Until the Mustang and the Bronco came along in the 1960s, no two vehicles had turned the world of motor transport inside out than Ford’s pair of sporty postwar hits.
These Titans of American Automotive Innovation defy categorization, and their appeal spans generations. But if we’re going to tell the story of the Mustang and its blonde brother, the Bronco, it must begin far back in the pages of automotive history, when the Mustang, in particular, was only an idea.
So step into our way-back time machine and take a journey that spans the decades and tells the story of two ‘glass-house’ cars that would reverberate through time, changing Ford Motor Company – and American culture – forever.
The Birth of an Icon: The Ford Mustang
When the Ford Mustang broke cover in April 1964, it was much more than a new automobile. Conceived by Ford Motor Company vice-president Lee Iacocca, it was a four-wheeled, full-throttle revolution in automobile marketing, design, and affordability.
Priced between a bare-bones family car and a sports car, with myriad options for store-front customization, the Mustang captured the attention and imagination of a broad segment of the consumer market, from the upwardly mobile 30-something to the hardcore race fan.
The Mustang’s Meteoric Rise
When the Mustang first arrived, it still shook the auto world. It sold more than 400,000 cars in its first year it was so popular that Ford sold out after just one weekend.
For the company, this meant record profits. For the automotive world, it meant a sea change: the Mustang created a new class of vehicles called pony cars and inspired copycats (Chevrolet would introduce the Camaro, followed by the Pontiac Firebird).
Cultural Icon Status
And then, as the Mustang leaped from the showrooms and race tracks onto the big screen, it exploded into pop culture. Famously starring in Bullitt (1968) and Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), the Mustang was elevated from a cultural symbol to a cultural phenomenon, its physical body becoming almost incidental.
The car was a representation of a certain US way of life, representing, among other attributes, youth, freedom of movement, and movement through time. In the eyes of succeeding generations, it represented a link to the past because it epitomized a certain embodiment of mobility.
The Bronco: Pioneering The SUV Frontier
Ford’s second automotive revolution began just one year after the Mustang hit the market, and like the Mustang, it owed much of its sensational success to the marketing team that worked behind the scenes.
Introduced in 1966 under the name Ford Bronco, the car was a clear attempt by Ford to address an obvious yet so-far unaddressed void in the automotive market – a vehicle that existed somewhere between the punishing, four-wheeled monsters that crushed rocks for a living and the massive chrome-and-leather land yachts that pulled up to the curb in cities across the country.
Versatility Personified
With its small, robust size, big engine options, and 4×4 capability, the Bronco quickly appealed to outdoors sportsmen and adventure enthusiasts, who were struck by its rugged, no-nonsense, go-anywhere ethos. The Bronco wasn’t just a car – it was a ticket for adventure.
Evolution of a Legend
With time, the Bronco grew to add more luxury and comfort features but retained its personality. It helped make the SUV segment commercially viable and went on to become an icon among lovers of off-roading. Its legacy is that of a highly adaptable brand that evolved to match consumers’ needs without losing its essence.
Mustang vs. Bronco: A Tale of Two Icons
Whereas the Mustang had a patriotic go-fast style and the Bronco conveyed rugged capability and a back-to-nature vibe, the two new vehicles ended up in juxtaposition, feeding off each other and creating a friendly sibling rivalry within the Ford line-up. A well-chosen advertising copy line defined the two vehicles: ‘Go fast… Go West’.
Adapting to Changing Times
Through the decades, both have been repeatedly redesigned to suit shifting consumer tastes and changing technology: the Mustang, no longer strictly a pony car, is now an upscale sports coupe that offers world-class performance and technology, while the Bronco has been reborn for the 21st century.
It draws upon its rich off-road legacy to offer the latest in comfort and convenience. Legends, it seems, don’t die. They change.
Shaping the Ford Motor Company
Their influence goes deeper than just sales data. Ford’s Mustang and Bronco, representing distinctive ‘personal use’ vehicles, anchored the entire company’s self-conception and narrative of the future and its culture of innovation for decades.
The Mustang: Catalyst for Innovation
What the Mustang’s launch in 1964 demonstrated to Ford – and to every one of its peers at the Big Three – was that they now had to think even bigger, go wilder, and exceed the Mustang’s breakout success by bucking existing taboos on automotive design and marketing.
The Mustang had shown that the US Big Three were masters of their destiny, the country’s chief tastemakers for enticing products that were not merely automobiles of transportation but visionary lifestyle statements.
Financial Impact and Industry Leadership
As sales and market share surged, the money poured in to fund research and development. Faced with a fierce rival, the rest of the industry aimed to catch up with Ford, keeping pace with, and in some cases going beyond, the Titans of American Automotive Innovation
Driving enthusiasts flocked to purchase Mustangs. Before long, Ford had established itself as the trendsetter in the automotive industry, a mantle it has held ever since.
The Bronco: Pioneering a New Segment
Courtesy RM Auctions Evans saw that Ford was out front again with the 1966 introduction of the Ford Bronco. It was one of the first vehicles to address the emerging market for SUVs (sport utility vehicles, also called LUVs for leisure or light utility vehicles).
The versatility of the Bronco and its off-road utility, which opened up new uses for vehicles, made it appealing to men and women who loved the outdoors as well as to families with active children.
Long-term Industry Impact
Yet the Bronco’s brilliant success in opening a new market segment ultimately freed Ford to unleash a whole new family of automobiles.
This brief odyssey, from the precursor of the early Ford Bronco through the very first production models, shows how one vehicle can shape a company and, in turn, a whole new segment of the automobile industry. The SUV category is now one of the most popular and competitive in the industry, with Ford still a leading player.
Legacy and Future Outlook
As Ford turns its eyes to the future and faces new challenges and opportunities, the Mustang and Bronco continue to symbolize an ongoing commitment to excellence and the future of mobility.
These vehicles represent vintage icons, but not as museum pieces—as the Mustang and Bronco move into their sixtieth and fiftieth anniversaries, respectively, future generations will no doubt continue to be inspired by their innovative design and spurred on by their sporty, trail-blazing iterations.
The Modern Mustang: Performance Meets Technology
The Mustang is still all about the past and the future. The model range stretches from the efficient EcoBoost to the rubber-shredding Shelby GT500, and the all-electric Mustang Mach-E shows that icons can change with the times without losing the spirit of what went before.
The Bronco Reborn
In 2020, Ford brought back the Bronco with huge fanfare. For proof of the continuance of the spirit of adventure, one needs to go no further than that iconic off-road vehicle. Its re-issue features modern reliability and comfort as well as a revival of the spirit of the original vehicle, with its solid four-wheel drive and sturdy bodywork.
The new Bronco appeals to younger lovers of the outdoors who might have yet to experience the first-generation vehicle, as well as groups of older Ford enthusiasts who once drove the vehicles themselves.
Conclusion
The Ford Mustang and Ford Bronco are both living legends, surviving as real products in a living mythology that continues to inspire and reinvent itself, reflecting and embodying the Ford spirit of invention, economic flexibility, and popular culture. Ford’s investment in those nameplates paid dividends in understanding how to anticipate consumers’ wants, lead markets, and become iconic for generations who fell in love with those vehicles.
Today, the Mustang and Bronco are totems of Ford’s past and what it can still be to drivers. The cars point both back and forth.
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