B for Bronco

The 1960s were the years of youth protests, festivals and free love, and also the decade in which Ford launched the Bronco. Today, this vehicle would be classified, perfectly correctly, as a SUV. The problem is that nowadays this label is all too often used to describe boring high-wheelbase cars that come in all sizes, yet somehow all look the same, and are almost never 4x4s! The Bronco, on the other hand, deserved this description, precisely because it really did qualify as a Sports Utility Vehicle. Especially the Utility part. Indeed, its flat windows, symmetrical doors and C-shaped bumpers immediately left you in no doubt as to its vocation, which changed very little over the years until it finally went out of production in 1996. And while most people right now are excitedly focusing on the new model just presented, we prefer to take a trip down memory lane, looking back over the adverts that tell the Bronco's story and helped to build its legendary status.

1966 Ford Bronco Advertising

With its short wheelbase and considerable height from the ground, the Bronco encapsulated people's yearning to leave behind the stress and grind of the daily commute in the city, perhaps kicking up a cloud of sand or snow in their wake. Thus, the Bronco, launched in 1966, was depicted as a loyal companion with which to get away from it all, but also as a vehicle faithful to the traditional American values that were being challenged by the “hippy generation”. Unfussy and based on clear ideas, it was dressed in Roadster, Wagon or Sport-Utility bodywork, and as can be seen from the photo, it essentially amounted to a comfortable pick-up truck.