Update: we received a scary request from Ford lawyers to remove images of the Ford Bronco CUV that previously appeared in this article.
The automotive industry is navigating murky waters in the 21st century. Consumers are moving away from cars and hatchbacks toward SUVs and crossovers, and automakers around the world are scrambling to shift their strategies to meet this flourishing consumer market. Ford went as far as eliminating the sale of cars in the U.S. in an aggressive plan to introduce new or refreshed crossover of SUV models. Digging deep into its portfolio of storied nameplates to resurrect, the company decided to reintroduce the Ford Bronco and an alleged baby Bronco.Â
Reviving such an iconic moniker is no easy task. You have to meet nostalgic expectations that come with the Bronco name. A leaked image from a Ford dealer meeting in Las Vegas shows what’s most likely the baby Bronco, with its boxy, retro-like appearance. That’s great, but if you look at its crosstown rival Chevy, you’ll notice Chevy lacks a worthy Bronco competitor for the new model.Â
The 2019 Blazer is not a Bronco rival
Yes, Chevy is also expanding its lineup of crossovers and SUVs. Earlier this year, the automaker resurrected the Blazer nameplate. However, instead of billing it as a capable off-road vehicle to take on the likes of the Jeep Wrangler and forthcoming Ford Bronco, Chevy made the Blazer into a stylish crossover, focusing on features and looks as opposed to off-road capability.Â
That’s not to say Chevy isn’t working on a Bronco or baby Bronco competitor. The company could very well be drawing up plans for an affordable off-road SUV. However, we haven’t heard any rumors of such a vehicle, or vehicles, in development. Chevrolet seems to understand a need for a 2019 Colorado ZR2 Bison, but the global-market Trailblazer on the same platform remains inaccessible to the hardest of hard-core SUV market.
While the Blazer’s subdued road-going manners may turn off some purists hoping for a rough-riding, body-on-frame SUV, the crossover’s mass-market appeal could make it a sales leader over the Ford Bronco, but that’s apples and oranges.
Source: FordAuthority
Comments
Keep up those great electric bicycle plans GM (Heavy sarcasm). I’ve been a GM guy my whole life and love my current Colorado, but because they seem to be “thick in the head” and will not bring the Trailblazer (on the same platform mind you!) to the States, I may have to look to Ford or Dodge for our next family car. I refuse to buy a physically massive, 50k dollar Tahoe in order to get real 4×4, 3 rows of seats, and have Good towing capacity for a boat or camper (5,000 lbs in the Traverse is not good enough in my book). I don’t want to drive a huge truck, but with GM, that’s your only choice for a body on frame SUV.
I don’t understand why GM is into electric bikes either but don’t forget Ford is into electric scooters….
I agree I loved our old Trailblazer (North Face edition even, pretty sweet). And I’m really looking forward to the Bronco, really want to buy one. But, I’m not sure if it’s gonna be the answer for hauling your 5000+ lb boat. Keep in mind a Wrangler max towing is 3500 lbs. I’m not sure exactly where Ford is trying to compete with the Bronco but I assumed it would be similar to a Wrangler. Heavy off road capability usually means awful towing.
But the Chevy is Made in Mexico! No thanks, GM.
EXACTLY!
2020 FORD BRONCO TO BE MADE IN MICHIGAN, U.S.A.
2020 CHEVY BLAZER MADE IN MEXICO!!!
Sorry, Chevy, but I would rather buy the Ford Bronco that support American communities. If Ford can make it in the U.S., you have no excuses.
But you forgot the sexy driverless Cruise. I would rather have that box instead of say a Bronco competitor or a Cadillac flagship LOL
Well, this is not the Bronco Ford fans were expecting. That said it will be a strong seller for Ford.
Horrible. Just horribly uninspiring. Although a cute ute, the Chevrolet Blazer is probably the superior overall product, and the sales will show that after the initial nameplate surge is over. Ford had a chance to gobble up a bunch of Jeep sales, and they flubbed it. Any of the artist renderings would have been great. I’m sure it’s the constraints of the Ranger platform that produced this disjointed turd.
The Bronco you see above is not going to the the “big” Bronco built off the Ranger platform. The Bronco above is built off of a new Focus platform. There are talks of Bronco becoming its own brand. If you look at the images above, the orange vehicle has a shadow on the wall that is supposedly the size and shape of the “big” Bronco.
Isn’t the Baby Bronco based on the Focus Activ platform? and then the real new Bronco is based on the Ranger?
If it related to the Focus that would be a bit of a letdown, but it sure looks cool.
Ha, you mountain Billies getting goat boners off this thinking “derp Chibby should bring back a 1972 Blazea to combat this”. It’s literally a Focus with a lift-kit and rugged styling. With that statement, this would sell good off style alone, got a Kia Soul vibe to it.
Half the people on this site are hillbillies still living in the 70’s. Lol
Bronco has a potentially iconic design and looks fantastic while taking the fight to Jeep. GM has both Chevy and GMC (plus could revive the Hummer name for use as a Delani-like trim designation for off road) yet lacks the right vehicle. Off road outs the new pony car, the new Camaro for the Millenial generation. Such a vehicle is a must in 2018 considering the growth of Jeep yet GM keeps chasing Toyota instead of autos that will thrive in the US.
I hope we’re still getting a real Bronco and this should still sell well.
Ah, time to crack the knuckles, crack the neck do some stretches and settle in to another one of my long pointless rants unfortunately won’t go much further than this page. Seeing that I’m a fan of all things that is American muscle and at things that was once cool and iconic. I truly feel that “We, the People…..” have been let down by our American auto manufacturers year after frustrating year. Some of us, young, middle aged like myself, an older long for good American vehicles and good, American made vehicles. While I missed the 60’s & ’70’s muscle car era, as i arrived on this rock at the end of 1984, I did grow up in the age of the last Broncos, K5 Blazers, F-body Camaros/Firebirds, Fox Body Mustangs, Terminator Cobras, the 2004 Mach 1, The end of Pontiac with nearly great cars such as the last GTO and the Pontiac G8, the legendary 94-96 Impala SS, the Ford Lightning, the Chevy 454SS pickup truck, the S10 Blazer Extreme, and the birth of the mighty SRT cars. Somewhere along the line, Ford & GM must have forgotten that there is still a whole entire world out here that love these cars and miss these cars dearly. Even the FWD GXP Grand prix, the 4.6L Northstar and a list of other almost great and great cars that were out there and are still out there on the road today. Another thing is that there are so many places right here in the US that car manufacturing plants could be built. I live in Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia and i see countless buildings where plants could be re-established. the whole city of Chester could be brought back on the map as well. Let’s not forget that not too long ago Chester housed a very profitable ford plant at one time and Pennsylvania is home to the dealership that birthed the Yenko Chevrolet cars. There is so much that could be done that would be seriously profitable to American manufacturers.
Now, as we all know, there are so many forces coming down on manufacturers which honestly hurt the enthusiasts the most because car manufacturers have to follow a certain number of rules and guidelines and CAFE regulations (hopefully our prez good ole’ Donny-T can do a little something about that). A couple of years ago, Chevrolet had started dabbling in overhead cam engines, You had the Oldsmobile 4.0L V8 pushing 250hp/260tq, you had the Northstar 4.6L that pushed out 300hp/295tq and lastly the 5.7L LT5 that had 405hp and 385lb-ft of torque. These engines were putting out this kind of power in the early ’90’s when the technology was nowhere near what it is today. I could seriously see GM taking the knowledge of what it’s learned in the last almost 20 years from that point with fuel injection, timing, active fuel management, variable displacement , rotating assembly composition, etc and come out with some new and improved engines that would really compete across the board. Put it this way, lets look at the Chevrolet Camaro first and foremost. Now i don’t know about the rest of you guys and girls out there, but i’d love to see a modern 1970 inspired camaro running around the streets. with a true fastback design, large grille, modern retro lights and high performance all the way around along with better visibility and a more usable interior with a bit more trunk space. I know we all love the GM pushrod but we all know that there is going to come a time in the near future where the pushrod V8 and large displacement engines are going to go away again. This time, it doesn’t have to sacrifice performance but it can follow a bit of nostalgia, which is what is really important to us. Way back when, Chevrolet offered a plethora of V8 engines in the Camaro, some of these engines included a 283ci V8 (or 4.6L to us modern metric guys), a 302ci V8 (5.0L V8 in the ’67-69 Z/28) and a 350ci (5.7L V8) in the SS as well as a 232ci (3.8L) V6. Chevrolet’s current 3.6L Camaro is a hot 335hp engine that has all of the qualities of a proper sports car. Bumping it up to 3.8L, although small, could be enough to give the car a bit more torque depending on tuning and certain other things. the 3.6L currently puts out about 284lb feet of torque and with proper tuning and slightly more displacement I see no reason why 350hp/300tq isn’t out of the questions for the 3.6L V6 given a 10-speed auto/6-speed manual option behind it and calling that the base Camaro. Stepping up above that would be the Camaro RS. An entry level V8 Camaro with a 4.6L V8 that pumps out a decent 400hp/410tq would be a beautiful thing. An entry level V8 camaro would have the 8-speed auto/6spd manual option, 18″ wheels, non-brembo brakes, a sporty suspension, dual exhaust, cloth interior, a few options both inside and out with the RS body styling would seem to be a proper entry level V8 Camaro. Slotting above that would be the Camaro Z/28 with the 5.0L V8 pushing out 475hp/445tq, outgunning the mustang and being on a better chassis. The Z/28 would come in standard with 19×9.5″ wheels front and rear, 4-piston brembo brakes front and rear on 13″ rotors, the suspension from the current SS w/magnaride optional, quad tipped dual exhaust with an optional active exhaust, the 10-speed auto/7-speed manual, a Z/28 themed interior and exterior with a 3pc rear lip spoiler, and ground effects, graphics, a Z/28 hood (styled like the ’68 Yenko camaro hood) and a few other things. Above that would be the 500hp Camaro SS with a naturally aspirated 5.7L V8 with all of the 1LE parts standard but have the 10speed auto/7-speed manual option. Above that would be a 730hp Supercharged DOHC 5.7L V8 ZL1 to contend with the GT500 and have all of the current ZL1 attributes.
Along with this Camaro lineup, the return of the 5.7L Impala SS should happen as well with a 500hp 5.7L DOHC V8, 10-speed auto/7-speed manual ALpha-2 platform sedan that can really take a huge bite out of the Dodge Charger sales. Of course there should be a 475hp 5.0L Impala under that and a 4.6L Impala and a 3.8L Impala base car but we need a big black impala with the red and black bowtie again.
Next up would be a Trailblazer complete with a 500hp Trailblazer SS 5.7L option to compete with the Durango SRT/Jeep SRT-392. a 3.8L option and 5.0L V8 option need to happen as well.
Following that would be an off road Blazer SUV to compete with Ford’s new “Full size” Bronco. an here’s a neat little trick. If you slot the 400hp 4.6L idea under the hood with a good 4×4 suspension, tune the V8 for down low torque and offer a twin turbo V6 Diesel option, with big tires, Fox suspension, Dana Spicer axles, dual exhaust, off road ready equipment, and some good GM performance parts and accessories, you’d be doing something. Don’t get me wrong we do need a street Blazer (Blazer Xtreme w/350hp/300tq 3.8L ) but we need an off road one too.
Chevy 1500: America has gone dumb for SUVs and Trucks, especially fully loaded luxury trucks. You already have the high country but watch this. Enter the Chevy Silverado Cheyenne. retro 2-tone chevy luxury truck with a high performance 500hp Chevy 350 DOHC V8 new generation small block (5.7L DOHC in metric terms), a 10-speed automatic, 4×4, a high performance intake and dual exhaust system with active mode exhaust valves, magnetic ride, Big brembo brakes, 12 options of massive factory 22″ wheels some optioned with aggressive all terrain tires, ultra premium stereo system, privacy glass, anti glare heated windshield, heated power fold anti glare mirrors, digital instrument cluster and a 14″ infotainment display with the latest in navigation technology (all of that should have been read in a 1970’s style tv commercial announcer voice). Along with that should be the high performance street Chevrolet Silverado SS, again with a 500hp 5.7L DOHC V8, an ultra high performance AWD system, 10-speed auto, big brembo brakes, high performance magnaride, 5-different styles of 22×12″ performance wheels with options on the tires, blacked out trim, performance oriented interior, performance stereo system, navigation, Alcantara/leather/heated D-shaped steering wheel, etc. lastly a Silverado ZR2 same 500hp 5.7L V8 with a focus on off road high performance (not a dune jumper but more trail runner) needs a diesel twin turbo V6 option as well.
If GM did that with the Chevy lineup, they could drop every other vehicle in the Chevy lineup and focus their more pedestrian lineup to Buick. Buick would also be a great division to focus their electric and hybrid lineup and roll all of that into their entry level luxury line of cars, placing Buick under the GMC umbrella as the GMC car lineup. This way, the cars could keep the Avenir luxury trim and the SUVs and trucks would stay Denali. At that point, Cadillac could shift their platform to new heights, focusing on their twin turbo DOHC V6 and DOHC twin turbo V8 Black wing engines and also incorporating the new mid-engine Corvette into the Cadillac fold with a plethora of new twin turbo V8 and twin turbo Hybrid V8 power trains. which would push corvette up into the fight with Lamborghini, Bugatti and the likes thereof. GM would now have basically 3-brands under its umbrella that are all perfectly balanced. Chevrolet would be the everyday man’s car/muscle cars, Buick/GMC would be entry-mid level luxury/hybrid/electric cars, while Cadillac would be luxury/American Exotic/sports car/hyper-sports car and everyone would be happy
This is entirely from an American gearhead POV. Keep in mind that auto companies are world corporations and the growth is almost entirely coming from Asian countries. The US is a mature market with little growth potential. In the case of GM, China drives the product cycle and Americans will drive what the Chinese want since their market will soon be double the size of the US market.
So what your saying is we might as well forget about having fun and exciting cars and be happy driving around in smart cars and priuses right? You’re damn right that my POV is from and American gearhead and one who is proud to be and American gear head. By the way rice lover, Toyota, a Japanese Car company, currently has a pickup truck and its called the tundra, can you guess what powers it? How about a 4.6l v8 or be optional I-force 5.7l v8 both with dohc configurations. Also, correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t Lexus (another Japanese auto manufacturer have not one, not two, but three 5.0l dohc powered cars, the rcf, the gsf, and the lc500, the latter of the three being powered by a 10-speed auto. Also on that same side of the pond, another manufacturer which goes by the name of Nissan just came out with a titan Xd not too long ago powered by a Cummins 5.0l v8 diesel. Also the 5.0l mustang has been a big hit over In japan as well. Not to mention the fact that japan has the Toyota hi Lux which is a decent off road small truck plus the rest of the trd lineup which comes from Toyota which is still a Japanese auto manufacturer. I could go on to talk about the Nissan Armada or the regular Nissan Titan with the 5.6l dohc endurance v8, I could also talk about the 3.8l twin turbo gtr or a few other cars that fit right in with the vehicles I’ve mentioned above. All of them are Japanese cars which are also a part of the Chinese market as well. The point that I was making above was that yeah, there are changes coming, lots of them and the days of pushrod big cubic inch v8 cArs is coming to an end again but v8 performance isn’t. And seeing that China is a huge market and certain v8 cars are making their way to the Chinese market if Chevy is going to get on the ball and keep its American customers happy to, then our world class cars are going to have to play on a similar playing field. Seeing that Toyota is a major player in this game on both sides of the fence and they have a 4.6l, a 5.0l and a 5.7l option, gm could do the same thing but better. Toyota also has a slew of trd performance and styling upgrades along with heavy ties into nascar. Nissan is no slouch in the market either. Now as far as my statements on Buick, giving credit where credit is due I do believe that buick could be a serious rival to Infiniti if they were to use better platforms and have more use of some of the twin turbo v6 engines and different turbo 4 engines along with hybrid and electric power trains. Cadillac is already a world contender and the use of the black wing twin turbo engines both v6 tt and v8 tt puts them in direct competition with their European contenders. So yeah although my standpoints are 100% USA gearhead proud, they still fit in with what the rest of the world is doing. And trust me, a titan XD can roll coal just as well as any full size American diesel truck! My whole thing is to keep the American v8 muscle car scene alive, even if it means keeping in size with everyone else.
Oh yeah btw seeing that the alpha-2 platform is a global platform that fits in even more with my Comments above, not to mention my statements of the 1970 body style, which was a much more European styled vehicle. Than the slapped together quick response to the mustang 67-69 camaro. Also even overseas is big on this whole retro futuristic design. Not just because they’re running out of ideas but both American and foreign manufactures love the classic lines and ideas. Look at even the original Hyundai Genesis both sedan and coupe. Hyundai launches a sports car to compete with both the v6 mustang and camaro and the sedan featured a 4.6l dohc v8 and a 5.0l tau 429hp dohc v8. Again the same sizes as the engines I mentioned above.
Oh yeah, kinda forgot this point. Chevrolet needs to seriously add more parts to is GM performance catalog. It would be nice to see them partner with some companies to offer more street legal performance, styling and stereo options that would be backed by a factory warranty. honestly, doing that not only helps the company by getting more people to spend money with them but it also builds a bit of brand loyalty because now we don’t have to go else where to buy the stuff that we’re going to buy anyway. But we can still get “aftermarket” stuff right at the dealership and get it installed on our cars with factory warranties. it’s a win for GM, a win for those select aftermarket companies and a win for the consumer, which still goes back to a win for the GM. Something to think about.
Have no fear! GM will add a decal kit and some fake carbon fiber gauges to the Equinox and call it the Equi-Trailblazer, or some such. That’ll do the trick!
Do you guys believe that GM too are building 2 Blazers? One as we seen revealed and the other a remodeled Trailblazer that we have had over seas in Australia? If Ford is bringing 2 Broncos I do think GM could do the same. I mean we all know that the Trailblazer has been a long time coming. To me, I don’t know why it has to be this long when the Toyota 4Runner has been eating it up the sales along with the Jeep Wrangler. It’s been a popular market where I live I see a lot of 4Runners mostly middle class buyers.
But there is a market for SUV buyers who don’t want a full size SUV, but still want a nice 4×4 drive capable SUV, and GM has been missing it for years. They are dragging their feet if you will, even Ford has until now..