Ford’s 50-year climb to Everest
Here’s a story about how Ford turned a roofless and doorless "roadster" into a modern family of SUVs.
When Ford introduced the original Bronco in 1965 with a press release touting a completely new line of four-wheel drive vehicles, the base "Roadster" model had no roof, no doors and, for a real wind-in-your-hair experience, a fold-flat windshield.
Customers wanting doors and a roof had to pay for them as options. But there was an upside: once you paid for them, the doors were fitted with locks as a standard feature.
Since the introduction of that first Bronco, the SUV category has changed so much as to be nearly unrecognisable.
Such vehicles are no longer intended as a second vehicle just for off-road excursions.
These days SUVs are real passenger vehicles, and set to account for 40 per cent of all vehicle sales by 2018. They have already overtaken passenger cars as the top-selling vehicle in some markets - including New Zealand.
Their sales growth has been helped by safety and technological advancements that have enhanced fuel efficiency to passenger-car levels. Combined with inherent SUV advantages including a higher seating position – which helps to improve vision and makes getting in and out easier – and a more versatile cargo area, SUVs are no longer the compromises of old.
"When we look back at the 1966 Bronco, it looks like such a stripped-down vehicle compared to today’s SUVs," says Ian Foston, the Ford Asia Pacific programme engineer for the Everest, which was developed with heavy Australian input.
"But it was an inherently capable vehicle, and was hugely important to our development as a company.
"Over 50 years of building SUVs, we have developed a genuine understanding of what the consumer is looking for. If you look at the press release announcing the Bronco, it talks about being designed to combine outstanding performance and comfort with practicality. The technology may have changed, but this focus is very much the same."
The increasing appeal of SUVs has helped to drive their diversification. In the years following the original Bronco and the smaller, more efficient Bronco II, Ford identified that customers wanted to use SUVs as their primary vehicle, but were not willing to make significant tradeoffs in comfort and drivability. So newer SUVs were created to cater for that.
The Ford Explorer is an outstanding example. Introduced in 1990, Explorer offered more carlike refinement, helping to set off an SUV sales boom in North America that would transform the global market. And as more customers moved to SUVs, Ford broadened its SUV lineup to meet their needs.
Each SUV is designed to meet the specific needs of different customers.
Kicking off Ford’s modern SUV family, the EcoSport puts the inherent SUV advantages of command style seating, great visibility and practical space into a small-sized package suited to navigating busy urban streets in modern and often congested cities.
The changing shape of Ford SUVs over the past 50 years.
The larger Kuga is designed with the needs of modern families in mind, and boasts a range of features for enhanced convenience and hassle-free ownership. A hands-free, kickactivated liftgate makes it easy to access the cargo area without putting down packages or other loads. On the highway, adaptive cruise control uses sensors to help maintain a safe distance from the car in front, and a lane-keeping system helps to keep the vehicle from drifting into the next lane. Advanced EcoBoost engines offer the mileage customers need and the power they want.
The Edge - scheduled to be sold in New Zealand from 2017 - offers advanced technologies and high levels of passenger comfort. Inside the cabin, high-quality materials and cutting-edge design combine to create a premium environment for discerning customers. Sensor technologies like Perpendicular Parking and Park-Out Assist help to reduce the stress of urban driving.
The Everest offers true off-road capability thanks to its intelligent four-wheel drive system and active transfer case with Torque on Demand, best-in-class ground clearance of 225mmand the ability to wade through water up to 800mmdeep. An advanced Terrain Management System lets the driver choose from four preset settings to confidently tackle nearly any terrain – or manually lock the transfer case into lowrange mode for increased control in extreme off-road environments.
More than 25 years after it was first introduced, the Explorer - which is not sold in New Zealand - continues to offer innovation and performance with features like a new 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine offering both power and efficiency, and a full range of driver assistance technologies. The Explorer’s intelligent fourwheel drive with Terrain Management System re-assesses road conditions about 20 times faster than the blink of an eye.
"There is no question that 50 years’ experience building these vehicles has given us a unique ability to design and create a modern family of SUVs that fit into a huge range of lifestyles – from young urbanites to successful business professionals to adventure seekers, and everything in between," says Foston.