Down At The Airport

"MM54" (mm54mk2)
10/16/2020 at 17:00 • Filed to: Bronco Sport

Noticed a Bronco Sport at the airport a few days ago (I’m home now to share).

Seemed kind of weird to come across a manufacturer-plated vehicle in the parking lot of the Cleveland airport but I guess someone was testing how well it can be parked at the airport and resist door dings ?

But anyways, there’s that. It’s not as big as I expected which is probably good. It generally looks the part of “I’m an SUV” - not just another anonymous crossover.

Normally wouldn’t take a picture through the window, but it’s not like this is somebody’s personal car. Maybe it being there is some weird attempt at marketing.

I’ll let you know if I see an actual Bronco next time I fly out, which is fairly soon. That would be cooler.

DISCUSSION (19)

lone_liberal > MM54
10/16/2020 at 17:15

Hey, it looks more practical than the current Escape. Granted, that’s not a high bar.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > MM54
10/16/2020 at 17:22

I won’t be installing the auto show this year so I can’t get any pre show pictures. This would have been a good year, but it turned out to be a terrible year!

sn4cktimes > MM54
10/16/2020 at 17:23

It might be parked to play the “I’m another grey vehicle, come find me in a huge lot” game. The true test of consumerism is to prove that it to can blend in so well to every other vehicle that it can in fact be misplaced/lost.

Colour diskishness aside, I think it looks pretty good. I’m just not a fan of grey and the seemingly endless shades of it that people seem to love.

Danimalk - Drives a Slow Car Fast > MM54
10/16/2020 at 17:27

Not bad, but just looks like an Escape in a muscle suit to me.

Kinja'd!!!

But i do like the color/wheel combo

longtimelurkingtdiguy > MM54
10/16/2020 at 17:29

Yeah, they're actually quite short. They're only about six inches longer than a VW Golf.

MM54 > lone_liberal
10/16/2020 at 17:34

Agreed on both

HammerheadFistpunch > MM54
10/16/2020 at 17:42

I like it. Still a little stanatized to be a true off-roader but it cashes all the checks its body is writing.

camarov6rs > MM54
10/16/2020 at 17:45

A lot of manufacturers will build 90% complete prototypes then have employees use them as personal vehicles for a period time. When they are returned they are usually broken down to individual parts for testing or crushed

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > MM54
10/16/2020 at 17:47

I wonder why Ford isn’t getting nearly as much flak as GM when they brought back the Blazer name for a crossover, as th e Bronco Sport is a rebodied Escape. Ford is selling an actual new Bronco, but slapping the name on a crossover is a (smart) money grab that everyone seems okay with. On the other end, slapping the Mustang name on an electric crossover is also unforgivable ?

I don’t care one way or another but that is just my observation.

MM54 > camarov6rs
10/16/2020 at 17:57

That makes sense for a way to get real-world test data, I suppose. Thanks for the insight!

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > MM54
10/16/2020 at 17:59

Those look like the rims on the LX5.0 Mustang from the late 80s.

MM54 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
10/16/2020 at 18:02

I’m guessing it’s what you mentioned - the “Bronco” is back as an actual off-roader and the “Bronco Sport” is the barnacle hanging on to the name. The new “Blazer” is just a barnacle floating in the sea where there used to be an actual truck. If GM did the Blazer as a new off-roader and “Trailblazer” as a crossover, other than being bigly confusing, I think people would be a lot more okay with it.

I think the Mustang/Mach-E thing is that an electric crossover is pretty much the antithesis of “Mustang” whereas the Crossover is just a watered down step from an actual SUV. I could see people being pretty upset if the Bronco was what it is but the “ Bronco E-Sport” was a Pruis competitor.

MM54 > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
10/16/2020 at 18:03

At first glance / walking up to it, I thought they were steelies but no dice.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
10/16/2020 at 18:12

Because the Bronco Sport is more like the Jeep Renegade than the Blazer.

412GTI > MM54
10/16/2020 at 18:12

I think these are pretty much in the last phase of pre-production testing, so a lot of Ford Employees are currently driving them. They should hit lots by December/January.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > MM54
10/16/2020 at 18:13

I think that’s the idea

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
10/16/2020 at 18:14

I still think it’s a shame they didn’t call it a Bronco II

Kar Wai Wong > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
10/16/2020 at 18:42

Obviously being announced at the same time as a long awaited, highly anticipated new proper Bronco that people nearly unanimously love and are excited for helps people not really mind. Ford have never made a 4 door Bronco before, and there’s been practically zero uproar about it. Maybe if the Bronco had never left in the 90s, and had been in continuous production, there may have been some commotion like the JK Wrangler, but people are too happy too really care. Just like people don’t really care about a unibody Bronco. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. If you compare that to the Mustang, which has never left us and fans are very comfortable with what it is and don’t like change, that makes it much more jarring. Remember when everyone was upset that they were gonna call it the Ford Mach 1? Good times. The Bronco Sport is also filling the gap the old Ford Escapes left before the styling went all jelly. I don’t know how much people were clamouring for those old days, but yeah.

While not quite a perfect comparison, but the Bronco II was also completely unmechanical unrelated to the regular Bronco. And there’s not that much of a disconnect between a boxy 4 door body-on-frame Bronco SUV, to the similar-looking boxy 4 door unibody Bronco Sport SUV. Off-roading factor is a big difference, but it’s currently unproven, and maybe people have gotten used to not very off-roady Jeeps and Land Rovers too. I guess you can’t take the doors or top off, which is a big important attribute to the proper Bronco, but it was never all that important in the old Broncos anyway, unlike the Jeeps. Meanwhile if you compare that to the Mustang Mach-E, which was originally going to be an unrelated compliance EV until they realised they could base it off the Mustang, the disconnect is much greater. From a 2-door RWD muscle car with big engines that’s relatively simple and old school and big in driver involvement, to an 4 door crossover with mild Mustang styling elements, using new not quite proven electric power and driver assist tech, and electric cars have a reputation for having incredible acceleration, but kinda lifeless in other aspects. Similar deal with the new Blazer, not much in relation to the original car.

EngineerWithTools > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
10/16/2020 at 18:46

Came to say exactly this. My first two cars were Bronco IIs, two tone red/gray and brown/darker brown. Both with mouse fur.

Objectively terrible vehicles, but they were interesting!

The Sport is probably an objectively average / acceptable vehicle but is also (at least superficially) interesting.