I’ve been thinking of a new car lately. Not that there’s anything wrong with my old one — even though it has over 100,000 miles on it, the engine’s pretty new. A local dealer replaced it for free after the engine threw a rod a few years ago.
It happened at the worst possible time (is there a good time for your car to break down?). I was on C-470 near Littleton, driving home after an 18-mile hike. Hungry, dirty and thinking about how I had to go to work in a few hours, I kept hitting the gas and nothing kept happening. The engine basically lost power. I coasted onto the nearest exit and parked it. Yup, right there in the middle of the exit. A few phone calls later and the car people sent the tow people to rescue my car — and me. I settled in and ate the only thing I had left in my backpack: a bag of popcorn. And waved to people who pulled up next to me on the exit to see if I was OK.
A have a lot of fond memories with that car, but it’s done its duty and I think it’s time to move on. For a long time I thought I wanted a Jeep, but it seems everywhere I go, there are more Jeeps on the road. I could read that as a good sign — people like them — or just chalk it up to the fact that people are tired of being stuck inside and if all they can do is drive around town with the top off their vehicle, they feel like they’re having some kind of adventure. Either way, to get where I need to go for researching guidebooks (one of my other jobs) I need more clearance, more traction and more power.
Enter the Ford Bronco. Remember the Bronco? They were popular in the 1990s. Big and boxy, the Bronco was a sort of precursor to today’s streamed down, family-friendly SUV. Well, with all the new interest in getting outside, Ford couldn’t have picked a better time to roll out a new design. The cheapest model — the Base — starts at under $30,000 which isn’t cheap but it’s a far cry from the top-of-the-line First Edition that starts at around $60,000. Ford is following the Tesla model of inviting people to reserve a new Bronco for $100, which gets you a place in line until the build and price tool comes out in a few weeks. By the way, that top-of-line trim, originally limited to just 3,500 reservations, sold out in 24 hours. They doubled it and it sold out again. Who are these people who can throw down $60,000 for a vehicle?
For funsies (and because I really am going to get a new vehicle and it will probably be a Bronco), I threw down a hundred bucks. Not for anything fancy — I don’t need heated seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel (ewwww), a remote-start system (is that even legal in Colorado?), or a front stabilizer disconnect (I don’t even know what that means). I just need something that gets me where I want to go — wherever I want to go.
There’s been a lot of drama around the rollout. The reservation site got slammed when it debuted in July, and some people had to call their dealers directly to get their name on the list. Then, information about options started to dribble out and people were either thrilled or dismayed. What, no Cyber Orange on the Base trim? No Sasquatch package on the manual transmission? Where am I supposed to store the removable doors on the 2-door model if I can’t remove the back seats? Oh, first-world problems really are the worst kind of problems.
The other brouhaha has been over dealers. Some have been clueless about the rollout. I’m not kidding. People are calling and emailing them about a potential $40,000 to $70,000 purchase (with options) and gotten no response. Of course, there are other dealers who are really on the ball. One in Bremen, Ga., is sending everyone who reserved with them a T-shirt to welcome them to the Ford Bronco family. As someone who came from years of sales and marketing, that’s how you win customers — and make sure they don’t switch dealerships. Because apparently you can get your Bronco from any dealer you please, but you can only switch one time, and you have to do it by Oct. 31.
In the meantime, I’ve been keeping up on all the Ford forums to see what’s new. And playing around with the online Interactive Garage site to see what my (maybe) new car will look like in Iconic Silver, Shadow Black, or Antimatter Blue. I don’t need a new car. My old one’s running just fine. But just thinking about this new Bronco and following all the drama around it is more fun than throwing a rod on C-470. Anything to get that “I’m outside having a good time” feeling back.
Susan Joy Paul is an author, editor, and freelance writer. She has lived on Colorado Springs’ northwest side for more than 20 years. Contact Susan at woodmennotes@pikespeaknewspapers.com.
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August 11, 2020 at 01:00PM
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