Ford invited us this week to the presentation of the Bronco Sport, the one the industry is already calling the Baby Bronco. A product that Ford integrates just before the arrival of “Real” Bronco, which will land next spring.
Obviously, the Dearborn manufacturer is betting big on this new family of SUVs. By bringing such a legendary name to the market, Ford has no room for error. And if we trust the order books already well filled on the American side, that bodes well enough.
The baby Bronco therefore bears the name Sport. Sharing its platform and mechanical components with theEscape, it ranks in the compact SUV category by adopting a beefier look that takes the features of the Bronco design.
This vehicle, come to think of it, could also have been named Bronco II, thus referring to the little Bronco of the past. That said, the brand’s strategists preferred to go for a simple and very fashionable nomenclature, which is also overused in the automotive industry, and has been since the dawn of time. It suffices to go back to the 90s, when Ford affixed the word “Sport” to certain versions of the Festiva, Escort, Explorer, even going so far as to rename the Aerostar in Aerosport!
Sport, really?
It is obviously necessary to wonder about the reasons which push the automobile manufacturers to appeal to this designation however clear. A nomenclature which suggests a sporty temperament or at least, more sporty than that of the other versions of the same model. And yet, few cars bearing these five letters can boast of their abilities.
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Come to think of it, the trend in recent years is to use the word “Sport” to identify models that are not. Vehicles bearing their name as well as a 6 foot 4 inch Martin Petit! Think for example of all the basic versions sold at Jeep (Renegade, Compass, Cherokee Sport, etc …), Ford Eco … Sport (!), Honda Fit, Civic and CR-V Sport, to the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and Nissan Rogue Sport sold in Canada under the names RVR and Qashqai, or even at the Sonata Sport! Oh, and how can I forget the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. Admit that it is full of performance, all that.
In fact, the tendency of many manufacturers today is to use the word “sport” to identify a model lower in the range or smaller than the original. The Outlander, Rogue, as well as the new Bronco Sport are proof of this, just like the old Outback Sport, ancestor of the Subaru Crosstrek. At one time, the name “sport” was often accompanied by alloy rims and a spoiler. At Ford, it was legion. The Escort, the Contour, the Windstar … with a nice colored spoiler on the back!
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And the Bronco Sport?
During the presentation of the Bronco Sport, I therefore spoke with the strategists of the brand in order to know what had been the decision-making process leading to this name, suggesting at the same time that the name Bronco II could also have been considered.
To this question, I was told that it was not a second-class vehicle and that the name Bronco II would have been inappropriate, mentioning all the more that this model of the past had not been so memorable to resurrect his name. Responding then by mentioning that it was certainly a vehicle less “sport” than the other Bronco which will arrive in six months, I was, let’s say … conceded the point. Having said that, we were careful to mention that I would be amazed at the sporting behavior of this Bronco Sport. Because something had to be said all the same.
So remember this. A true sports vehicle will never be so named. Because we don’t have to tell you to let you know. A Mustang Sport? An F-150 Raptor Sport? No. But an EcoSport, that yes. A marketing rule in my opinion burnt, but that manufacturers continue to exploit excessively …
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