Bring Back Bronco: The Untold Story

Ford Motor Company
  • 4.6 (383)
  • AUTOMOTIVE
  • SERIES
Bring Back Bronco: The Untold Story

This is the story of a truck and the story of a country. The Ford Bronco is one of the most beloved brands in American automotive history. But when the last one rolled off the assembly line in Wayne, Michigan on June 12th, 1996, it was the end of the brand, and the start of a lot of questions. Sonari Glinton goes on the road trip of a lifetime to find out why Ford killed the Bronco and meets the passionate fans and team of Ford employees who went underground to bring it back. This 8-part serial is a fifty-year odyssey of blood, sweat, and dirt. It takes you from the dizzying heights of the post-war boom, to the most watched police chase in American television history and this year’s rebirth of the Bronco.

Season 1

  1. 1 - The American Dream – 1965 to 1969

    EPISODE 1

    1 - The American Dream – 1965 to 1969

    The Bronco was created to be a truck you can take off-roading in the morning and drive to the opera in at night. It was a hybrid of rugged freedom, and practical quality. But getting it from a design sketch book to a dealership lot, took sacrifice and bravery. What does the Bronco tell us about 1966, the year it was officially released?

    34 min
  2. 2 - Cracks in the Pavement – 1967 to 1978

    EPISODE 2

    2 - Cracks in the Pavement – 1967 to 1978

    In every crime show, there’s a period of time early in the story where everything seems to be fine, but there’s also an underlying feeling of dread. You feel like something bad is going to happen, even though there’s no obvious sign of it. For the Ford Bronco, that’s 1967. Are these just bumps in the road? Or is this the beginning of the end?

    31 min
  3. 3 - Going Downhill – 1979 to 1994

    EPISODE 3

    3 - Going Downhill – 1979 to 1994

    In the 1990’s the Bronco hit the national headlines for two completely different but equally horrific reasons: The Bronco II rollover controversy, and the OJ Simpson highway chase. Which of those was the lethal blow that killed the Bronco Brand?

    30 min
  4. 4 - End of the Road – 1994 to 1996

    EPISODE 4

    4 - End of the Road – 1994 to 1996

    The OJ Simpson chase happened more than 25 years ago, and yet there are still a lot of questions about its impact. For the first time ever, we take you inside Ford to discover what was happening that night: Inside a Ford factory, Inside the Ford Call Center, and inside the Chairman’s office. Did OJ kill the Bronco?

    26 min
  5. 5 - Driving in the Dark – 1996 to 2004

    EPISODE 5

    5 - Driving in the Dark – 1996 to 2004

    Almost as soon as the last Bronco rolls off the line, people begin scheming for it to return. From fans in the hills of East Tennessee, to renegade employees within Ford, we follow the desperate attempts to revive the brand. If you love something enough can you bring it back to life?

    26 min
  6. 6 - Stuck in the Mud – 2004 to 2009

    EPISODE 6

    6 - Stuck in the Mud – 2004 to 2009

    It’s 2004 and Millennials are poised to become the biggest car buying segment in America. Ford knows they need a product for them. Armed with that information, the Bronco Underground makes plans for a new off-road vehicle. It’s affordable, rugged, and stylish. Will Millennials buy a Bronco?

    26 min
  7. 7 - Green Light – 2010 to 2017

    EPISODE 7

    7 - Green Light – 2010 to 2017

    After three attempts over 15 years, the Bronco Underground is on the verge of giving up. But strange winds are blowing. America is in a love affair with the SUV and that passion breathes new life into Bronco. But one legal footnote threatens to derail the whole project. Can Christmas come in March?

    28 min
  8. 8 - Hold on Tight – 2017 to 2021

    EPISODE 8

    8 - Hold on Tight – 2017 to 2021

    Join us as we go inside Ford’s most secretive building: Studio “S.” This creative laboratory gave birth to the Thunderbird, the Mustang and even the original Bronco. Inside designers struggle to turn the Bronco mythology… into reality. Can the new Bronco satisfy everyone?

    31 min

  9. SEASON 1 TRAILER

    Introducing Bring Back Bronco: The Untold Story

    The rise, fall, and rebirth of the Ford Bronco is a metaphor for the last 50 years in America. The boxy little 4x4 represents the arc of American history dating back to the 1960’s. The emergence of the Bronco really lines up with a whole new era of America. You've got the baby boomer generation coming into their own, you've got the women's liberation movement, you've got the civil rights movement. All of these things are sort of happening in the 1960s. In the 1970’s the Bronco was unapologetically big and boisterous. Then in the 1990’s OJ Simpson and the Slow White Bronco Chase transformed the brand from rugged… to notorious. Then suddenly… it disappeared. Fans never got answers as to why. So that’s what we are going to find out. But the Bronco didn’t die – it just went ‘underground.’ It became the obsession of a select group of mercenaries inside Ford that fought and schemed their way through the bureaucratic maze, to keep the dream alive. It was an uphill struggle that would take almost 20 years. Join us on this wild ride. An 8-part serial uncovering 50 years of blood, sweat, and dirt. This is Bring Back Bronco – the untold story.

    2 min

Trailer

4.6
out of 5
383 Ratings

About

This is the story of a truck and the story of a country. The Ford Bronco is one of the most beloved brands in American automotive history. But when the last one rolled off the assembly line in Wayne, Michigan on June 12th, 1996, it was the end of the brand, and the start of a lot of questions. Sonari Glinton goes on the road trip of a lifetime to find out why Ford killed the Bronco and meets the passionate fans and team of Ford employees who went underground to bring it back. This 8-part serial is a fifty-year odyssey of blood, sweat, and dirt. It takes you from the dizzying heights of the post-war boom, to the most watched police chase in American television history and this year’s rebirth of the Bronco.

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