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Q: Why so few Ford Broncos in desert?


Looper

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We do have few members in Carnity driving Ford Broncos in the desert, but I have not seen anyone in FB+ or Intermediate level in our club. In the desert driving socials as well - I have hardly seen any broncos. Nor in my many outings have I seen anyone going bonkers with their broncos. We have guys buying brand new Jeep Rubicons and 392s and bring them to drive in intermediate drives!!! 

Am I looking at the wrong direction or getting wrong & biased inference from socials or is there a lack of interest from hardcore off-roaders? What say you?

Edited by Looper
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don't drive like its your last one.

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  • Looper changed the title to Q: Why so few Ford Broncos in desert?

It amazes me the kind of questions that pop up on your mind at 3:30 am @Looper😁

 

Well, my take on this is, very few people own broncos as it's a fairly new launch. I have seen hardly 5 cars on road till now, and the off-road heads generally go with tried and tested cars. 

I am yet to see a bronco in carnity drives. we should start seeing more of those soon.

Thinking to change the Jeep to a yellow bronco ? Huh @Looper

 

 

 

Screenshot_2023-04-01-04-05-28-054-edit_com.android.chrome.jpg

Edited by Krishna R
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There are multiple factors why you won't see as many Broncos in the desert for a couple of years:

1. Very new platform: As the car is barely two years old, and was launched during the exit of the pandemic (chip shortages), new cars have been slow to trickle out to buyers. As global supply chain ramps up, and demand/supply stabilises, more Broncos should slowly begin to enter the space.

2. Entirely new product vs platform expansion: The Jeep 392 resolves a power upgrade that hardcore enthusiasts and Jeep-owners can get behind. The platform for the Wrangler and the Rubicon variant is well-established. Similarly, if you look at the Ford Ranger Raptor, it too will build on the already inherent legacy of the Ranger as well as the F-150. Even then, it will take some time for it to ship enough units.

3. Price: Starting north of AED 250k, the Bronco is a platform that only those that truly love the car or enthusiasts with enough disposable income will want to splurge on.

4. Confirmation biases

  • Offroaders are still a very small sub-set: Because we spend a lot of time in company of offroaders, we attach a confirmation bias that all off-road capable cars must be going off-road. As a Jeep owner, I'm certain you'll agree that there's a vast and larger majority of Wrangler owners with enough bells and whistles on their cars and they've never even stepped over a curb. When supply-chains improve and the platform begins to capture interest, we should more of them on the road first.
     
  • Don't believe the hype: As somebody who grew up in the UAE, I have long believed that the only cars that can go offroad and excel are the Toyota Land Cruiser and the  Nissan Patrol. From safari tour groups to decades-long reverence, to marketing on steroids, both cars have been elevated to god-like status. It is only when I began driving off-road that I learned how rubbish the Y62 and the LC200 are in the desert for hardcore dune-bashers. Concepts like power-to-weight ratio are not in the consideration vocabulary of a regular driver.

5. Embed into the driving culture: Powerful American SUVs are largely broken into three styles - large pick-ups (F-150, Ram, Tundra, Ridgelin, etc.), large road-wagons (Escalade, Suburban, Wagoneer, Tahoe, Sequoia) and purpose-built utilities (Wrangler, Bronco, 4Runner). With dunebashing (vs baja racing) not a large part of the American off-road scene, and focus on national park trails, rock crawling and overlanding focus overall, it will take time for American manufacturers to embed themselves into the driving culture of the desert. And it will require all of the above factors to go in their favor too. See how popular American pick-up trucks have become offroad in the past 5 years that now the F-150 and the RAM TRX already have cultures that they can build upon and tap into consumers in that space. The Bronco will need a lot more time to get there. Once it does, and it proves its mettle, it will find it easier in successive years to maintain that position. 

Edited by munkybizness
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When FJC and Xterra launched in 2008 for the first 3-4 years till 2012 we still use to see old 4x4 in the desert - Wranglers, Cherokee (which used to be super hit in winters), LR discovery, Prado, LC and Patrols. After 2012, FJC and Xterra slowly prove their real worth and become popular. Also, earlier models of FJC has a fender bender reputation, that Toyota tried to ignore but soon they realize it was better to address and fix than play hide and seek. 

I also rem when Y62 launched and it also took about 3-5 years to fail completely for desert no matter how hard Nissan tried to influence buyers.

The bottom line, any new 4x4 platform will need at least 3-5 years to show its true worth (good or bad).

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Let's root for each other & watch each other grow.

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