By now, everyone is pretty familiar with all seven 2021 Ford Bronco trim levels and each one’s intended purpose. But what we didn’t know, until now, is how Ford came up with the names for each of those trim names. Thankfully, Car & Driver did a little digging and discovered the origin of a couple Bronco trim level names and one package, and as we figured, each one has its own special place in Ford history.
2021 Ford Bronco Big Bend
Slotting just above the base Bronco is the Big Bend, which is named after a U.S. National Park, but it also has a curious tie to The Blue Oval. And it all started way back in 1967, when Ford sent an early production Bronco to Carroll Shelby’s Southern California workshop.
Shelby painted it and stuffed a 289 V8 into it, then shipped the Bronco to his ranch in Alpine, Texas, which is about 70 miles from Big Bend National Park. Today, it’s on display at Gateway Bronco and is widely considered to be the oldest surviving Bronco.
2021 Ford Bronco Wildtrak
As far as the Wildtrak goes, well that name doesn’t have as cool of an origin story. In fact, it’s simply a repurposed name from the Ford Ranger Wildtrak that’s been on sale in some global markets since 2009. But in all fairness, the Ranger Wildtrak is also a purposeful off-road focused variant that’s quite capable in its own right.
Finally, we have the already-popular Sasquatch package, which is sadly only available with an automatic transmission – at least for now. And this one’s origin story is by far our favorite, because it’s nothing more than an elaborate Jeep troll job. Jeep dealers have been building Wranglers equipped with Sasquatch and Big Foot packages for years, and Jeep itself has placed Sasquatch Easter eggs on various models over the years.
2021 Ford Bronco Badlands With The Sasquatch Package
Unfortunately for Jeep, it never bothered to trademark that name, so now it belongs to Ford. Kind of like how Ford created the iconic Jeep front grille, but lost it to Jeep for also failing to trademark it. Isn’t revenge sweet?
We’ll have much more on the new Bronco in the coming days, so be sure to subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Bronco news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
Comments
Some Cool facts am glad FORD trademarked Sasquatch goes well with the Legendary Bigfoot. Jeep will be kicking itself for not trademarking it haha
Do we get more on the Bronco model naming backstories? “Badlands”, somewhat generic desert outback term but area specific in California’s Anza Borrego Desert. In fact, overlooking the Borrego badlands from Font’s Point you can see into the distance where some of the new Bronco promotional pics were taken around the Ocotillo Wells OHV area. Further, Ford’s Raptor skunkworks are just a few miles further south.