When can you build a 2023 Bronco?

• Ford Bronco Heritage Edition spy photo
• Image Credit: Brian Williams/Spiedbilde

Two years after Ford launched the Bronco, industrial woes — and, admittedly, Ford's own allocation calculus — remain so woeful that the automaker still can't build enough Broncos to satisfy demand. There are people who reserved a Bronco 2.5 years ago that still don't have their trucks. As one poster wrote on the Bronco6G forum, "It's just a sick joke for my friends now. 'WhEN aRE yOu gETTinG yOUr BrOnCo?!?'"

Elsewhere on Bronco6G, someone noted a YouTube video posted by Long McArthur Ford with information on when order banks will open for the 2023 Bronco and how Ford will be running the show differently this year. According to that intel, order banks for next year's rig will open on September 12 but only for those with existing reservations. From September 12 until November 14, that large and increasingly unruly band of long-suffering shoppers will have the chance to convert their reservations into orders for the 2023 Bronco. That would give Ford clear figures on how large the backlog is before any new customer orders come in.

The crystal ball stops at November 14, the last day for order conversions. The expectation is that this is when retail orders will open, but that's not certain. Ford could find that between converted orders and dealer stock orders it already has the bulk of planned production for 2023 covered, and wait until next year to open retail orders. And remember, Dirt Mountain, the holding lot outside the Michigan Assembly Plant where Broncos pile up and endure the elements while they wait to be finished, is still a thing; it started as Dirt Mountain last year, turned to Ice Mountain over the winter, and is now back to Dirt Mountain. A poster mentioned their Bronco being stuck there from January 31 until June 4 this year.

Nevertheless, we can't imagine Ford skipping a 2023 retail window, even though the list of things facts on the ground that we couldn't have imagined gets longer every week. A clearer vision for the future should arrive by September 12.

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