Photo: Cameron Neveu for Hagerty Media Site
With hours away until the revival of the Bronco, it’s important to highlight that Ford developed the mid-size utility vehicle to rival the Jeep Wrangler by taking inspiration from the Wrangler in a few important areas. The roof is pretty obvious, but the Blue Oval didn’t stop there.
Take the largest tires available trump those of the Wrangler Rubicon, and adding insult to injury, the Ford Motor Company settled for Goodyear Wrangler Territory LT rubber shoes. This is most curious if you remember that both the F-150 Raptor and Ranger Raptor feature BF Goodrich tires.
The most obvious example of Bronco-Wrangler rivalry comes in the form of a quote from chief operating officer Jim Farley. About a month ago, he said at an automotive conference that Ford is the most cross-shopped brand with Jeep and that the 2021 model year Bronco is “much superior.”
Farley and no other official mentioned how much the Wrangler inspired them, but that pales in comparison to an official document from the Dearborn-based automaker’s private archives. As you can tell from the blue piece of paper serving as the main photo of this story, “Wrangler” was one of the alternate names considered for the original Bronco from the ‘60s.
Hagerty is responsible for uncovering this document through the lens of photographer Cameron Neveu, and it also lists nameplates such as Trail Blazer, Explorer, Caballero, Bravo, Custom, Gaucho, Rustler, and Sprint. Now try to imagine what would have happened from the 1960s to the present day had Ford chosen Wrangler. Would Jeep have continued to sell the civilian version under the CJ moniker that lasted until 1986?
Going further back into the past, did you know that the iconic grille of the Jeep brand wasn’t designed by Willys-Overland? The Ford Motor Company is responsible for it and the flat hood, but for some reason or another, Willys retained the license to the basic design which was licensed to Ford for production during the war.
Regardless of which crowd you represent, the Bronco and Wrangler are joined at the hip since the 1940s. The revival of the Bronco is also great news for Jeep, which has been forced to make the Wrangler better by introducing more standard features, a plug-in hybrid option, and the 392 HEMI V8 engine with 485 horsepower on deck.
The most obvious example of Bronco-Wrangler rivalry comes in the form of a quote from chief operating officer Jim Farley. About a month ago, he said at an automotive conference that Ford is the most cross-shopped brand with Jeep and that the 2021 model year Bronco is “much superior.”
Farley and no other official mentioned how much the Wrangler inspired them, but that pales in comparison to an official document from the Dearborn-based automaker’s private archives. As you can tell from the blue piece of paper serving as the main photo of this story, “Wrangler” was one of the alternate names considered for the original Bronco from the ‘60s.
Hagerty is responsible for uncovering this document through the lens of photographer Cameron Neveu, and it also lists nameplates such as Trail Blazer, Explorer, Caballero, Bravo, Custom, Gaucho, Rustler, and Sprint. Now try to imagine what would have happened from the 1960s to the present day had Ford chosen Wrangler. Would Jeep have continued to sell the civilian version under the CJ moniker that lasted until 1986?
Going further back into the past, did you know that the iconic grille of the Jeep brand wasn’t designed by Willys-Overland? The Ford Motor Company is responsible for it and the flat hood, but for some reason or another, Willys retained the license to the basic design which was licensed to Ford for production during the war.
Regardless of which crowd you represent, the Bronco and Wrangler are joined at the hip since the 1940s. The revival of the Bronco is also great news for Jeep, which has been forced to make the Wrangler better by introducing more standard features, a plug-in hybrid option, and the 392 HEMI V8 engine with 485 horsepower on deck.
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