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Automotive Lifestyle
101 Cars: Ford Bronco
A Bucking Good Truck
SPEEDtv.com is celebrating the launch of the new program "101 Cars You Must Drive" with a weekly countdown of the vehicles featured in the show. Tune-in to SPEED 9pm ET on Monday nights, and to SPEEDtv.com every day for new "Must Drive" features.
SPEEDtv.com is celebrating the launch of the new program "101 Cars You Must Drive" with a weekly countdown of the vehicles featured in the show. Tune-in to SPEED 9pm ET on Monday nights, and to SPEEDtv.com every day for new "Must Drive" features.
Over its 11-year production run, the Bronco would see lists of changes. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson)
Any business hats to see rivals get a free ride in a market segment, particularly when the capability to compete is there. So when Jeep's CJ-5 and International Harvester's Scout were gobbling up growing off-road four-wheel-drive sales, Ford concocted its own player and called it, appropriately, the Bronco. Those first Broncos, debuting as 1966 models, were Spartan vehicles, and only the Falcon inline six and three-speed manual transmission were available. It was compact, its wheelbase 96 inches. A two-speed transfer case, short overhang, high ground clearance, and tight turning radius made it a capable off-roader.
The roadster had a folding windshield and could go without doors. Over its 11-year production run, the Bronco would see lists of changes, from enhanced passenger comfort to compliance with regulations and improved utility. The open roadster version, then the half-cab pickup, would be discontinued, but through it all, Bronco kept the functional, rectangular shape and its rugged, go-anywhere facility. Yet changing times and an aging platform made ford look to its full-size pickups as a base still its only SUV. The smaller first-generation Bronco yielded to the bigger truck.
Specifications
Engine: 170-ci OHV inline six; 302-ci OHV V-8
Horsepower: 105; 220
0–60 mph: Unknown
Top Speed: Unknown
Price New: $2,404-$3,149
Value Now: About $12,000
Ford Bronco Photos
CLAIM TO FAME: Ford's initial foray into the world of SUVs.
SOUNDTRACK: "Back in the Saddle Again" by Gene Autry
PERFECT PASSENGER: Get Daisy Duke out of that Jeep once and for all.
BEHIND THE WHEEL: The Early Bronco Registry can help, and there are local Bronco clubs around the country.
DID YOU KNOW: Off-Road racer Bill Stroppe and Parnelli Jones dominated desert racing in the early 1970s in a "funny" Bronco named Big Ily after its Olympia Beer sponsorship.
THE PERFECT DRIVE: Let's throw a picnic basket in the back and drive down by the river.
Read the REVIEW and Get Your Copy of 365 Cars You Must Drive
Catch 101 Cars You Must Drive on SPEED! Monday nights at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT.
Check out the 101 Cars Countdown!
Do you have a Ford Bronco? Tell us about it!
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