bronco scheduled

My Bronco is Finally Scheduled for Production

It took 433 days from my initial reservation on July 14th, 2020, but Ford bronco is finally scheduled my Bronco for production. On September 20th, 2021, Ford has sent me the above email, confirming a November 15th, 2021 production date. While I am super excited, I won’t believe it until the vehicle shows up at my dealership.

The delays in Ford’s fumbled launch of the Bronco are well known: the pandemic, suppliers, microprocessors, hard top design. It was a perfect storm of things going bad. I was ready to cancel my order and get a Jeep Wrangler 4xe, a truly amazing Jeep that I’ll review soon. But then I drove a loaded Bronco Badlands with a Sasquatch Package and kind of fell in love with it. More on that soon, too.

Bronco Badlands on 33-inch on BFGoodrich KO2 tires. The rear portion of the soft-top is raised for access.

In that time I also changed my order. I started off with a Big Bend model, which is the second from base. I now stepped up to the Black Diamond model, for no other reason than the interior. The marine-grade vinyl seats and rubberized floors I experienced in the Badlands model sold me. It’s a truly house-out/sweep/vacuum interior, there is nothing else like like this on the market it short of commercial trucks. It’s perfect for a family with messy kids and a dog.

I also changed the color from Area-51 blue/gray-ish to Cactus Gray, which has a hint of green in it. Both are excellent colors and those two were always the top contenders. With black steel wheels and black steel bumpers, it is going to look great. That’s right, I am skipping the Sasquatch Package that comes with locking differentials and 35-inch mud-terrain tires. But I’m not going all soft.

Bronco Badlands and Wrangler 4xe Rubicon

The Black Diamond comes with a locking rear differential and taller gearing out of the box. I opted for the advanced full-time four-wheel-drive system that comes with the Sasquatch Pack. It also comes with 32-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires. I plan to replace those with 33-inch BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrain tires because I love those tires and the plus-one size will look perfect on those steel wheels and stock ride height. Those are the standard Badland tires, as pictured above.

The thing I don’t like is that I will be receiving a soft-top Bronco in New England, in December. This is far from ideal. The hard-tops are wicked delayed, probably by a year. I could have waited until then with my order or get a soft-top Bronco now. The good news is that all soft-top models come prepped for a hard-top. The bad news is that Ford has not committed to selling the new-and-improved hard tops for the factory $695 2021 price. I’ll be pissed if the price is significantly higher. But probably not as pissed if the plastic soft-top side windows crack during a Nor’easter.

I have a scheduled build date. I have the VIN. Now I sit back and wait. But it’s almost as if my local Jeep dealers know I am waiting, emailing me daily deals. Even Jeep itself is gloating that the great little Willy’s model can be had with 35-inch tires now. But I think I’m getting the vehicle that’s better for my needs and I think it will be worth the wait.

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One response to “My Bronco is Finally Scheduled for Production”

  1. smaglik Avatar
    smaglik

    Sweet!

    I’ll take the over on 11/15.