"Jiang Gui's nature, old and misty" is the best portrayal of the domestic Ford Bronco at this moment.
On January 29, this North American horse, originally born in the 1960s, finally took the opportunity of domestic production to officially meet the Chinese media with a new attitude.
In 1966, the original Ford Flame Bronco was introduced, which quickly gained a warm following in the North American market.
Among them, the U14 model, which was tailored to the end needs of the "baby boomer" era, made the concept of "Sports Utility" widely accepted, and finally opened up the body type of "Sports Utility Vehicle" (SUV) in one fell swoop.
Since then, the Ford Flame has evolved over six generations. With each generation, Bronco's rich product heritage has been faithfully inherited, while new ideas have been injected into response to the most prominent market needs of the time.
In the process, the Ford Strongman has reached the top 32 times in the BAJA Off-Road Rally. In particular, in 1969, the original Ford Lie won the BAJA 1000's first and only all-wheel drive class championship as a production car, creating a BAJA legend that is difficult to replicate.
Perhaps because of this, more than 50 years after its debut, the reputation of the Ford Fierce Horse has not declined in the slightest, but has also flourished, and even expanded its huge influence in the "off-road world" from the other side of the Pacific Ocean to China, which is thousands of miles away.
"It's the first time in my career that I've seen the media listen to the product explanation so engaged, and no one even looks down and plays with their phones. In the exchange after the communication meeting on the 29th, a staff member who has been in the industry for more than 10 years said this.
The person's comment confirms Zhijiajun's preliminary judgment on the Ford Lie Horse from one side.
First of all, the domestically produced Ford Liema presented to the public today is a product that has the ability to attract everyone's attention in the first place.
This is not unrelated to the unique and unchanging design spirit of the new car.
At the front, the Ford Bronco incorporates classic elements into its wide modular grille design, with a straight front grille line highlighting the hardcore style, while the grille shape has a hammer effect, which is natural and tough. Inside the grille, the capitalized "BRONCO" lettering is lined up to echo the classic round headlamps with horizontal elements, highlighting the unique personality.
On the side of the body, the use of lines takes into account the inheritance of the brand's heritage. The shape of the waistline, shoulder line, and even the entire window frame of the new car echoes the previous models.
The tailgate also features the same horizontal opening design as the 1966 Bronco, with a spare wheel hanging from the tailgate and the same taillight styling.
In the interior, the design elements of the entire center console of the Ford Bronco also pay homage to the original 1966 Ford Bronco, and the entire instrument panel is curvature similar to that of the 1966 model, especially the "Bronco" logo in front of the passenger seat.
For the designers, the equity of the word "Bronco" with "hardcore off-road" in the minds of consumers is undoubtedly a useful starting point for inspiration, but it also challenges their work.
How to eliminate the sense of age caused by the long history of the product in the design of new cars, and how to seek a modern breakthrough in the classics are the problems that designers must face.
On the domestic Ford Horse, Ford designers handed over an answer sheet that can be proud.
Some modernization "retrofits" that take into account the actual needs of customers in current use scenarios are prominently displayed in new vehicles.
For example, the domestically produced Ford Flame has removed the crossbar above the B-pillar, making the connection between the different design blocks more natural and seamless. The advantage of this change is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also ensures that the driver and passengers will have an unobstructed and uncut 360° view whether they are in the front or back seats.
At the same time, greater expectations are hidden in the knock-on effect caused by the imminent localization of Ford Martial by Ford Beyond.
For everyone, the questions they urgently need to answer include: What kind of chemical reaction will the golden sign of Ford Lie Ma have with "Made in China" and "Chinese Marketing", and what "integration value" will this multinational IP ultimately bring to Chinese customers?
Jeffrey Liu, color and material design manager of Ford China Design Center, revealed at the communication meeting that before starting the design, Ford designers deeply deconstructed the product characteristics of Bronco in the past 60 years, and summarized five key words: "Performance", "Heritage", "Luxury", "Adventure" and "Work".
Based on an in-depth survey of the Chinese market, Ford found that among the five major considerations, Chinese customers attach more importance to keywords such as "performance" and "adventure" for Ford Spirit.
Based on this judgment, Ford Zongheng emphasized these characteristics while introducing this fierce horse.
In terms of performance, the Ford Lie Ma is equipped with a 2.3L EcoBoost® turbocharged engine that won the "Ward Top 10" engine, with a rated power of 202kW and a peak torque of 429Nm, paired with a market-proven 10AT gearbox. This power combination combines high power delivery with excellent fuel economy.
The design scheme of front double wishbone independent suspension + rear five-link integral axle, with the tailor-made HOSS 2.0 suspension system, can maintain the stability of the body and enhance the driving comfort when the shock absorber moves in small increments, and can provide stronger support and ensure vehicle handling during large movements.
Marc Lapine, vice president of product marketing at Ford, said that in order to fully meet the needs of Chinese users for outdoor "adventure", Ford Lie Ma has incorporated a rethinking of "off-road" from the outside to the inside - although this is what Bronco has always done.
For example, you can see that the hood of a new car has a bulge on both sides, which makes it easier for the driver to determine the driving state and position of the vehicle in off-road scenarios. At the same time, the new car is equipped with Goodyear 35-inch OD mud tires as standard, with the size LT315/70 R17, with 17-inch aluminum alloy anti-slip wheels and wide-body large wheel arches to ensure terrain adaptability.
In terms of off-road geometry, the Ford Flame Badland and Everglades versions unveiled this time have reached an excellent level. The approach angle is 45°, the departure angle is 37°, the passing angle is 26°, and the ground clearance is 273mm, ensuring excellent passing performance. At the same time, the 1700mm track provides better lateral control and stability, with minimal compromise between on-road and off-road performance.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that the wading depth of the wasteland version is 850mm, and the wading depth of the Everglades version has been further increased to 925mm through the blessing of the wading hose, and the wading depth of the original factory is at the leading level in the industry.
In addition, with an emphasis on off-road and functionality, the designers have brought frameless doors and roof that can be removed at will and placed in the trunk. Not only is the front bumper visually separated from the bodywork, but the two tow hooks have been adjusted upwards to make it easier to use.
The application of cutting-edge technology is also "risk-taking" oriented. Whether it is the Wasteland version or the Everglades version, all models of the domestically produced Ford Lie Ma have a 4.7 rear axle ratio, Dana front/rear electronically controlled mechanical differential locks, EMOD intelligent full-time four-wheel drive system, and Bilstein three-stage nitrogen reduction. Both models are also equipped with a smarter anti-roll bar disconnect function, which improves the vehicle's passability by increasing the free travel of the one-sided suspension and keeping the wheels in maximum contact with the ground.
In addition, the new car's unique G.O.A.T. all-terrain intelligent management system can intervene in ESP, differential lock, anti-roll bar, TCU/ECU and other modules. While paying homage to the original model code, the system can help the vehicle intelligently switch between different off-road modes with the changes in off-road scenarios, significantly reducing the difficulty of off-road and improving driving confidence. Among them, the new car's unique BAJA mode can also help the driver fully experience the passion of racing off-road.
The decision to localize the manufacturing of new vehicles further creates room to meet the unique needs of Chinese customers
Because of this, the domestic Ford Flame Horse is inspired by the design of terrain elements in the interior, and through the upgrading of materials and workmanship, it has both wild and texture. At the same time, the car is equipped with a 12.3-inch LCD instrument cluster and a 12-inch LCD center control screen, which can provide rich, clear and eye-catching driving and entertainment information.
With the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 high-computing power chip, the digital interactive experience provided by the car machine will become smoother and faster, and it will support wireless CarPlay. Large memory and storage space (16G+256G) can support FOTA upgrade redundancy in the next 3-5 years.
Last but not least, after more than 50 years of heritage, the Ford Fierce Horse, which is now presented to the Chinese market, has maintained its true nature, and in contact with its competitors, it is even more "fierce" than ever, and even caused a significant sense of oppression to the opponents.
Ford's marketing team has apparently taken note of this, too.
"If you think about it, you will find that in Chinese, many words related to unruly, unruly, and untamable have elements of 'horse'. Fu Jie, vice president of Ford Liema brand, said, "Therefore, our team likes the Chinese name of 'Liema'. ”
Perhaps the first to feel the enduring pungency of the domestic Ford Stronghorse is the Chinese competitors such as the Tank 300, Tank 400 and Formula Leopard Leopard 5, which have been heavily diluted after the release of the Strongma.
Chinese often say, "If you are not specialized, you are not specialized, and if you are not specialized, you can't." In other words, the Ford Strong, which is both a one-size-fits-all and a dedicated one, may be invincible and capable of anything in the off-road field that it excels at.
This also means that with its outstanding ability in the dimension of off-road and adventure, Ford Lie Ma is enough to attack the market segment with a higher positioning. At that time, the Jeep Wrangler and even the Mercedes-Benz big G may not be able to sit so steadily.
Judging from a series of actions by Ford in the current period, this newly established channel brand has indeed injected such ambitions into the fierce horse.
Ford Beyond is a new channel brand created by Ford in China for outdoor off-road lifestyle enthusiasts, integrating top-of-the-line outdoor off-road products and experiences, rich and diverse personalized modification experiences and global community experiences, and is committed to becoming a leader in the top outdoor off-road lifestyle.
At present, Ford Zongheng includes two major product matrices, among which the "hard-core off-road" matrix composed of the new generation Ford Ranger, the pure-blooded hardcore off-road vehicle Ford Liema, and the super-performance off-road pickup truck Ford F-150 Raptor will play a vital role in its future development.
In response to the rising demand from Chinese car owners for outdoor off-roading, Ford Zongheng currently offers more than 3,000 outdoor lifestyle products and more than 200 official and selected tuning parts.
What's more, based on the global community platform built by the channel brand, global outdoor and off-road enthusiasts can share, communicate and even co-create content anytime and anywhere, and strengthen communication from online to offline.
In response to the above-mentioned people, Ford Zongheng plans to organize a total of 2,400 off-road experience activities during the year since March this year with its longitudinal space all over the country, and drive the demand for upgrading and modification of car enthusiasts with actual car use scenarios.
Liu Jisheng, President of JMC Ford Technology and Manager of Ford Zongheng, announced the phased results achieved by Ford Zongheng at the communication meeting.
As of January this year, Ford has opened 76 dealerships, covering 62 cities. By the end of the first quarter of this year, the number of Ford's vertical and horizontal spaces will further increase to more than 100.
As another important business tentacle between Ford and end users, Ford has exceeded 8 million yuan in sales of high-quality products since its operation for one month, with a total of nearly 10,000 high-quality products sold, more than 200 orders per day, and a daily turnover of more than 200,000 yuan.
In terms of the establishment of off-road venues, Ford added a total of 3 off-road venues last year. At present, new sites in Jinan, Harbin, Shijiazhuang, Nanchang and other places are being planned. By the end of this year, the number of off-road courses that can serve Ford Zongheng customers will reach 7-8.
The strategy of driving the sales of modified parts and high-quality products by scene application has achieved a good demand stimulation effect among the user circles, and even produced a visible positive effect in driving the terminal sales of products.
As another important model in Ford's "hard-core off-road" matrix, the all-new Ford Ranger sold more than 2,500 units in January this year, and the cumulative number of orders exceeded 8,000. This also makes the new generation of Ford Ranger in the Chinese pickup truck market share of the top three in the industry. In the more accurate pickup truck segment of more than 150,000 yuan, this model occupies 60% of the share.
It can be seen that in the field of marketing channels and CRM, Ford Zongheng is fully prepared. With the cooperation of its highly developed industrial chain, this mature operation model can be easily replicated on any model in the future. Coupled with the strong product strength of the Ford Bronco itself, people are also full of confidence in the subsequent market performance of this locally manufactured thoroughbred fiery horse in China.
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Image: Ford Horizontal