QOTD: Prepare(d) for Launch?

Not since Toyota’s American brass debuted the new Venza from their own driveways at the height of the coronavirus lockdown has a new vehicle galvanized the public’s attention like this.

Discourse? There isn’t any, other than about this singular product. At this very moment your kids are probably watching other kids talk about it on their TikTok machines, or whatever it is they play with when they’re not tattooing images of Elon Musk on their necks and going vegan to fight hate. I’m no parent, and it shows.

If you’ve just arrived from a secluded cave in which you were held captive by a family of bears, free of any and all media except for nightly live-action stage plays (about bears), we should inform you that the Ford Bronco will, at long last, reveal itself tonight. Everyone, including your relieved family members, are aware of this. Ford worked overtime to generate as much buzz as possible, earning this date in history the moniker “ B-Day” at the very online TTAC World Headquarters. Of course, it’s entirely possible you couldn’t care less about another SUV appearing in an already crowded segment, but don’t worry — you’ll still be able to participate in today’s QOTD.

Many vehicles came before the Bronco II— er, 2.0, and some of them might have been more to your liking. Not everyone’s built wild, after all.

Scan those memory banks, plumb those recollections, and try to think of a moment when you were legitimately excited, maybe even giddy with anticipation, over an imminent vehicle launch. Perhaps it was the ’99 Mercury Cougar. Perhaps it was something else.

And perhaps you were left wanting more. Much more.

But we’re not here today to talk specifically about vehicles that drove a thrill up your leg through pre-unveil teasing, then burst your balloon when the spotlight hit sheet metal. We want to know only about that first part.

What model was it?

[Image: Ford Motor Company]