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by Edmonds

Ford looks back

the Bronco concept that was revealed at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The neo-Bronco and a companion five-door hatchback are to be aimed, like the Dodge Hornet, at Gen-Y buyers who have been drawn to the Scion xA and xB and are expected to be the primary audience for such recent and upcoming entries as the Honda Fit, the Nissan Versa and the Toyota Yaris.

Like DaimlerChrysler, Dearborn searched around the globe for the right combination of platform and production sourcing, rejecting one proposal to import a small Fiesta-based utility vehicle called "EcoSport" from its Brazilian subsidiary.

Ford's Japanese affiliate Mazda already is doing the engineering development work on the next-generation Fiesta for Europe, Asia and Latin America, but the new B-segment platform was deemed too expensive for the '09 baby Bronco, which Ford hopes to price from under $10,000.

So two strategic decisions have been taken — one, to base the Bronco on the current Fiesta to keep costs down and, two, to assemble the car at Ford of Mexico's Cuautitlán plant, which currently makes the Fiesta-based Ikon sedan for Latin American markets. Originally, the Bronco was to have gone into production in fall 2007, but the program recently was delayed.

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ORIGINAL: 76eldoragtop

All in all, it's still a ford..............

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ORIGINAL: G.A.R.Y.

Now Stomp, you know how many of those are out there? I know you do.

FixO r Repair Daily

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