The Morning After: Bronco Production News Update and Notes [June 16]

[PREMiERdrum]

You the MVP. Just curious how do you know all this?

Thank you! I'm fortunate enough to have some very well placed sources and longstanding relationships with people who know things.

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[Balthezor]

Thank you! I'm fortunate enough to have some very well placed sources and longstanding relationships with people who know things.

 

[Rlack75]

Thank you! I'm fortunate enough to have some very well placed sources and longstanding relationships with people who know things.

So you know a guy who … is the guy!

 

[Headsong]

Because he's not bound by risk, or having to slander the name of the company if he's wrong even in the slightest.

Ford has a ton of liability with every communication it makes to it's customers. Every wrong step can cost billions or enrage a customer base.

OEM's have used outside people to "leak" internal information for nearly a century when they aren't able to for a variety of reasons.

With all due respect, if it is, lol,....that's just a BS excuse for not doing anything. Committee hideout, attorney fear, anything other than just doing what should be done. Ford would have a much happier customer base if they'd just friggin' communicated!!!! They did not. Bad on them. Glad the production folks are good at what they do.

 

[Lilj4425]

Because he's not bound by risk, or having to slander the name of the company if he's wrong even in the slightest.

Ford has a ton of liability with every communication it makes to it's customers. Every wrong step can cost billions or enrage a customer base.

OEM's have used outside people to "leak" internal information for nearly a century when they aren't able to for a variety of reasons.

Sad but true. I still feel like the communication throughout this whole process from corporate could have been better though. :/

 

[TurnerNHooch]

Except the tops are made by the same company using the same parts, same machines, same compound just in different dimensions, which they've have known for over a year.

But the tooling will have been different, in a year where the staffing was torpedoed by work restrictions. You would have to be high to come up with a contingency plan that accounted for the pandemic. Given the constraints with tooling and staffing, I would have been pumping out as many Jeep parts as they would pay for, to keep what staff I could, working.

We're all disappointed and human nature want to make sense of these things but I just decided to recognize I have zero control over the situation and try give a little grace to people who probably want us to have Broncos as much as we want them.

 

[dcg2]

Ford has a ton of liability with every communication it makes to it's customers. Every wrong step can cost billions or enrage a customer base.

Ford has already outlaid at least $3 billion in bringing Bronco to market. Likely closer to $5B at minimum.

So what's your point? The billions already spent were just to stay warm at night, and it's all a ruse?

My point is that Ford has done a shitty job of communicating and has in fact multiple times enraged the customer base.

I'm dealing with an issue right now with a large customer. It's not a good situation for my company. We have caused some issues for them. I don't have as great as an answer as I wish I did.

You know what I haven't done? Went dark for months at a time, issued contradictory information, made promises and set expectations I couldn't keep, told the customer information I knew wasn't going to be true.

Covid? Check! Supplier mfg shit the bed! Check! Commodity constraints preventing fixes? Check!

Still I've done my best to be as factually accurate as I can when I can and be honest with them.

That's my point

 

[Brianstrange]

Not a Ford employee and certainly not acting in any official capacity. I spent a lot of years working in journalism and did a great deal of freelance writing for auto industry publications. Lots of good sources, a lifelong driver of Fords, and a personal investment with a 7/13 9:45pm Bronco 4 door reservation brought me here to share what I'm able to.

My first kit was an Olympic (made by Premier) Question on the 2 door tops. Around March, a Webasto Quality Engineer said the 2 door tops were fine, the 4 door have issues. I know that once they hit full production, things change, but is there any info on the 2 door top issues, or is it just a matter of needing to focus on the 4 door tops large issue, leaving the fine tuning of the 2 door behind? Also, I did have a Ford CSR hit that I'd have an email coming with build date info, so lets hope these are true signs.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

My first kit was an Olympic (made by Premier) Question on the 2 door tops. Around March, a Webasto Quality Engineer said the 2 door tops were fine, the 4 door have issues. I know that once they hit full production, things change, but is there any info on the 2 door top issues, or is it just a matter of needing to focus on the 4 door tops large issue, leaving the fine tuning of the 2 door behind? Also, I did have a Ford CSR hit that I'd have an email coming with build date info, so lets hope these are true signs.

I have a '64 Olympic mahogany snare with beech re-reings in Gold Sparkle lacquer I use quite a bit, especially for recording. They're *great* drums.

The quality issues have all been resolved. When they starting forming, cutting, and joining roof units in Plymouth (as opposed to the earlier roofs coming from Germany) there were cut and alignment issues on the 4 doors that caused ill fitment and leaking. The 2 doors didn't seem to suffer the same issues.

 

[Richtor]

I bet the first time you ever had your parents put shoes on you, you just tied them right up.

First time on a bike you were challenging Lance for race wins and ball count.

Your first time water skiing was in the X-games

A miracle child if ever there was one! Engineers from around the world should be throwing billions at you for this sort of amazing insight into perfection and to solve all problems.


I'm clearly not a pragmatic man, but i'd bet that getting tooling and materials sorted wasn't sorted out to perfection the first time they whipped out a roll of duct tape and saran wrap.

Obviously Webasto has not had any time to figure that out in the 14 years making Jeeps top.

I got a mid Aug reservation but I got a feeling I won't see mine tell about June or later of 2021 because Ford well change its mine about feeling out orders first and start feeling dealers lots first .

What? There are 7/13, 7/14, 7/15 orders that are not scheduled yet, meaning they won't be showing up until September at the earliest. If you have a first 2/3 day reservation you are looking at October or November.

But the tooling will have been different, in a year where the staffing was torpedoed by work restrictions. You would have to be high to come up with a contingency plan that accounted for the pandemic. Given the constraints with tooling and staffing, I would have been pumping out as many Jeep parts as they would pay for, to keep what staff I could, working.

We're all disappointed and human nature want to make sense of these things but I just decided to recognize I have zero control over the situation and try give a little grace to people who probably want us to have Broncos as much as we want them.

The staffing has been normal for almost a year. How is the tooling different for the exact same top in different dimensions? I like all the excuses everyone is coming up with for Ford.

The bottom line is that Ford will sell every Bronco they build, this is not in question. The problem is this Bronco is bringing people who never buy Ford into their clientele mix. They could be adding a ton of new sales of trucks and vans for business nationwide with a good effective efficient launch. Those buying the Bronco and the 992 GT3 the M5 the GT63S the G63. Its a great way to reach those who have and run our economy. What is Ford showing these people? They had a great opportunity to expand their reach.

 

[P52Ranch]

Ross,

Thank you very much for all of the recent updates.

Any chance that your Ford sources have hinted as to when the trailer tow constraint may be resolved? I am making an assumption that there is a chip somewhere in the trailer tow wiring harness that is the real constraint.

 

[LadyLiz]

Thanks for the update. Very much appreciated! If you happen to get to Dayton please let me know and Ill buy you a beer! And you can drive my bronco if I get mine before yours. Currently June 7th pushed to Aug 16th. 2 dr, BB, 2.7, Mid, LSD.

I've been in production for a several days now, so if you want to see a 4 door in Miamisburg, it should be built any day now!

 

[thatspecialbeat]

I bet the first time you ever had your parents put shoes on you, you just tied them right up.

If my 2 year old spent billions and sent out national marketing materials saying he could tie his shoes by a certain date, I would hold him to it.

 

[RBF 1401]

I went with a 4 door... any of the 4 kits I use for gigging will fit as perfectly as they do in my Flex.

(For any fellow musicians, those would be an Elite Maple 12/16/26, a Genista Birch 13/16/18/24, a Genista Maple 12/14/16/22, and an Exotic Rainbow Wood Genista Birch in 12/14/20).

Being married to a musician... I'm getting a 2-door so it will be too small for him to borrow.

 

[Ksjrb03]

Except the tops are made by the same company using the same parts, same machines, same compound just in different dimensions, which they've have known for over a year.

You literally could not be any more wrong about this. The Bronco top shares absolutely nothing in common with the Jeep top, its like Ford set out to design something even better, weird.

Totally different top structure, made from three layers fused together. Made out of totally different materials that mold/press on totally new equipment, in a totally new factory, run by a freshly hired workforce.

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