Although I’m sure no one minds what it’s called so long as it’s good, for a long time, it looked like Ford might confer the title “Warthog” on its high-performance Bronco instead of “Raptor.”
Indeed, the automaker went through the trouble of filing a patent application for the name and even put some references to the name in its camouflage. And yet, after all that, Ford decided to borrow the F-150’s Raptor designation.
In the end, Mark Grueber, marketing manager for the Ford Bronco, told Muscle Cars & Trucks that it was that familiarity that made the decision.
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“People have a general sense of what a Raptor is,” said Grueber. “There’s a ton of equity in the Raptor name now that it’s been out in the marketplace a dozen years, and I think it’s easily understood what that brand means. And that’s what is most important. It was developed and intended to be a Raptor.”
Indeed, the truck’s success took the world by storm, leading to competitors like the Ram 1500 TRX. Now in its third generation, the F-150 Raptor is a well-established brand with plenty of cachet.
“I do think it’s a unique time in the automotive space right now,” Grueber said. “My first exposure was as the F-150 brand manager, and I helped launch the original Raptor… nobody saw it coming, and when it came you couldn’t get it for years.”
The Warthog name, on the other hand, has some pretty strong connotations that aren’t necessarily related to Ford. The “Warthog,” of course, is the name of the military troop vehicle in the Halo series.
It’s also the name of a warplane used by the U.S. Air Force. Indeed, hidden in the Bronco Raptor’s camouflage is the term “BRRRT,” seemingly a reference to a meme that, according to Know Your Meme, attempts to imitate the sound plane’s guns. Since that meme directly references the taking of human lives, its use could be considered to be in bad taste by many, including this writer.