Compilation / Zhang Gull
Editor/ Liu Baohua
Design / Leather
Source/Car And Driver By CONNOR HOFFMAN
First of all, an interesting little story.
On June 12, 1996, Mark Grueber, now the brand's marketing manager, came to Work for Ford on his first day. On this very day, Ford built the last 5th-generation Bronco, ending mass production of the classic model from 1966.
Gruber was actually a big fan of Bronco, and the walls of his home office even hung a glowing first-generation Bronco grille. So a group of people inside Ford who loved Bronco as much as he did began the "Bronco Underground" campaign dedicated to the resurrection of the classic SUV.
Underground Bronco's repeated defeats
Before Bronco's debut in the summer of 2021, "Underground Bronco" made several attempts for its return:
The first time was in 1999, when Ford built a prototype, but due to a major event (hundreds of crashes in the United States due to the loosening of the surface of The Ford Explorer's Van Ston tires), which triggered more than 14 million tire recalls, Ford also had no time to deal with Bronco;
Four years later, a clumsy-looking silver Bronco concept was exposed, but it wasn't recognized for production; later, Ford tried to rebuild a Bronco, but the market was shifting to a larger four-door utility car rather than a two-door rugged SUV.
Gruber believes that the final breakthrough is at a time when the market begins to shift from small cars. Ford removed them from its lineup in 2018, and when the Focus was culled, Ford's Michigan assembly plant made room. "We activated the underground and started making plans to get it back."
Now, Ford hopes its new compact pickup, the Maverick, will appeal to former sedan buyers.
In 2021, they finally got their wish. Bronco is really back. In addition to Bronco, Ford has relaunched two other classic names, Lightning and Maverick, placing its most iconic badge, "Mustang," on the electric crossover.
Hummer: Addressing environmental issues caused by excessive fuel consumption
The Acura is relaunching Integra, which has been gone for more than 20 years; Jeep reinstated the Wagoneer brand in 2021 and upgraded it to a luxury SUV; and General Motors is also working to bring back the Hummer, which was once much criticized for environmental concerns, which is now a 9,000-pound model with options for electric pickups and SUVs.
While Hummer was a GM independent brand before its demise in 2010, it now belongs to GMC.
"Due to the controversy in the past, GM has a little doubt about restarting the Hummer." Phil Brook, GMC's vice president of marketing, said. Unlike Ford Bronco or Jeep Wagney, GM is trying to change people's "bias" against Hummers, with environmental impact at its core.
"When we said humvees were coming back, the expressions on people's faces were 'real?' As long as you say it's electric, all their worries or negative perceptions disappear completely. Brooke said.
NBA superstar LeBron James, who owned a Hummer H2 in his early years, also starred in an ad for the new Hummer, which GM called the first all-electric supercar. In the TV commercial, the storm hits, lightning flashes thunder, and the screen displays the slogan "A quiet revolution is coming", which also represents the truck's electric power system.
Profit driven
Presumably, it goes without saying that everyone knows why well-known car companies are digging out their own dusty information folders one by one - because of money.
"If a company has an asset like Grand Wagoneer, why not take advantage of it?" Elea McDonnell Feit, a marketing professor at Drexel University and a former marketing researcher at GM's Advanced Vehicle Development Center, said.
Interactions with the market over the past few decades, and the successes (and failures, of course, of course) have made these brands meaningful to people and a sentiment. There is power in meaning, and profit in power.
At Ford, dealers have separate showrooms for bronco and smaller bronco sports crossovers. Owners can wear Bronco derivatives, visit 4 Bronco off-road schools and pick up small gifts on site.
Jeep CEO Christian Meunier said during a guest podcast in October: "Wagney is a high-end extension of Jeep. ”
Consumption upgrades for users
Americans are consuming at higher prices, and it's clear that Jeep is aware of that fact.
The brand's roots are military off-road vehicles, with the best-selling model in 2021 being the Grand Cherokee, which ranges in price from $35,105 (RMB 223,000) to nearly US$100,000 (RMB637,000) for the 707-horsepower high-performance version. Grand Cherokee is the company's new flagship, priced at more than $110,000 (700,000 yuan) and fully equipped.
GMC has also paid attention to this, which is why it put Hummer under its brand.
They don't just spend more. Americans have a new thirst for adventure and the outdoors, and the pandemic has made that yearning even stronger.
Ford seized on this idea and entered the field of rugged off-road vehicles dominated by the Jeep Wranglers for years with the new Bronco. And, it digests bronco's retro-style look in a near-perfect way — especially the classic grille.
These brands evoke nostalgia for consumers, reminding them of past times and memories. For millennials in particular, McDonnell Fett noted, "Car companies are trying to capitalize on millennials' obsession with all old things. ”
The crowd is re-listening to vinyl records; avidly watching Netflix's sci-fi series Stranger Things (set in the 1980s). They are definitely potential consumers of these vintage classic models.