One of the perks of this job, and any auto blogging job, really, is that you get paid to surf the Internet for car news. I came across something yesterday that suggested the upcoming Ford Bronco won’t be available for pricing on the company’s X-plan, which is the pricing plan for friends and family of the company.
I emailed Ford to fact-check this, and yep, it’s true.
Here’s what spokesperson Jiyan Cadiz wrote back in response to my query: “Due to unprecedented demand and limited supply, Bronco two- and four- door models will NOT be eligible for X-plan in 21MY. This is similar to other limited supply vehicles like F-150 Raptor, Mustang Shelby models. Bronco will offer AZD Plan pricing for all series except limited-run First Edition.”
For the uninitiated, AZD is for employees, retirees, and dealers, respectively.
That may be a bummer for Bronco intenders who have a connection to the Blue Oval that would qualify them for the X-plan. But there is some good news for those who want to buy a Bronco, or people like me who pass time on their lunch building and pricing cars for funsies — the Bronco build and price tool may go live on Ford’s consumer site as soon as this coming Friday.
I might never buy a Bronco. But will I be building a manual-trans model with the best trim possible online as soon as this thing goes live?
You betcha.
[Image: Ford]
Not really surprising. Given this though, I’d be curious if FCA allows Gladitor (or any Wrangler) on it’s equivalent discount plan.
FCA Employee Advantage
Wranger and Gladiator are included.
Interesting. So Ford just sucks then.
The FCA equivalent discount is pretty good. Only the TRX, Wrangler hybrid, and Maseratis aren’t eligible. So Hellcats, Trackhawks, and Quadrifoglios are all open.
GM excludes the Corvette, full-size vans, and 3-row CUVs but the ZL1, ZR2, and CT5-V look eligible.
I’m guessing the Bronco will be X-plan eligible after the first model year.
This is a gift to dealers. They have 160k units that are not plan eligible (besides the A/Z/D, which is more rare). The biggest benefit to X-Plan is it gives the buyer a great starting point that is at or near invoice and limits dealer fees. Now the dealers get to feast on early adopters, enthusiasts, and pent up demand.
My experience is X Plan and the like are mostly useful for those with no appetite for negotiation. I’ve never had much issue getting dealers to sell below the fixed price for anything that isn’t in super high demand. And the things that are in demand aren’t eligible, as in this case.
This will be a hot item for the first year then the dealer lots will start filling up. Waiting until year two gives Ford a chance to fine tune design and quality also.
Smart.
:-)
Indeed, let early adopters beta test the vehicle and year two or so always brings out the really special stuff.
Just wondering where the thrill is from “building” online – you can’t touch it, smell it or drive it, soooooo……
Smart people never buy a first year release Ford.
… or GM, or Chrysler.
“Smart people never buy a Ford.”
Fixed.
Obvious. Why would For want to give away Broncos at X plan pricing and then have the dealers tack on $10k to that? Based on the reservations Ford knows it has captive customers, so it is going to charge full price.
First year Taurus was near perfect out of the gate. Then first year(s) Explorer(s) took awhile but near perfection was soon attained. I’ll get this …as an Explorer platform derivative….will havd little trouble kicking ass pretty quickly. 10 bucks says this is going to be one hell of a car…truck… whatever.
That was back when Ed Deming was still alive and Ford was actually implementing a lot of the Deming system. After another few decades generations of major domos, most of that isn’t even remembered in the organization, let alone followed.
PAIN
Typical Ford. Gotta keep those margins up which means:
-Cutting quality so far that your vehicles have to be fixed immediately after coming off the assembly line.
-Squeezing suppliers so tight that they make pennies on the items they sell then blaming the supplier when something goes wrong.
-And now disallowing discount plans.
Folks, do yourself a favor, just get a Wrangler. Better in every metric including its ability to only have to go through the factory once to get it built right, better off-road ability, better pricing, far greater aftermarket support, better powertrains, etc.
Nice review, Rob! A few missing topics, IMO:
1. You gave us the EPA fuel economy figures, but ow did YOU fare with gas in various uses?
2. At what various lower price and trim levels is this available?
My trailer towing wife is waiting for your answers!