Classic 4x4
Jr. Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2011
- Messages
- 122
What resurgence? Their status has never dropped below "moderately popular." Certainly nothing close to anything like a forgotten model.
Early Bronco popularity dimmed only slightly in the late '70s and early '80s after it was replaced by the bigger models, but brightened quickly. It's dimensions and versatility has made it perennially popular as a builder but in the mid '90s the EB also got popular as a restored/restified collectible. The '78-'79 are catching up quickly on the collectible front... the '80 and more slowly, but all the later Broncos are still popular as builders.
In my considered opinion, the early Bronco suffered most at the hands of FoMoCo, who "underserviced" it... e.g. a slow pace for improvements and upgrades to match the burgeoning SUV market and lackluster marketing (vs other Fords or other makes). As the SUV grew into the mainstream, the market demand for a size increase made that evolution inevitable. BUT... had FoMoCo updated the EB in a more timely manner, their market share could have been higher. 20-20 hindsight, of course.
The new Bronco? They are just recycling the name for marketing purposes and using platform engineering. Nothing against it in particular but it's not going to be anything as whiz bang as the first Bronco when it hit the market, which REALLY had a lot of new and innovative features for the day. Happy to see the Bronco name going to be out there again, mainly for the light it will shine on the old ones.
Early Bronco popularity dimmed only slightly in the late '70s and early '80s after it was replaced by the bigger models, but brightened quickly. It's dimensions and versatility has made it perennially popular as a builder but in the mid '90s the EB also got popular as a restored/restified collectible. The '78-'79 are catching up quickly on the collectible front... the '80 and more slowly, but all the later Broncos are still popular as builders.
In my considered opinion, the early Bronco suffered most at the hands of FoMoCo, who "underserviced" it... e.g. a slow pace for improvements and upgrades to match the burgeoning SUV market and lackluster marketing (vs other Fords or other makes). As the SUV grew into the mainstream, the market demand for a size increase made that evolution inevitable. BUT... had FoMoCo updated the EB in a more timely manner, their market share could have been higher. 20-20 hindsight, of course.
The new Bronco? They are just recycling the name for marketing purposes and using platform engineering. Nothing against it in particular but it's not going to be anything as whiz bang as the first Bronco when it hit the market, which REALLY had a lot of new and innovative features for the day. Happy to see the Bronco name going to be out there again, mainly for the light it will shine on the old ones.