Photo: wb.artist20 / Instagram
Newly designed from the ground up for the sixth generation, the 2021 Ford Bronco came back to the market after a hiatus of almost two decades as a sure hit for the Blue Oval automaker and a thorn in the sales charts of Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner.
According to goodcarbadcar.net, sales in 2020 tallied just a little over 5k units due to a tremendous blunder with first deliveries. The next year, of course, thanks to pent-up demand, the deliveries rose to over 108k, followed by a drop in 2022 to more than 99k. 2023 marked a rebound to the highest tally of over 127k, but after the first quarter of 2024, Bronco is back in a downward spiral with a drop of 25%.
Meanwhile, sales for the canceled Ford Edge jumped 73%, and the Bronco sibling with a workhorse attitude (Ranger) is down at the bottom of a sinkhole. The problem with the Ford Bronco's way-off-the-mark performance is that Jeep's Wrangler didn't follow suit to reveal it's a problem with the segment – a little over 24k units don't compare well to over 38k examples, even though Jeep posted a modest increase of just one percent for the Wrangler SUV.
Instead, it is firmly established that Jeep remains the incontestable sales leader of the niche mid-size off-road SUV segment. The impact of the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser (could be minor) and especially the 2025 Toyota 4Runner (could be major) remains to be seen. Until then, obviously, the Blue Oval company needs to find a solution – and pronto. Well, here's one from the parallel universes of vehicular CGI.
We all know how the imaginative realm of digital car content creators likes to lend a helping hand to OEMs – it's just not how we all expect it, usually. But there's no need to take our word for granted because we have an excellent example of how Oscar Vargas, the virtual artist better known as wb.artist20 on social media, continues to dream of automotive stuff that can't be made in the garage.
Some time ago, the pixel master heralded the arrival of summer of 2023 with an unrealistic body style treatment for the Ford Bronco – which is already available as a two-door and four-door off-road SUV complete with removable body panels. However, the CGI expert thought that it would be cool to see a third format – a Ford Bronco Roadster with a very short wheelbase, a lowered suspension, wide fender flares, and a crimson robot driving the soft-top SUV!
Well, now the design project is making a comeback – and in 3D. This time around, it's painted in a classic Blue Oval shade of dark blue. The robot is dressed in orange for a nice contrast, and only the plastic body cladding remains the same color, a lighter shade of gray. While it might not make it into production, one detail is still noteworthy – as per the side badges, the author has imagined this virtual creation with something extremely ICE-cool under the hood: the 5.0-liter Coyote V8, which develops no less than 486 horsepower on the Mustang GT with the optional active exhaust system or 500 horsepower for the Dark Horse version.
So, which one would you choose – this Ford Bronco Roadster, a best-selling Jeep Wrangler, or the upcoming 2025 Toyota 4Runner?
Meanwhile, sales for the canceled Ford Edge jumped 73%, and the Bronco sibling with a workhorse attitude (Ranger) is down at the bottom of a sinkhole. The problem with the Ford Bronco's way-off-the-mark performance is that Jeep's Wrangler didn't follow suit to reveal it's a problem with the segment – a little over 24k units don't compare well to over 38k examples, even though Jeep posted a modest increase of just one percent for the Wrangler SUV.
Instead, it is firmly established that Jeep remains the incontestable sales leader of the niche mid-size off-road SUV segment. The impact of the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser (could be minor) and especially the 2025 Toyota 4Runner (could be major) remains to be seen. Until then, obviously, the Blue Oval company needs to find a solution – and pronto. Well, here's one from the parallel universes of vehicular CGI.
We all know how the imaginative realm of digital car content creators likes to lend a helping hand to OEMs – it's just not how we all expect it, usually. But there's no need to take our word for granted because we have an excellent example of how Oscar Vargas, the virtual artist better known as wb.artist20 on social media, continues to dream of automotive stuff that can't be made in the garage.
Some time ago, the pixel master heralded the arrival of summer of 2023 with an unrealistic body style treatment for the Ford Bronco – which is already available as a two-door and four-door off-road SUV complete with removable body panels. However, the CGI expert thought that it would be cool to see a third format – a Ford Bronco Roadster with a very short wheelbase, a lowered suspension, wide fender flares, and a crimson robot driving the soft-top SUV!
Well, now the design project is making a comeback – and in 3D. This time around, it's painted in a classic Blue Oval shade of dark blue. The robot is dressed in orange for a nice contrast, and only the plastic body cladding remains the same color, a lighter shade of gray. While it might not make it into production, one detail is still noteworthy – as per the side badges, the author has imagined this virtual creation with something extremely ICE-cool under the hood: the 5.0-liter Coyote V8, which develops no less than 486 horsepower on the Mustang GT with the optional active exhaust system or 500 horsepower for the Dark Horse version.
So, which one would you choose – this Ford Bronco Roadster, a best-selling Jeep Wrangler, or the upcoming 2025 Toyota 4Runner?
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