Under the Hood with Pete Evanow: Tracing the Ford Bronco's Legacy from 1966 to the Modern Comeback

Welcome to another In-Wheel Time Podcast, a 30-minute mini version of the In-Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central. This is your favorite go-to spot in podcasting and live streaming. It's the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show. It's the head author, pete Ebenow, and his book Ford Bronco, the original SUV. We'll also have Mars version of this Week in Auto History. Notice that I said Mars version. I saw that and it means I can change it. Yeah, you can not even do it and you know, if I don't hit the button, you ain't doing it.

But I think that we have you all. Jeff and I are going to do it, whether you like it or not. You're going to tie me up, easy big boy so howdy, along with Mike, out of this world, mars.

We always need more. Jeff Zickett, I'm Don Armstrong, glad you could join us on this Saturday and thank you very much for joining us. As a matter of fact, let's talk now with Pete Ebenow and his book Ford Bronco the original SUV. Did you come up with the original SUV, or you know that for a fact?

Well, good morning, gentlemen, good morning.

Very good, thank you and yourself. I hope you're doing well.

Yeah, I'm doing very well. Thank you, and we. It was a debate among the publisher Zach Miller of Motor Books and myself. You know it's something that's going to spark a little bit of controversy because I suspect the folks down in Toledo will argue that they are the original SUV, but it was a term that Ford came up with. They determined that they used the word or the acronym SUV first.

Yeah, because it stands for sport utility vehicle.

That is correct. Yeah, and they used that to define the Bronco. So technically, that was the first use of the term, so that's why we applied it to the Bronco.

Well and rightfully so, and you know what I'll go with that Okay.

And Ford will go with that, because you know everybody wants to be first at something. So they were the first to use that term.

Okay, so, oh my gosh. You know, all I can think of is the research and all of the stuff that you had to go through to write this. Really, I mean, how long did it take you to write this thing?

About a year and a half.

Yeah, because I, you know, I think that most people think oh, that was no big deal. Maybe just a week set down on his Remington typewriter and pound it away for a little while, and it's all good, yeah.

But in a book like this, when you're writing something and I, you know, I toy with being a writer and I write car reviews for a little local Magazine here and and I struggle with it, it doesn't come easy to me, and you know I write it, then I rewrite it, then I rewrite it again. I didn't like that sentence, go back and change it. No, I didn't like it, so Forget that. I don't want to even put that in there. Did you? Do you have to do that as well when you write a big book like this?

Absolutely, and it's not a remitted, it's a royal type.

Upgraded.

As a matter of fact, you're back in the old newsroom that I used to work in.

Now we had Royals in there, yeah well, you know, we're all kind of dating ourselves. But when I was in college back you know, when dinosaurs roam the planet, like you guys, right, we were all using typewriter, of course.

Yeah, and when you and when you use a typewriter and you write a book, you better be darn good, cuz they ain't like going back and editing now on a computer.

I got chiseled on a chisel on a pallet there.

But I did. I started the research with the good help of the folks at at Ford. I got to give a shout out to Ted Ryan. He's the archivist at Ford and that man, he knows everything.

We have actually had him on the show. Yeah it was absolutely fascinating to talk to him. Oh my gosh, we're talking about a wealth of knowledge.

Oh my gosh. Yeah, so right. I mean, he knows everything and he's been there a long time. He was very, very Generous with his time and and research. He opened up everything to me.

He went from a different industry over to doing that for Ford, if I remember correctly, and then he stayed at Ford for for many, many years.

So I you know I I Mean the man is the man's a sponge.

Absolutely.

Anyway. So I did a lot of digging, I did a lot of interviewing. You know it was just a to me. I love research, so I'm a faculty member at Cal State, fullerton, here. I've been a teacher the last 23 years. Before that I was in the automotive business forever. I was in motorsports. I actually worked with with Ford for many years, but so I know what it takes to write a book. I've written two other books for motor books as well, on on Nissan, because I worked at Nissan in their motorsports department too.

Yeah, but it took a while to write it. It took a while to rewrite a lot of things. I had the help of a, an editor on on staff at motor books and she Beat me up. But I'm pretty good about grammar. My mother was an English teacher, so you know every day was you had to learn a new piece about grammar, so I'm pretty good about that. But it's. It's all about making sure that it flows well and that you know you're writing for your audience. You're writing for Ford enthusiasts, you're writing for Bronco enthusiasts, but you got to make sure that everything is accurate because you're gonna have somebody out there. It was. This wasn't right, and so I got a right for those people too.

I hear you, I hear exactly where you're coming from. Okay, so let's go into the, into the actual vehicle itself, the Ford Bronco, the original one. So when now the, the original one, was first introduced in the 66 model year, so that to me tells me that they started working on this somewhere around 62, 3, somewhere in there. Absolutely right.

Yeah, yeah. And so what prompted them to come up with the Bronco then? Because, let's face it, I mean, the off-road community was very small compared to what it is today, and not too many people really knew all that much about it, except the real true off-roaders. And most of those vehicles were purpose-built.

Absolutely right. The, the. The rationale for this was that they really realized that there was a niche to be to be occupied. Yeah, and and Ford was take was paying close attention to the scout that international was building right for Ford did recognize what Jeep was doing, but they felt that they could do it better. And so Donald Frey, who, of course, created the Mustang with Lee Iacocca he was really the driving force beside behind creating this, this Bronco. You know, they were already good with building a pickup truck, and so they said you know what, we need to go one step further and create this, this off-road vehicle.

Well, I think that it was a really an SUV for all people, whether you were an off-roader or not, and it became so popular. You know people go into the beach, especially out there in California. My gosh, I mean just kind of fit right in.

Yeah, absolutely, and it was a good multi-purpose vehicle because, being in Detroit, you know it was good for pushing snow with a plow and from.

Absolutely, that's right friend of mine that I went to high school with. He had one. His dad bought him one and he did that for that Specific reason. He drove it back before at the school, but he also used it for clearing lots and things.

Evan, do you ever think for a minute that that the popularity of the original little tin can yet? So, yeah would be, and hundreds of thousands of dollars now going across auction blocks now.

I mean, you know, I think there's probably people I I had one many years ago. I paid $15,000 for it and I sold it for 18, and I'm kicking myself because it probably is now $78,000 or $108,000, depending on whether the offenders were still cut. So anyway, that's just the way things are. So everything the value goes up, but it's astonishing how much the early Broncos are worth today.

To me. I'm dying to ask did you interview OJ for the book?

No, I didn't.

I think that that was a different era. Yeah, a different era of Bronco.

But I mean, that's what part of what mazes me is the amount of material you had to go through, I mean to look at, to be able to put a book together like this.

Yeah, did they point you in the right direction when you went to the archives?

They did. They pushed me in all directions, they showed me all the prototypes that didn't make it. You know that was a fascinating part that I've included. I got to tell you a funny story about the OJ one. The original OJ vehicle is in a museum I believe it's in Tennessee. That highlights gangsters and criminals and all that kind of stuff. I think John Dillinger's car is in there, so it's in with the proper people or proper vehicles. But I tried to use a picture from it and they said oh no, we won't allow that vehicle to be in your Bronco book. And I'm like well, why not? Well, that's not the proper audience that we want to go after. Okay, well, that's fine. But sales of the Bronco actually kind of ramped up after OJ's little incident and Ford was already planning on the next vehicle. They had thought that the Bronco by that time was going to be shut down as a Bronco by 1996.

Well, I think that the old saying is what is it? Race on Monday, sell on Tuesday, or no Race on Sunday.

Run on Monday but you get my point.

I don't know when the chase was on, but whatever the chase was on, the next day they started selling Broncos.

Yeah yeah, but they did send me in the right direction. I got a lot of great, great help from the folks at Ford.

Yeah, and I will say this that even the later model Broncos have become popular again, and especially if you know they've got now under a hundred thousand miles on them, that's not too much. So what was the most interesting thing that you found out in your research on the original Bronco and its design?

Most interesting thing. That's a great question. There was never really a consideration for a four door at that time. But what I really liked was the little roadster that they built. That one was the one that didn't have a door. It was more of a little really Southern California style vehicle. It came as a convertible it was. I mean, talk about it being unsafe. I mean it really didn't have anything in terms of protecting you. I mean, the seat belts were tentatively an option at that time but it to me it would have been today would sell very well with proper safety equipment. But it did not last very long. But it was. The roadster is probably the most limited production car, but it was a fascinating looking little vehicle.

Very interesting. Did you, did you happen to research what was the biggest selling year for the Bronco? In the original form.

Oh boy, you asked a question that I probably should tell you right off the top of my head. I believe it's going to be 1969.

I'm just going to say that I'm just going to guess. But that would have been my guess because you know it comes out in 66 and you know that the sales ramped up. Every people see them and they go. I really like that and I would think that 69 would have. When did they change the body style from the original the first time?

The first time was in 1977. Wow, so you know, if it ain't broke don't fix it yeah.

Yeah, so 77 is when they went to the larger model.

Actually, 78 was when they went to the larger model, gotcha.

Okay.

So they changed it from 66 to 77.

That's a long run and I'm sure that they did quite well with that original design. Anything about the new Bronco?

Well, the new Bronco. You know, what they did keep that everybody was grateful for is they kept around headlights, and I think that was critical to the success and to the homage to the original.

Well, I will say this I know that when Jeep I don't know what year that was 73, I believe 73, they went to the square headlights Booger there. Everybody went no, don't do that Real Jeep. That was around that.

One year, one year where they went to those rectangular headlights. Yeah, so yeah, that was. That was probably a major faux pas on their part, but they never did it again.

The round headlights was good. Having so many different models was probably very smart. So you know there's an old saying there's an ask for every seat. I mean, you know, in this case there's an enthusiast for every seat. So you know, they started with the first edition. They then went into Big Ben, black Diamond, outer Banks, badlands, wild Track and then eventually they came up with the big one, which of course is a homage to the sport vehicle, of course, the Raptor, which of course they call the Raptor.

But having all those different models is smart because they appeal to different people. And then having the Broncos sport, which is the smaller version based on the Ford Escape. That was a lower priced version, going after an audience that maybe couldn't afford the bigger Bronco but maybe wanted something that was an everyday cruiser that they could take back and forth to school, back and forth to work or just, you know, as a second or third vehicle. So I think those were all very smart strategies on the part of Ford and doing that. And then you know they're just so many new options and accessories that Ford offers you as a as a consumer or as an enthusiast, that you can do a lot of different things off-road as well as just To upgrade your, your vehicle.

Well, I have to tell you that I had a chance to drive the Bronco sport. I still haven't gotten the Bronco Uh, but at anyway in the press fleet. But I'll tell you I really did like the Bronco sport. And for those that are thinking Well, man, I just can't afford that Bronco, well you know, if you're not really Serious, off-roader, go the Bronco sport the. Thing right, great rides, great. I was, did you? Did you mention that in the book at all? I did, absolutely yeah, because I have a hold.

It'd be difficult not to mention it because it's part of the whole Bronco Revitalization from Ford.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely I. I have a whole section on the Bronco sport because it it definitely appeals to A distinct audience, it has its own following. But uh, yeah, there's. There's definitely a market for that, for that vehicle.

What about those? What about those years that they didn't produce a Bronco? It's kind of like a blackout period. I mean, what happened?

Well, it was a time that uh Ford felt that they needed to.

I don't know whether they just decided that the Bronco had seen its it's time, because the focus then was, of course, on the Explorer, and when the Explorer was launched, man, it took off, and then from the Explorer they built a, the, uh, the expedition, I'm sorry, the um, yeah, the yeah, you're right, the expedition, the expedition. And the expedition was, you know, kind of like the big X explore, and it did very well. And then from there came the excursion, and so they had three versions of SUVs and the Bronco, for whatever reason, even though it had a very devoted audience and a very strong membership base, was just not in the, in the, in the, the headlights or in the scope of Ford's thinking. But that doesn't mean that they weren't thinking that they didn't have it in a future decision.

I can remember being at the Detroit Auto Show in 2004 where Billy Ford, bill Ford came out with a prototype and that was in. Uh, it was a beautiful looking, downsized Bronco that they brought out on the stage. Uh, there at uh, cabo, and uh, it was at Cabo, cabo Hall, cabo.

Hall.

Yeah, and so they brought that out and it looked beautiful and I do a piece on that inside the the book about what happened to all these prototypes, but it just wasn't right. The timing was a right because they were still selling the tons and tons of of explorers.

Pete, how many pages is the book?

Oh, the book itself is uh 176 pages.

Good, so it's. It's not like some you know thing that I'd have to check out at the library War and.

Peace, a what War? And Peace, war and.

Peace. Yeah, and you and. And it is also a picture book. You got some uh illustrations in there as well.

Oh, I've got lots, lots of illustrations. Many of them come from the archives of Ford, so I have to thank them again for letting me have those.

Well, what a what a great president, especially whether you own a Bronco won a Bronco, had a Bronco or just a. Ford guy or just a Ford guy. That'd be a great addition to Father's Day's coming up. Father's.

Day, Mother's Day, my birthday.

So can you get the book online?

Amazon, etc. You can. You can get it in Amazon, you can get it at your local bookstore. You can get it Barnes and Nobles. It's uh, it'll be. It'll be coming out on March 12th is the day it's released.

Very nice. Well, we're right around the corner. Pete, it's great to talk to you. Thank you so much for joining us today.

My pleasure. Thank you, gentlemen. Hello from California. Thank you very much. Hello from Texas.

Thanks, thanks again, pete Uh, pete Evanov with Ford Bronco, the original SUV.

Hey, the Inwheel Time Car Talk show is available 24 seven through the iHeart radio app.

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Welcome back to the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Don't make fun of me, no, I was just thinking here we are, we get to talking.

We got our feet up, we got our heads set strong.

Smoking cigarettes.

There you go, drinking a beer. Yeah, that's it. That's what it is. We get it. Welcome back to the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show time now for this week in Auto History.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and Mr.

Mars is Mr Historian today.

Yeah, well, we're trying. So there's a lot of stuff going on this week in Auto History and back in 1949, I'm talking slow.

I remember it well yeah.

Preston Tucker developed the Tucker 48. It turned out to be a very futuristic vehicle. It had a lot of innovations that we now find as standard things in our automobiles, such as safety glass, padded steering wheels, things like that. How?

about the headlight that moves and the center-side cop's headlight yeah, the headlights that follow now with the steering. So it was all great. Unfortunately, an investigation by the Security and Exchange Commission even though he was found not guilty put the Tucker Corporation into receivership in 1949. And I found this the company was only able to produce 51 completed Tuckers during that time and almost all of them have been accounted for. But a lot of people think there's still one out there somewhere that's never been accounted for. Also, this week, in 1902, aaa is founded Now. Actually, nine motor clubs went together and combined their membership of 1,500 individuals to form AAA. As an advocate for Mr Road Network and Safety Drive, I think, that we need to start our own motor club.

We could do that the.

IWT Motor Club IWT.

Motor Club A bunch of hoopties.

Yeah, exactly. Then in 1964, the first generation Ford Mustang was manufactured by Ford. They did that from March of 1964 to 1973. That was the 64 and a half and it was a white convertible powered by a 260 kipik inch V8. And the great, the other thing about the Mustang it created the class of automobiles that are now known as pony cars. And then in 1969, Pontiac unveiled its first Firebird, Trans Am Pontiac, and entered it into the Trans Am series in 1968. And that a year later they introduced the Trans Am Firebird for public purchases. And that's this week in auto history Very good, Smoky and abandoned. Well, not quite in 69, but no, I know, but eventually eventually.

yes, that right. I'll never forget the, the auto Ramo that we did and we had the Smoky and the Bandit actors and the car and the whole nine years. We got a picture of them with us.

Yeah, we did. That was fun. You reviewed Buford T Just.

We reviewed Buford T. We sure did. They were really good. Well, Volkswagen group faces a pair of lawsuits in Germany over claims it was the battery in a Porsche electric vehicle that triggered the 2022 fire on board a massive cargo ship that eventually sank with thousands of cars.

We did a story on that.

One of the suits was filed in a court in Stuttgart, where VW's Porsche unit is based. The case was brought by half a dozen plaintiffs, including Mitsui OSK Lines, the ship's operator, and Allianz, one of the insurers of the vessel. According to a spokesman for the tribunal, the case was filed a year ago but was recently paused because of mediation talks planned for a second lawsuit over the ships that is currently before a court in Brunswick. Both cases will presume. If no settlement can be reached, the Brunswick judge plans to hold the talks later this month, according to a tribunal spokesman. And that's all that's still down the bottom, oh yeah, and it will probably remain there.

Panama flag Felicity Ace caught fire near the Azores Arpaqualego, arcapella-go in the Atlantic Ocean two years ago and was left adrift after the crew was rescued. An internal email from VW's US operations at the time revealed there were 3,965.1 vehicles aboard the ship. The cargo ship's loss could have cost the automaker at least $155 million, according to a risk modeling company's estimate. The plaintiffs claim that the fire originated from the lithium battery ion battery of a Porsche model and alleged VW failed to inform them of the danger and necessary precautions needed to transport such vehicles.

According to the Stuttgart court, dodge is bringing its signature attitude to the electric vehicle world with the next generation charger, while also continuing the nameplate's legacy of gasoline-powered performance. The brand, known for pushing the envelope and brashly embracing speed with its hellcats and demons, isn't leaving the mentality behind with its first EV, which includes modes for drifting and doing donuts. 2024 charger Daytona Scat Pack will deliver 670 horsepower with a 260 mile range and a 0-60 time of 3.3 seconds. Another option is the 496 horsepower Daytona RT trim with a range of 317 miles. The electric coupes are scheduled to enter production in mid-24. Production of four-door versions begins in the first quarter of 25. Ceo Tim Kaniscus said the ultimate performer in the charger EV lineup, which will be called the Banshee, is coming next year.

I can see it now out cutting donuts.

Yeah, no, no, no horsepower or no sound.

And the tires don't squeal, nothing yeah.

The Enmell Time Car Talk Show continues after this. The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants will have you telling your family and friends just what the original recipes mean when it comes to the best fajitas in Southeast Texas. Founder Stan Holt invited you to visit the original loopy tortilla near I-10 at Highway 6. Here's the original house that inspired the design of all the rest and the original charm that helped make loopy tortilla the go-to destination for Houston Tex-Mex. Speaking of original, nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade. That everyone will agree makes loopy tortilla award-winning beef fajitas the best anywhere. Loopy tortilla Katie is another location that gives you the same quality and service Historians have come to expect at loopies. It's located just off I-10, in the Grand Parkway. At Kingsland Boulevard in Katie, find yourself an Aggie Land. Head to the loopy tortilla in College Station, located just around the corner from Kyle Field, it's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game. Headed east to Louisiana, stop in at the loopy tortilla in Beaumont. It twos on I-10. It can't miss it. The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants invites you in for the best Tex-Mex anywhere.

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You can find the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show 24-7 via the iHeart Radio app Daily 30 minute podcasts available from your favorite streaming provider. We post a new episode every day, don't forget. We live stream this show on Facebook, youtube and InWheelTimecom every Saturday 8 to 11am Central Time. The In Wheel Time Marketing Advertising Advisor and Video Technical Director as we always need more Jeff Zekin For Booking Agent, video Editor Posting Possum and overall, do all Mike Mars and Chief Engineer David Ainsley.

I'm Don Armstrong. We hope you'll join us next week for a special broadcast from the Corvette Chevy Expo at the Galveston Convention Center. It's on the seawall in Galveston. We'll have another live award winning production of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. It's next Saturday, march 16th, at a special time, 9am to noon on all of our In Wheel Time Car Talk outlets. Have a great weekend and be safe out there. That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show. I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning 8 to 11am Central on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our InWheelTimecom website. Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify Stitcher, iheart Podcast, podcast Addict Tune In Pandora and Amazon Music. Keep listening and we'll see you soon.