The much-hyped Ford Bronco will make its way to the States in 2018 but before that, it's being developed in Australia. That's right; the team which is working on the most anticipated truck of the decade is based out of Australia. There is nothing wrong with that though! Australia is a tough country and there is plenty of room to test drive 4x4s!
Turns out this unlikely connection with Australia makes a lot of sense. Ford is designing the Bronco on the current Ranger's foundation, and the Ranger was being developed by the Australian engineering team of Ford. This is not the first time being practical has paid off for a company.
Ranger and Bronco
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_bronco_concept.jpg
The Ranger and Bronco are both going to be created in the Michigan Assembly Plant of Ford which means even though the engineers are going to spend a lot of time flying between Australia and Michigan during the project; we cannot wait for the Bronco to get on the assembly line.
There's no idea of what the real Bronco is going to look like, but there are tons of images on the Internet of what people are expecting.
The Bronco was loved the world over because of its off-road abilities, and many fans were heartbroken when it was discontinued. Rumors of the SUV started circulating only 10 years after the SUV was discontinued, there were nothing more than hints and teasers from Ford about a new Bronco. Nothing definitive ever happened, though.
It certainly did not help that from 2009 to 2016 America was having more regulations imposed onto them and taxes were being raised. American businesses though are poised to get rewarded though beginning in 2017 and Ford knows all about this.
SUV and Trucks
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2011_Ford_Ranger_(PX)_XLT_High_Rider_4-door_Super_Cab_utility_(2012-07-14).jpg
This is a terrific time to get the Bronco back on the streets. Gas prices are at an all-time low (oil shale is awesome!), and SUVs and trucks are selling much better than the rest.
Ford is reported to be in the planning stages currently for the new Bronco although longtime fans are really disappointed that there is no information on what the car is going to look like yet. This hasn't stopped a number of aficionados from giving it a shot. They've combined the concept of the Bronco which was showcased by Ford in 2004 at the North American International Auto Show with original designs for the Bronco and many other modern Ford trucks and SUVs.
Speculative renderings of the SUV show that the Bronco will continue to have a boxy look with its iconic front grille and round headlights. It will also have a modern frame which will meet off-road demands.
There's no point in guessing what's going to be under the hood since the concept came with a 2 L turbo diesel, 6-speed manual transmission, and four-wheel drive. Speculation earlier said that the Bronco was going to share a frame with the Ranger and it looks like this may just be true.
Bronco vs. Wrangler
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bronco6G_Black.jpg
One of the biggest debates among Bronco historians is whether the new model would come with a removable top so that the company can compete better with the likes of the Wrangler. This is quite possible since there have been reports of Ford buying both Unlimited Rubicons and Wrangler Unlimited so that they can benchmark both and exceed all other models in terms of upper-end performance.
For now, it's all about hoping, wishing, guessing, and waiting. The guessing is just about as much fun as we can have right now until there is some sort of official announcement from Ford about the new Bronco, and perhaps what it's going to look like. We are super psyched and can't wait to see what Ford has in store for us.