Glorious Return of the Ford Bronco and Ranger

The U.S. presidential campaign might be very entertaining to watch from afar (not so much if you are an American or care about humanity’s future, but I digress…), but it actually gave us a very interesting detail about Ford’s future: the fact that the Bronco and Ranger were coming back to North America has been confirmed.

Here’s how it went down. Republican candidate Donald Trump lashed out at Ford, accusing them of stealing precious jobs from hard-working American citizens by sending production out to Mexico.

• Also: Visit to Ford’s Headquarters, from the Model A to a Tonka Truck
• Also: 2016 Ford F-150 Lariat FX4 Crew Cab: 5.0 Litres of Happiness

During an interview with a UAW representative for the Detroit Free Press, we heard the manufacturers’ side of the story: yes, production of the C-MAX and Focus will go south of the border, but U.S. jobs won’t be affected with the imminent arrival of the Bronco and the Ranger. The automaker’s Michigan assembly plant will still employ just as many people.

If we are to believe the interview, the factory will add another assembly line as early as 2018; according to rumours, this will be the Bronco. Then, in 2020, the Ranger will follow. Since this vehicle is currently sold on the international markets, it stands to reason that the automaker would wait for the new generation of the pickup truck to move production into the U.S. of A.