The title may sound obvious, but the obvious has often proven difficult for the corporate mindsets in Detroit. Keep it simple, stupid, the people who want a new Ford Bronco want a Ford Bronco in the iconic sense. Give them the rugged functionality they need wrapped in the classic Bronco style they want, and you will sell units. This image has been making the rounds on the interweb, and people seem to really love it. Could the path forward for Ford be any clearer?

The new Bronco is supposedly going to take on the Jeep Wrangler, an off-road champ who’s style hasn’t changed since “retro” was brand new. People love that iconic style, and most won’t settle for a watered-down alternative from Ford. The new Bronco has to be the same sort of “special” that the original was. Anything but retro styling will be a huge mistake here.

I trust Ford to make the Bronco a decent functional off-roader at this point, but I’m worried the corporate big-wigs might try to water down the styling to try and make it appeal to everyone, and that’d be a dumb move. Let’s be honest here, most people who buy a Jeep Wrangler don’t do much serious off-roading, but they all love it’s distinctive style. In my opinion, the Bronco needs to compete with the Wrangler on style above all else. Whether or not it can climb a bigger rock or not is secondary for most people.

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