Way Out of the Box
Ford’s squared-off, first-generation Broncos are hot today but, by the early 1970s, they’d lost their edge. The all-new 1973 Chevrolet Blazer, which was larger and more luxurious than the original Bronco, found 44,841 buyers in its debut year, versus 21,894 for the Ford. By 1976, Blazer production soared to 74,389 while Dearborn made just 13,265 Broncos.
The handwriting was on the wall: Ford needed a sport utility based on a full-size, half-ton truck like General Motors’ Chevrolet Blazer/GMC Jimmy twins and Chrysler’s Dodge Ramcharger/Plymouth Trailduster, or the International Harvester Scout II.
The original Bronco made its debut in 1966 as a fun, go-anywhere counterpart to the Mustang. A compact, four-wheel-drive
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