Ford-UAW Deal: Ford Ranger and Bronco In, Taurus Out

by Mark Stevenson

Published: November 11th, 2015

ford uaw deal ford ranger and bronco in taurus out

Ford fanboys (this one included) will finally get the Wrangler-fighting sport utility they’ve been yearning for since the demise of the Blue Oval’s two-door SUV in the mid ’90s.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Ford is looking to get back into the newly re-energized midsize truck game with its global Ranger, and that truck brings with it a sport utility based on the same architecture. It’s widely believed that SUV will be none other than Bronco.

(It bugs me that it’s called Bronco. The long-gone model was based on the F-150 and the Ranger-based SUV was called Bronco II and later Explorer. This makes no sense! But I’ll take it.)

The two new models are to make home the Michigan Assembly Plant that will see its current models — the Focus and C-Max — heading south for a Mexican vacation in 2018. Production of the new models is expected to start sometime before 2020.

Details on the rumored Bronco are scarce, but industry observers believe it will follow a similar recipe used by the Jeep Wrangler.

Other Ford assembly plants will see changes as well, including Chicago, which is slated to lose the full-size Taurus sedan. TTAC’s former managing editor Derek Kreindler had speculated previously on the demise of the Taurus in North America, effectively turning the car into a China-only model. Lincoln MKC production is expected to fill the gap left by the discontinued sedan in Chicago.

The deal between Ford and the United Auto Workers union spells out $10,000 signing bonuses — $8,500 for ratification and $1,500 in advance profit-sharing payments — to approve the contract; a $1,750 annual bonus payout, similar to one in the proposed General Motors contract; a $70,000 early retirement buyout for senior workers; a $9 billion investment plan for Ford factories; and, pay increases for veteran Tier 1 and newer Tier 2 workers.

#Bronco #Ford #FordBronco #FordRanger #FordTaurus #Ranger #Taurus #Uaw #UnitedAutoWorkers

Mark Stevenson

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11 of 151 comments

Pch101 on Nov 11, 2015

I get that Alan Mulally has left the building, but did they forget his phone number? This is almost pre-bankruptcy-GM-like in its intentional overlapping of product. Somebody must have forgotten about the Explorer that will be parked on the same lot.

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- Bball40dtw on Nov 11, 2015
  
  Fields & Co see FCA and Toyota raking in cash with the Wrangler and 4Runner that sit on lots with the Jeep Grand Cherokee/Durango or Highlanger. They want a piece of the action.
  
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- Scoutdude on Nov 11, 2015
  
  I doubt that the Bronco if it materializes will really overlap with the Explorer. The Explorer will continue to be the family truckster while the Bronco will aimed at the lifestyle off roader market. Again I'm not so sure this isn't just the carrot to get the contract signed and the agreement to offshore more production. For may then "reevaluate" the market for the Bronco and Ranger and say that the business case does not exist for bringing them to the US. I'm almost certain that will be the case for the Ranger.
  
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- Pch101 on Nov 11, 2015
  
  @bball40dtw I know what they're thinking (and to be fair, it isn't quite as bad as old GM if they can use a global platform for this exercise.) But it still reeks of mission creep, the sort of initiative that will puzzle everyone years down the road when they wonder how the lineup became so bloated.
  
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- Bball40dtw on Nov 11, 2015
  
  @Scoutdude The people I know that are working on Bronco work on every RWD Ford product for the US. They aren't working on the Ranger and have not confirmed that it's happening. They have confirmed the Bronco. That doesn't mean the Ranger won't happen, but it certainly backs up what you are saying.
  
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- RobertRyan on Nov 11, 2015
  
  @BBall If it is already signed off elsewhere ,I guess they would not be developing it.
  
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- Bball40dtw on Nov 12, 2015
  
  @RobertRyan Or, because the Ranger was originally designed with NAFTA regions in mind, the federalizing process won't take long. If the Ranger is going to be sold here, and it appears that it is, that group will work on it in some capacity. I don't expect them to develop a product that already exists though.
  
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- Bd2 on Nov 13, 2015
  
  Mulally is over-rated.
  
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Lichtronamo on Nov 13, 2015

So Taurus is leaving Chicago and the fusion based Conti goes there. Assume a next gen T6 Ranger goes to Michigan Assembly along with derivative Bronco (in the mold of the first generation and Bronco II) Where is Explorer (and the Aviator) going in terms of platform and assembly? I read at GMI that one of the future products listed for an existing axle plant is a new Explorer axle. Could it be that Michigan Assembly gets the Ranger/Bronco but Ford will also use this platform for the Explorer/Aviator (which could also provide a global Everest). TTAC speculated before that the Explorer would return to a RWD platform. There is also the rumored D6 platform that could be under the Conti, Explorer and Aviator. Will be interesting to see this all shake out...

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- Scoutdude on Nov 13, 2015
  
  The Explorer/Aviator is expected to be a uni-body RWD biased, so no it will not be based on the new Ranger/Bronco though they may share power train components.
  
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- Lichtronamo on Nov 13, 2015
  
  @Scoutdude Then these would be on D6 along along with future Lincoln sedans (or the new Ranger could be unibody like a Honda Ridgeline and not BOF like Taco and Colorado/Canyon - ha). Automotive News had it that the first D6 sedan would be the MKZ replacement. But wouldn't this also mean that the Fusion ends up being a D6 platform?
  
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