Yee haw! The Ford Bronco turns 50
Yee haw! The Ford Bronco turns 50
The Tailgate
By Gary Gastelu
·Published August 11, 2015·
FoxNews.com
The Ford Bronco is turning 50. Well, it would be if it were still in production.
The iconic SUV was introduced on August 11, 1965 as something of an off-road version of the wildly popular Mustang. The press release announcing its launch touted that it joined the pony car providing modern, active Americans with driving adventure as well as practical transportation.
The Jeep CJ-5 and International Harvester Scout competitor was shorter in length than todays Ford Fiesta, and came in soft-top roadster, hard-top wagon and half-cab pickup versions, each with four-wheel-drive, a three-speed manual transmission, and a 105 hp straight-six. The base price when it hit showrooms in September, 1965 was $2,194.
More powerful V8 engines were added over the years, and the Bronco was fully redesigned, and enlarged in 1978, as it became more closely related to the F-Series pickup. Three more generations followed, with a smaller, Ranger-based Bronco II joining the mix from 1983-1990. The run finally ended with the OJ chase-era truck that was succeeded by the Expedition in 1996, as the SUV market shifted from two-door to four-door SUVs.