Episode 51 – 2022 Ford Bronco vs 2021 Jeep Wrangler

Throwin' Wrenches Automotive Podcast

Welcome to the Auto podcast that can Wrangle a new Bronco without a Blazer.

Follow that? I say, son, did that stick between your ears?

In this episode, we follow up on the conversation from Episode 50.1 about how comparable the pricing is between the new Ford Bronco and a Jeep Wrangler. Specifically, we wanted to see if the base models stacked up and just how cheap can you get these vehicles for? It was a fun exercise, tune in!

We also talk a little bit about Lordstown Motors. There are several EV truck makers vying for a spot in your post-2030 garage. Lordstown promised renewal of a long-defunct industrial town when it planted its flag in Ohio. It seems all too common that drama also comes with these new startups.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thebeerreport/TW51.mp3

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Feedback

Rachael says we need to “start saying the sponsor’s name right!” Morons! She didn’t say the morons part… But we could feel the rage.

Reviews

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Projects

Eric

• I added that killer Apple CarPlay to the 1990 supra. I tried to talk the wife into getting rid of the car since we have kids who constantly want to drive and destroy it. She said “No”! On a related note, I still have coil overs in a box. Need to get that done!
• The UCA’s on Treehugger 1.0 are shot… might be time to fix them. Do we redo the upper ball joints or replaced the whole setup with a better setup? This was never part of the plan… But Treehugger 2.0 might take forever at Copar to get put to auction.

Daryl

• NOS C-clip for the ‘47 Chevy acquired. $25 bucks… but where else am I going to get one? I should have the thing back together soon as I have a weekend to work on it. Too much going on right now.
• Met up with an old Chevy club friend and toured his collection. I need a garage with more storage now.
• Radiator for the ‘55 Plymouth is still at the shop. I have to shake some trees.

Bronco VS Wrangler: We go Head to Head with our Builds

Eric’s Bronco

2021 Base Bronco

• Velocity Blue – no upcharge
• 16” polished silver, steel wheels
• 255 70 16 all-season tires
• Hardtop with sound-deadening materials
• Cloth interior
• Auxillary switches in overhead console with map lights – 195 upcharge
• Floor liners – 160 bucks extra
• Some storage bags are in the front row. FREE!
• Sync4 with six-speaker audio… free
• Sirius XM… No Charge!
• 2.3 eco-boost engine. My only choice with a stick shift!
• 7-speed manual transmission
• 4×4 with part-time selectable engagement
• 4.6 gears… No charge

Total Price: $30,995 with the mats and delivery charges.

Notes

• Locking diffs? Nope. Not unless you go with the Sasquatch package or automatic trans.
• Upgrade the gearing? Nope. Sasquatch needed once again.
• Bigger tires? Nope. Need to upgrade packages.

Eric’s Verdict

Getting this stripped-down Betty will be a challenge for most. I would assume that you will rarely see this model in production as it doesn’t pack enough punch on the profit side for dealers.

Daryl’s Wrangler

2021 Jeep Wrangler Sport 2-door (soft top)

• Bright White / Tan cloth interior
• 3.6 24v V6 / 6 speed manual
• 3.45 gears. (Limited-slip optional)
• 245/75/17 all-season tires on 7 1/2” wide steel rims
• UConnect 3 infotainment system with 5-inch display.

Total Price: $30,395

Notes

• White is the only color it comes in unless you want to pay a $245 upcharge for colors.
• No A/C in the Sport unless you pay $1200.

• You can get a $1,000 credit for the turbo 4 cylinder engine, but they make you pay roughly that for the 8 speed automatic, which is the only transmission choice. Lame!

Daryl’s Verdict

It looks like the tried-and-true Wrangler remains financially competitive with Ford’s Bronco reboot. If you like naturally aspirated power from 6 cylinders, this is your topless 4×4 today… and the foreseeable future.

TWISM [This Week in Social Media]

It was shared all over the interwebs over the last week… And we are always ones to keep feeding the media fire.

5.4 million people have watched this video of a 3D printed carburetor created by Smarter Every Day. Check it out below.

International News

Mercedes to say goodbye to ICE’s

Source: Jalopnik

Mercedes can’t stop talking about EVs. It already said that it is fast-tracking EV development this month, but now the company has attached a dollar figure to that commitment. That would be $47 billion this decade, the company said Thursday. Mercedes will make eight fully electric cars on three continents next year. It’s flanking its EQS with models including the compact EQA and plans to unveil the electric version of its bestselling E-Class sedan at the Munich auto show in September.

Volvo to drop alphanumerics for actual model names

Source: Autoblog

Volvo’s alphanumerical naming system is familiar, straight-forward, but tilted towards the unimaginative side of the scale. The firm will start from scratch in the coming years, and it plans to give its future models an actual name.

“If you look at cars today, they all have XC, T8, AWD, double-overhead-cam — their full specifications on the rear of many cars. Now, we’re talking about new architecture, one that’s born electric and all-electric. I think it’s good and clear to mark that this is a new beginning. That’s why we’re not going to have numbers and letters, an engineering type of name. We’re going to give cars a name as you give a newborn child. We have a very interesting and creative discussion going on about this now,” company boss Håkan Samuelsson said.

National News

General Motors Co. is suing its competitor Ford Motor Co. for violating a trademarked driver-assist technology that’s used for hands-free features, according to a lawsuit. The automaker’s taking action to protect the Cruise and Super-Cruise brands after Ford in April renamed its Co-Pilot360 automated driving system as Blue Cruise, GM said in court documents filed Friday. Talks to resolve the issue had been unsuccessful, the firm said.
Source: Bloomberg

Meme of the current status of Lordstown Motors

For much of the past six months, the news out of Lordstown Motors has been bad — until today. The electric pickup company revealed it secured $400 million in new funding from a hedge fund. New Jersey-based Yorkville Advisors Global LP, through its YA II PN Ltd fund, not only agreed to infuse $400 million into the much-maligned EV maker, but it also agreed to not engage in any short sales of the stock, nor will it hedge the shares. That said, it can sell the stock in the next three years under certain conditions.
Source: The Detroit Bureau

Jun 14, 2021 at 10:12am ET By: Angel Sergeev @ Motor1

The ‘leader in electric light-duty trucks’ is searching for a new CEO.

Source: Motor1

“This is Fine” Is this what it feels like to be at an EV automaker hanging on by its fingernails?

With more teasers, renderings, and test prototypes than production vehicles, it’s probably safe to say Lordstown Motors is not delivering on the promises it has made in the last few years. The company’s latest press release even includes the bold claim that Lordstown is “a leader in electric light-duty trucks focused on the commercial fleet market,” though its latest move probably hints at more problems behind the curtains.

The automaker has just announced changes to its executive management team with Steve Burns and Julio Rodriguez resigning from their roles as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively. The two changes are effective immediately, Lordstown says, and it has approached an executive search firm to find permanent replacements for the two executives.

Retailer Lithia Motors Sees New-Vehicle Shortage Ending

Source: Wards Auto

Lithia Motors reports the new-vehicle inventory shortage, resulting from high demand and low supplies of computer chips, could start to improve this month or next, based on allocations it’s got coming in the pipeline. “Generally speaking, we expect inventories to continue to normalize throughout the back half of 2021 and in the first part of 2022,” Chris Holzshu, Lithia chief operating officer, says in an earnings conference call July 21.

Rebounding Mitsubishi Swings Back to Profitability on Hot New Outlander

Source: Automotive News

Rebounding Mitsubishi Motors Corp. bounced back to profitability in the latest quarter and lifted its full-year guidance on a better sales outlook as business picks up in the U.S. The redesigned Outlander crossover fueled a U.S. sales surge, while the global microchip shortage had the positive side effect of crimping production, helping Mitsubishi clear inventories.

Local News

Disposal Audits Could Deflate Peoria’s Used Tire Dumping Problem

Source: WCBU Radio

The Peoria City Council is moving one step closer to deflating the cause of Peoria’s used tire buildup.

Community Development Director Ross Black says at least some of these tires can be traced back to tire dealers and repair shops. Although, without a licensing requirement, there is no way to correctly audit businesses.

The new requirements, which are already state laws, would include detailed business records and the use of licensed tire disposal companies.

“This would allow us to audit them so that we can see that train of evidence that the tire came in,” Black said. “The individual paid the state-mandated disposal fee for the tire. And then the tire was turned over to a disposal company, then taken to an appropriate landfill that accepts tires.”

Director Black recommends the license have no cost on affected businesses.

“We are more interested in trying to cut down on the number of discarded tires and not use this as an opportunity for revenue,” Black said.

Moment of Musk:

According to Business Insider (that shady news source that we question the intentions of) Elon Musk knocked Apple, bemoaned the microchip shortage, and touted self-driving cars on Tesla’s Q2 earnings call.

“You used to have elevator operators with a big switch to move between floors. But they would get tired or maybe drunk or distracted, and every now and again, somebody would be sheared in half between floors. That’s kind of the situation we have with cars. Autonomy will become so safe that it will be unsafe to manually operate the car, relatively speaking. It would be quite alarming if elevators today were operated by a person with a giant switch. That’s how we’ll be with cars.”

GRINDING the GEARS

Eric

“You understand, I had to save money so I went somewhere else.”

I’m at the point in my life where I don’t need to have someone tell me to my face that they are going to other places for cheaper repairs, but come to a dealership for their oil changes. I managed to upset a guy the other day who wanted to bring in his own Toyota TRD lift kit and have us install it because he could save $250. Not worth my time. You enjoy our highly trained technicians and our location, so why not pay for it or get used to Jiffy Lube-type service. Nobody knows who you are. Nobody cares if you come back. /Rant

Cars of the Weak

Eric

1999 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class SLK 230 Roadster

$2,900!!!!!!! (sold or removed at time of post)

2.3L 4 cylinder supercharged, 5-speed manual (RARE), RWD

Runs and drives great

Clean CARFAX!

California car NO RUST!

The convertible top doesn’t work!

185,000 miles

Go to Facebook marketplace and look for older SLK models with the 4 banger. 5G cars all day long! For a modern Benz 2 door… they seem like a bargain. And with a broken roof… you can save some serious dough!

Turbo… Probably expensive.

Roof…. Probably super expensive

Check engine lights or wheel speed sensor problems… well… we don’t want to think about that kind of stuff. On second thought… Maybe a used Yaris for the same amount is a better deal? I’ll just pretend it has a retractable roof that is also broken?

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Daryl

1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV – $7,000

Source: Facebook Marketplace

A fantastic glimpse at yesterday’s tomorrow. 56K original miles on this black beauty, and featuring a giant 430 V8 with gobs of torque. These were kinda frumpy and strange… but had clean interior lines that were carried over into the JFK-era Continentals. I like how jet-age these look though with the vertical headlights and goofy afterburner taillight panel.

This big spaceship remains one of the largest unibody cars ever built. Many disappeared in demolition derbies along with their rival Imperials.

I want one of these pretty bad. This one is close and cheap enough to make it happen.

That’s all, folks. Thanks for listening and we’ll catch you next time!

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