Ford moves Bronco reveal from O.J.’s birthday
Ford Motor Co. has moved the global debut of the all-new Bronco from July 9 to July 13 so it would not coincide with the birthday of O.J. Simpson, whose police chase after the killing of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994 occurred in a Bronco.
The recent announcement came in a tweet from Mark Truby, vice president of communications, a saying: “The previous date of July 9 unintentionally coincided with O.J. Simpson’s birthday. We wanted to be sensitive and respectful of this concern.”
Simpson, a former football star, is known internationally for being in a white Ford Bronco that aired on live TV leading a massive police chase on June 17, 1994, after being charged with murder in the slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
The chase, a 60-mile slow-speed pursuit, was carried live on national TV. It was watched by 95 million people, according to KNSD-TV, the NBC affiliate in San Diego.
Simpson was a passenger in the 1993 Bronco while his friend and former teammate Al Cowlings drove the I-405 in Southern California.
Simpson, whose televised murder trial lasted 11 months and generated international attention before ending in acquittal, later lost a wrongful-death lawsuit.
He turns 73 on July 9. Back when the car chase happened, Ford wasn’t thrilled that so much was made of the fact Simpson fled in a Bronco and that the vehicle was so deeply entrenched in the story.
The Bronco is poised to challenge Jeep among off-road adventure seekers in the fast-growing SUV segment.
Brian Moody, executive editor of Autotrader said of the previous July 9 reveal
Motorists wave as police pursue the white Ford Bronco carrying O.J. Simpson in Los Angeles in June 1994.
date, “I’m sure it’s a coincidence, but it does go to show that bringing back the Bronco is the right move. The Ford Bronco is so
completely woven into the cultural fabric of America, stumbling upon points of ‘relevance’ happen accidentally.”