It appears that a United Automobile Workers (UAW) representative may have spilled the beans on Ford’s plans for the rumored Ranger and Bronco return. The news is being reported now by multiple outlets, but the initial word broke during an interview for the Detroit Free Press when a UAW regional boss noted that the Ford Ranger and Bronco would be produced at the Wayne, Michigan, plant.
The comment from the UAW member was in response to presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has openly criticized Ford for sending production of its Focus and other vehicles to Mexico. The UAW member explained the the new jobs that will be created by the production of the Ranger and Bronco would be far more important than the shift of production for some of Ford’s vehicles.
In the story from Detroit Free Press, UAW Local 900 plant Chairman Bill Johnson, who represents the workers at the Wayne plant, said that Trump is off base with his criticism.
“I think Trump needs to get his facts straight,” Johnson said. “He is absolutely beating up on Ford for doing what everybody else has already done.”
“We hate to see the products go to Mexico,” Johnson said. “But with the Ranger and the Bronco coming to Michigan Assembly that absolutely secures the future for our people a lot more than the Focus does.”
It has long been rumored that Ford would bring its Ranger back to the States (see: Top 5 Trucks We Wish Were Sold in the U.S.), and it has been believed the Bronco’s potential return would go hand in hand with the Ranger since it would likely be built on the same body-on-frame chassis. We sure hope so, since the last Bronco model year for the United States was in 1996.