The Ford Motor Company, through its Bronco Wild Fund, has recently donated the unique Bronco wildland fire-fighting command rig to the National Park Service to assist in battling raging wildfires on public land.
Well, well, it seems that recently the Blue Oval Company has been all about motorsport activities and good deeds, with the occasional tech talk about its big truck rigs, if you check out their news feed. For example, the latest version of the all-electric minivan demonstrator, the 1,408-hp Ford SuperVan 4.2, recently raced to the clouds during the 2023 edition (the 101st running) of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and secured the second position overall with the legendary Romain Dumas behind the wheel.
Meanwhile, the 2023 Ford Super Duty is touted as using fighter jet-inspired technology for its heads-up display (HUD), whereas the Mustangs are nowhere to be found across nationwide dealerships but instead, dwell around Le Mans in France in Dark Horse-based GT3 form and at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in eastern Belgium with the Mustang GT4. Oh, and we also promised to say a few words about the company's good deeds.
Not long ago, the second largest US automaker announced the creation of Team Rubicon Powered by Ford through a $5.8-million investment in an offshoot of the real Team Rubicon – which is dedicated to helping serve communities all around the world "before, during, and after disasters." And in the process, they also donated 17 vehicles to drive forward the relief efforts – ten F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid trucks, three F-150 Lightning EV pickups, two big Ford F-Series Super Duty rigs, as well as a couple of Bronco SUVs.
Speaking of the latter, it's been a while since we heard anything about the reinvented sixth generation aside from the limited availability of the cheapest $34,890 or $38,040 Base two-door or four-door versions. Now, though, the Bronco again enters the spotlight for a good cause. So, a bespoke Ford Bronco Badlands 4-Door with the Sasquatch off-road package was donated to the National Park Service for use in Bandelier National Monument as a special wildland fire-fighting command rig. It was modified by the defense, fire, and rescue vehicle specialist company Darley and is equipped with "advanced communications gear (…) to help coordinate firefighting crews across rough terrain" in Bandelier National Monument, which has 33,000 acres that include ancient native lands and sacred sites.
With 35-inch off-road tires, an integrated winch, satellite, cellular, and radio-based communications equipment, a tablet computer, and even a drone to survey and assess the situation from a bird's eye POV, plus front and rear locking differentials, this Bronco SUV looks ready for anything. That's nice, right? Especially after two years ago, the company also presented the Bronco + Filson Wildland Fire Rig Concept – and they're now putting into effect the lessons learned back then. Plus, soon enough, another Bronco will be reinvented by Darley, complete with the new roof rack "fitted with a light bar, search, and emergency lights and siren," also to get donated to a wildland firefighting agency that will be announced soon.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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