Ford has picked a peculiar day to unveil its reborn Bronco SUV — July 9, O.J. Simpson's birthday.
Simpson has been indelibly linked to the car since police pursued him in a white Bronco on Los Angeles freeways on June 17, 1994 — a slow-speed chase that was viewed on national TV by 95 million people.
Simpson — whose full name is Orenthal James Simpson — was wanted in the slayings of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. He was acquitted the following year in one of the most closely watched murder trials in American history.
The timing of the new Bronco's debut is “a pure coincidence,” Ford spokesman Mike Levine told NBC News.
Brian Moody, executive editor of Autotrader.com, told The Detroit Free Press that despite the timing, bringing the Bronco back was the right move, since it is “completely woven into the cultural fabric of America."
Ford dropped the full-size SUV in 1996, two years after the Simpson-police chase. A classic, truck-based utility vehicle, it was facing a variety of problems, including allegations of safety design problems linked to various rollover crashes. It was subsequently replaced by the Ford Explorer.
But, in the current SUV-crazed environment — utility vehicles now account for nearly two-thirds of U.S. new vehicle sales — Ford has decided to bring back the Bronco nameplate. It may have two versions to offer: the Bronco, and a smaller version widely expected to be called the Bronco Sport.
While specifics won’t be released by Ford until July 9, the automaker has been teasing its reappearance for months and a number of details have leaked out. Rather than the soft and rounded look that dominates the utility vehicle segment today, designers have opted for a more squared-off retro shape for the new Bronco, clearly meant to hark back to the original. And, rather than riding on a car-based platform, it will share its underpinnings with the next Ford Ranger pickup, both to be assembled at a plant just outside Detroit.
The new model will be smaller than the one O.J. rode in, roughly on a par with the rugged Jeep Wrangler, another classic off-roader. Like Wrangler, the 2021 Ford Bronco will offer a range of options and features such as removable doors and roof. The new Bronco is expected to start at around $30,000, though various upgrades and options will push that figure up substantially.
Unlike the original, Ford plans to load up the new Bronco with a variety of advanced driver assistance technologies, from electronic stability control to forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, that should set to rest concerns about its on- and off-road safety.
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June 17, 2020 at 01:21AM
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Debut of new Bronco SUV on O.J. Simpson's birthday is 'pure coincidence,' Ford says - NBC News
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