wheelbase vehicles can work perfectly fine going fast over offroad terrain apart from the very specific baja whoops that necessitate the wheelbase of trophy trucks.

 

[Dirty Bronco]

There will be a “Bronco Raptor”, but even my buddy said he has almost zero visibility into what they are doing. My guess is that the “Bronco Raptor” is really the rubicon trim competitor.

I was thinking this too but what about the "Rock Monster" trim rumor?

 

[phillyfx4]

I was thinking this too but what about the "Rock Monster" trim rumor?

after all this time, research, development and waiting why would Ford NOT offer it …..c'mon people

my money is on "of course"

 

[Nickp]

I was thinking this too but what about the "Rock Monster" trim rumor?

IIRC the rumor was that there is a prototype nicknamed “rock monster” and it almost certainly won’t be the final production name.

One thing to keep in mind is that was reported by TFLCar which has even recently had bad info about the Bronco that they confirmed with “multiple sources”. I asked my buddy about the rock monster back when that article came out and he wouldn’t comment on it so take that for what you will.

 

[Stampede.Offroad]

There will be a “Bronco Raptor”, but even my buddy said he has almost zero visibility into what they are doing. My guess is that the “Bronco Raptor” is really the rubicon trim competitor.

I was thinking this too but what about the "Rock Monster" trim rumor?

This is the secrecy. It would seem quite obvious from most perspectives that there will be some kind of "special" or "more off road capable" trim, but we have no clue what kind, what it will focus on, what it will compete with, etc. In large part because we know so little about the base model or what Ford intends even the most basic Bronco to be capable of.

Those details will tell us the probable name, or in reverse the name Tremor / Raptor / FX4 will give us a window for probable details.

 

[Wanted33]

Whether I like it, or not I think Ford has drawn more potential buyers in with the secrecy. Witness the amount of discussions here on this forum, and the many new members it has registered. Also, with the problems Ford has had recently with the new Explorer launch they can't afford to send the Bronco down the same road. So, it's a "get it right the first time" situation for them. Mystery draws attention, and Ford has drawn a lot with this tactic. I decided to buy a Jeep in the interim, but if the Bronco hits the make the Jeep is gone.

 

[Nickp]

The main thing is that there are downsides to to revealing the Bronco early and no real upsides. As soon as they actually debut it all the misconceptions etc that we are seeing right now will disappear overnight. My guess is we get at least a hint about the BabyBronco during the Mach-E reveal and maybe a faint whisper about the Bronco/BroncoBronco. A picture like the one below would be in the cards IMO.

 

[Carolina Jim]

Also, with the problems Ford has had recently with the new Explorer launch they can't afford to send the Bronco down the same road.

Hell...Ford could ill afford to send Explorer down that road...yet they did! Issues don't appear to be rocket science: Among the problems are loose wiring harnesses, gear displays that aren’t activated, faulty seats and an improper shifter cover.

One also wonders how utilizing the Michigan plant as an "Emergency Room" for Explorer will potentially affect that plant's preparation timeline for Bronco/Ranger

 

[Nickp]

Jeep’s introduction of the 4-door and proving how successful a 4-door off-roader lead to us getting the Bronco as well. My guess(and this is totally 100% conjecture) is that Ford probably did want to bring the Bronco back a long time ago. (Hence the concept) but they couldn’t convince the accountants to build one since 2 door Ford vehicles in general were selling less and less. Ford probably knew around the time of the concept that Jeep was building a 4-door wrangler and wanted to let that experiment play out before making their move. Obviously... it worked out and hence our Bronco!

 

[SpursFan]

On that note I'd like to be the first to thank Jeep for taking that chance!

 

[jamanrr]

This thing can not be in the 50-60 thousand dollar range would it not then eat up f150 sales. I would expect 2.3 liter turbo models to be in the 30s all should be awd or 4wd though

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