Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t Nick; Best free marketing campaign eva; According to Vice, if you drive one of the new Ford SUVs, you’re basically giving the finger to the sensibilities of green liberals. But this could be one of its greatest selling points.
The New Ford Bronco Is An Obscene Monument to Climate Denialism
In the year 2020, there is simply no excuse for releasing a brand new SUV without so much as a hybrid option.
By Aaron Gordon 15 July 2020, 10:03am
On Monday evening, Ford held a digital launch event for the new Ford Bronco, resurrecting the brand name for a Sport Utility Vehicle engineered for off-roading performance that is best known for transporting a fugitive along a Southern California freeway.
There isn’t much you need to know about the new Bronco—which I can assure you via Ford’s press release is capable of being driven on any terrain you could possibly want to drive it—because the odds are you will never need the off-roading capabilities this particular vehicle offers.
For John and Jane Q. Commuter, the only thing you need to know about the Bronco—which, unless you regularly go off-roading for sport and thrill, you should never ever consider buying no matter how much Ford tries to convince you otherwise with its massive marketing campaign—is that it does not come with a hybrid or electric version. In the year 2020, this is tantamount to climate denialism.
…
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/akzj4p/the-new-ford-bronco-is-an-obscene-monument-to-climate-denialism
I wonder how Ford will respond? Will Ford management curl up into a quivering defensive apologetic bundle and promise to release a pathetic zero sales electric model? Or will Ford grab this once in a lifetime marketing opportunity, and double down on the offence by releasing a light truck version?
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
It’s time for me to buy, soon, and while I didn’t really want one of these, I am now strangely compelled to go dump in some blowhard’s Cheerios…
The old Bronco was a better seller than what the global warming folks are selling and so will the new Bronco. It looks good for the adventurous male and the curious and brave female.
Look for Ford to have some desert and mountain runs and possibly swamp, I mean ecological, biological, diverse wetlands. You know the ones Europeans drained while developing Western Civilization.
Now that the Trump EPA has ditched the dumber-than-dirt Obama CAFE rules, it is only a matter of time before Blue states like California and NY start adding“Climate Luxury” surcharges onto any vehicle they don’t approve of of, like SUVs and big trucks.
They will claim it’s for the climate, but what it really will be is simply another way to extract cash via a new tax from working Americans buying popular SUVs and trucks. An EV sales are taking abeating with low gas prices and Cal’s grid problems. Kinda hard to charge your Tesla during an imposed PG&E black-out.
Federal supremacy on setting Clean Air Standards will preclude Cal from winning the legal battle regain its exemption to impose its own standards unless the EPA grants it. They may win some legal battles with “Obama judges” in the district courts and 9th Circuit, but ultimately there is no doubt the Feds will prevail on this issue if it goes to the Supreme Court.
A “Climate Luxury” tax already in the cards as the low price of gas (for now) is driving up the number of purchases of these low MPG vehicles. Californians love their autos. The Sacramento Greens will propose a Climate Luxury Car tax surcharge tax in legislation and the tax hungry socialists will jump on-board the idea of any new revenue stream. I expect something in the neighborhood of $1,000 to $5,000 added surcharge at purchase depending on the sticker price and MPG rating.
I was considering this as my next SUV, and it’s definitely looking more favorable. The biggest engine is only the 310 HP dual turbo V6. If they can put the 760 HP Predator V8 in it, it’s a done deal.
Well, it’s made MY list for consideration for my next vehicle… 🙂
Imagine getting stranded up a mountain because your batteries got cold and weak… I guess one could pack a portable generator and 20 gallons of fuel to recharge the electric vehicle in an emergency. Or one could just buy a good old reliable gas engine utility vehicle.
A Range Rover is a much better car in every respect, especially if it’s breathed on by Overfinch!
I’ll be interested to see the EV that can cruise for 400 miles, at 90 mph on a tankful of fuel (Diesel or Petrol) in sublime comfort and safety, then step onto a Challenger Tank training course and survive for more than 30 seconds.
By the time the Rangy has done the 800 mile round trip, and done the Tank course, a Tesla will still be stuck at a charging station somewhere on the M1 motorway. And the Tesla will handle like a lump of Lard even before it gets to a Tank course where it’ll get bogged down instantly!
I’m all for EV’s, assuming they don’t take 100 years to reach the level of performance an ICE vehicle can. And with all the hype around them I DEMAND they EXCEED the performance we expect from an ICE vehicle by a substantial margin. e.g. the ‘engines’, drive-chains, and energy sources are consigned to modules that weigh at least 20% less than ICE’s and deliver better performance under all circumstances.
Humanity demands progress; we don’t want to stand still to allow an ancient and discarded technology to catch up.
When the idiot boffins (read ‘scientists’) can produce a car sized battery that can run my households electricity demands for a year for a year, and will cost me tuppence ha’penny to do so, then you can watch me sit up with a start and take notice.
Which will be a bit freaky when my great, great, great grandchildren watch me rise from the ashes of cremation!
These freaky deaky green nutter are utterly insane. I appreciate progress, but not at any cost. And the fact is, they are stifling the progress of humanity with their moronic demands.
Bad day. Rant over.
Yeah, well for $70K more it should be better, though if my experience with failed air suspension components is an indicator “Better” is as relative as Bill Clinton’s morals.
That’s why when the air suspension fails on a RR, not if but when, it is ripped out and replaced with traditional springs and dampers as replacing/repairing the air suspension is insanely expensive. The other issue with the RR is the number of computer control units. And ECU for the engine, a GCU for the gearbox, a BCU for the body equipment/instrument cluster, ECU and GCU tied in to the ABS and traction control system. Any one of them fails you can’t start your engine.
RRs are supremely great to drive both on and offroad, I drove the 1994 model in 1994 and it was brilliant.
I bought the 1994 Discovery 2, based on the older model RR, and test drove the 1994 RR. My brand new “M” reg Discovery had three failures in the first 1000 miles (The run-in period). The indicator stalk switch failed. The rear “A” frame ball joint failed. And last but not least, the splined shaft from the main gearbox to the transfer case wore so badly that about 50% of the spline had worn away. I would never buy a new LR/RR again.
When we get two of Robert A. Heinlein’s neater dreams:
Douglas-Martin sunpower screens (Made from dirt, dirt cheap, and 98% efficient)
Shipstones (a GI can for electricity)
Then a solar powered world will start to make sense.
Since we ain’t got either, fuggidaboudit.
I have been seen burning incense at the altars of Fineline (God of engineers), Zeemoff (God of automation and building contractors), M’Kaphrae (Goddess of Dragons)….
“HotScot July 16, 2020 at 11:55 am
A Range Rover is a much better car in every respect, especially if it’s breathed on by Overfinch!”
Good heavens you are not serious? Wildly over priced and very unreliable. Don’t let Overfinch get involved as is said, very costly. Don’t get a RR with BMW V8 engine in it, it will fail. Don’t get a RR with a V6 diesel engine either, very expensive to work on. There is a saying down here in Australia. “If you want to go off-roading in the outback, get a RR. If you want to get back, get a Toyota”.
The Bentley Bentayga Diesel is better for whizzing down to the store. Fairly comfortable too!
🙂
Bentley’s sale pitch …
“Bentayga Diesel was the first diesel in Bentley’s history. The world’s most refined 8-cylinder diesel engine, it was developed to deliver world-class Bentley performance with the extended range of a diesel engine.
This model features a number of distinctive and exclusive design features including a gloss black matrix grille with a chrome surround and centre bar, along with two twin-quad tailpipes at the rear. It also features a ‘V8 DIESEL’ badge that sits on the lower edge of the front doors. In addition, ‘Bentley’ treadplates and the classic ‘B’ design foot pedals are fitted as standard.
Its 4.0 litre, 8-cylinder, 32-valve diesel engine delivers a top speed of 168 mph (270 km/h) and achieves 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds”
sweet, sweet green tears. Moar Bronco.
Can we really just send all the green weenies up to northern Canada in January please. Power their homes with solar/wind only. Leave them there for a couple of weeks. Local (100 mile) diet only. Problem solved.
Is my 34′ motor home also an obscene monument to climate denialism?
I think Hummer should just release a new model called the “Planet-Killer” and be done with it. It could have a flame paint job and an add-on steam generator that could belch ‘smoke’ on demand. I’d buy it.
Are they going to get an endorsement from OJ Simpson?
I’ll add one to my shopping list. 😉
Actually, I’m more of a sports coupe guy. Good head room & leg room, closer to the ground (but not too close), and a stick shift mated with a smooth-running 6-cylinder, naturally aspirated of course. Unfortuantely, those are going the way of the dodo.
Apparently, Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys wants one too. One more reason to love the Cowboys. https://theunionjournal.com/ezekiel-elliott-wants-the-new-ford-bronco-can-you-blame-him/
CV,
Ain’t no real cowboys in Texas. We’re all up here in Wyoming and you don’t need no fiddle to play in the band up here and we don’t tuck our pants in our boots, neither.
Jim G1
Jim,
Ha ha. Wyoming, where the men are men and the sheep are nervous. It hit 99 degrees here in Dallas today. I think I will trade in my boots for a pair of flip flops in a few minutes.
We ran most of the sheep herders out of here, don’t you watch the cowboy shows? Was 100 degrees F here a couple days ago, but it’s a dry heat up here. Know some folks have goats but they cannot be fenced in as they are the original escape artists and can climb fences, I think. Maybe they’re nervous, too?
Jim
Goats are fine eating too. The secret is in the marinade and cooking.
Two cougars meet in the spring … one heading north to Wyoming. The one heading south to Texas says, “I hear there are lots of Texans everywhere … I’m gonna eat well this year”.
Wyoming replies, “You outta come north with me, but good luck to you anyway”.
They met up again in the fall. Says the Wyoming cougar to the Texas cougar, “You look like hammered shit … nuthin’ but skin & bones.”
“I feel like it to. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I ate well all summer long. There were cowboys everywhere … And just like always I’d sit on a low branch and scream at them when they walked under, they would freeze and then I’d pounce down on them and eat. But I just kept losing weight from the time I got to Texas.”
“Well” says Wyoming, “you got to realize you were dealing with Texans. You scream at them like that and you scare the shit right of them … you pounce on their middles like that and you knock all the hot air right of them. At that point you ain’t got hardly no substance left but boots & belt buckles”
(maybe I got it wrong … maybe it was Oklahoma)
Don
Must have wandered over to New Mexico. I just don’t think the kitty cat would have ever made it back from Texas alive. I believe I heard the greenies are trying to reintroduce them back to parts of Austin and other enlightened neighborhoods. I wish those kitties good hunting and hope they feast on all the ferrel and domestic animals running loose.
What was the other reason to love the Cowboys?
Maybe it’s personal. Been a fan since Eddie LeBaron was the QB. Never did understand why Coach pulled him to play the young guys. Of course I was about six so I had a limited range of life.
Chain Vara,
In reply to your earlier reply, we’re always happy to have our big cats return to the mountains of New Mexico; they’re quite tasty and you get a nice throw rug as a bonus! I’ve got to hit the weights ‘cause there’s a young bear wandering around and we’ll probably have a contest to see who gets to bag it! If only polar bears could learn to survive on vegans then they might wander far enough south that I could achieve my dream trophy without having to leave home.
The three Bronco models certainly are a long departure from the full size 78 and 81 I had with modified 351 CI gas hungry motors. I now drive the new Jeep Rubicon and a 4×4 Tahoe. I see a lot of them on the roads. I suspect Ford wants a piece of the new model of Jeeps Wranglers that are so popular. I suspect Ford will ignore the BS about their Bronco line up. After all, we Americans love our pickup trucks and heavy full size utility vehicles with horse power to spare.
Thanks Vice. I was leaning toward a Ranger as my next vehicle. Now, I’ll have to consider a Bronco as well.
Nice looking vehicle! Up here in the mountains of the Southwest a 4WD or AWD vehicle is needed in the summer monsoon season and winter to get into remote areas. While I plan on buying a 3/4 ton 4×4 diesel pickup soon, my old ‘94 Chevy 3500 dually is my choice for picking up building materials when I can bill the customer for the 10mpg it gets going downhill with a tail wind. It’s gonna need a power train rebuilt soon and I’m thinking of adding a supercharger with a two speed posi-traction rear end. I don’t know if that’ll improve the mileage but it should make it a lot more fun to drive.
When Green Weenies give me a hard time about it I ask them if they live in a tepee or a yurt. Very few housing units are built with EVs and my Chevy has so much experience now it almost does the work without me! I wonder if the Diesel Brothers are still operating up in Utah; it’d be nice to have the smoke screen option available for sneering eco-loons!
No hybrid? For shame! Of course, there is the 1.5L turbo engine option – which, when combined with an 8 speed transmission in a 3400 pound vehicle, will probably delivery VERY good fuel economy in the first place.
The 1.5l is in the smaller Sport which is based on the Ford Escape. It’s pretty small. The large sized one is based on the Ranger chassis.
Bit like Goya boycott which seems to have turned into a buycott with increased sales and a go fund me page has raised lots of money for food banks.
Looks like some people are getting fed up with being told what they can think and do.
James Bull
Walter Sobchak.The culture snobs adored Motzart.Then came the film Amadeus,the unwashed masses went overboard for the great composers work.The snobs relegated him to low brow status. Illiberal elites never change!
Bit like the BBC series “Allo “Allo which the critics hated but us oiks loved with all it’s non PC double entendres and racial slurs ( the Brit’s, the French, the Germans and the Italians all got as much as each other) When they did a stage version the critics ripped it apart but the public turned up in droves and tickets were not available very quickly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGRigRbpw7A&list=PLVrqwqi8fl1IK9vcxNN_ZCnXX0AFRD4DG
James Bull
I like it. I’ll buy 3 and convert 2 to diesel-electric multiphase.
Shame they don’t come in Chrysler colors tho.
My current vehicle is just fine, I don’t need a new car. I like Ford and if the Bronco drives the Environmentalist Wackos crazy then I need to go down to my local dealership and take a good look at one.
I come to bury Caeser, not to praise him.
Come on. The Left are in another world.
A base Retro Bronco is expected to sell for $30k and there is a smaller sport version that will sell for $25k.
The new Bronco, is just a medium sized SUV, compared to say a Suburban or any of the other full sized people movers or status symbols.
And it will have reasonable fuel efficiency. It has some practical features to enable it to be used for outdoor activities.
https://www.caranddriver.com/ford/bronco-sport
The Bronco has been and always will be a boxy, oversized, and otherwise hideous vehicle.
I want one right now!
I guess they aren’t going to offer a pickup model like the late 60’s? That’s a shame. I’d buy one of those in a minute!
Will a super small molten salt micro-reactor (SSMSMR) become an optional power plant for the Ford Bronco’s 2023 model year?
I’m pretty sure the colonel told us 2026