Negotiations between the UAW and Ford Motor Company over the new four-year contract have resulted not just in an agreement, but also in info concerning new products.
Ford has pledged to invest US$9 billion in its US plants, thus retaining or creating 8,500 jobs in a deal that, according to The Detroit Free Press, has already been approved by the UAW Ford national council and remains to be ratified by the local unions.
Planning to stop the Focus and C-MAX production in the Michigan Assembly plant in 2018 had cast dark clouds over its future. Now, the factory has got a new lease of life and two nameplates are scheduled to make a comeback.
The first is the Bronco SUV that was discontinued in 1996, after three decades and five generations. The boxy concept with the same name that was displayed at the 2004 NAIAS (the car pictured) never made it to production, but the rise and rise of SUV sales have, most likely, convinced Ford that it’s time to bring it back from the dead.
Another Blue Oval product that will be brought back and be manufactured in the same plant is the Ranger compact pick-up truck. The vehicle may be sold in other markets, but the last US-built model was built in December 2011 and wasn’t replaced since.
The Ranger will be the first to make it into production in 2018, followed by the Bronco two years later.
Photo Gallery
