The Ford Bronco TGIF-B: Thank Goodness it’s a Ford Bronco

The Day the SUV Almost Became Extinct

The death, demise and burial of the SUV screamed the headlines in November of 2008. The start of the free-fall of the worldwide economy was well underway. The price of gasoline was over four dollars a gallon. Some now speculated that petro was headed just south of five dollars to the gallon. The bottom of the wholesale market on SUV’s collapsed. The resale value of SUV’s where in elevator shaft free-fall. Rumors started to fly of people parking their SUV on the side of the road and walking away persisted. The manufactures were going to scrape production of all SUV’s in favor of smaller more fuel efficient vehicles. That was the end of 2008.

October 2010- America’s love affair with the SUV marches on unabated—– (You can’t take the spots off of a Dalmatian)

Yesterday I drove through the parking lot of the largest shopping mall in Dallas, Texas. Almost half, 50% of the vehicles where SUV’s or their kissin cousins the Crossover. he SUV is to the American family what Red White and Blue is to the 4th of July.

The Marketing and Engineering Genius of Ford the Beginning of Americas SUV Love Affair; The Advent of the Ford Bronco August 1965When Ford launched the Bronco in August 1965 it marked the beginning of a new era in the history of off-road vehicles, at least from an American point of view. Until then, four-wheel-drives had either been made by the specialist domestic manufacturers, Jeep and International. or they were imported in small numbers from Toyota or Land Rover. No mainstream motor maker had attempted to build a lightweight four-wheel-drive for the man in the street.

Yet Ford marketing analysts could see that International was doing well with the Scout; bigger and more modern than the basic Jeep, it was clearly fulfilling a demand for a slightly more civilized 4×4. At the same time, American two-car families were searching for something more interesting to run as a second vehicle, and an off-roader seemed to fit perfectly the outdoor lifestyle to which many Americans aspired.

In 1960, about 11.000 lightweight 4x4s were sold in the U.S., which had more than tripled to 35,000 by 1965. Ford itself predicted that demand would double again to 70,000 by 1970, a forecast that proved remarkably accurate.

No company with the marketing genius of Ford could ignore an opportunity like this. After all, it was fresh from the success of the Falcon, a lightweight sedan, and Mustang  the pioneering pony car, both of which had sold nearly half a million in their first year.

No one was suggesting that a four­ wheel-drive Ford could hope to approach those figures, but it did have the potential to share parts with both Mustang and Falcon, thus driving down costs and cutting development time.

In fact, with the size of the 4×4 market as it then was, no other course would have been economically viable, especially as the Bronco would have to be designed, shared parts aside, on a clean sheet of paper and Ford had no suitable commercial vehicle on which it could he based.

But it did have the International Scout, already a proven success, which is why, when the Bronco was finally announced in the summer of 1965 as a 1966 model, it not only looked very similar to the boxy Scout, but every major dimension was within an inch or two of the International.

The exception was the wheelbase, which was a full 8-in shorter than that of the Scout. Both vehicles were noticeably longer than the Jeep, which was shorter and several hundred pounds heavier. So it was obvious from the start that Ford wasn’t trying to beat the Jeep at its own game, merely to chase the growing market that the larger more user-friendly Scout appeared to have generated.

There were some significant differences, however.

A legacy of the parts shared with the Falcon-Mustang family was the sole engine option, a 170-cubic inch six-cylinder.  The first Bronco therefore had a significant power advantage over the four-cylinder Scout.

There were a few changes to the familiar Ford six-cylinder in its new off-road role: a modified single-barrel carburetor and heavy-duty fuel pump  aimed at keeping the motor supplied, whatever angle the Bronco was facing at the time. There was an oil-bath air cleaner, more effective than a dry element on the dusty hack roads, and a larger oil capacity of six quarts. A skid pan was optional to help protect clutch from accidental damage by sharp rocks.

As tor transmission, the basic gearbox was Ford’s existing three-speed column-shift manual, with synchromesh. This was mated to a two-speed transfer case controlled by a floor-mounted lever that could shift between four-wheel-drive low-range, neutral and two-wheel­ drive high.

A new feature of the transfer case was that two ­wheel-drive came direct, without engaging the transfer gears at all. So these would be stationary or on-road mileage, saving on noise, plus wear and tear. The brakes were another result of a rummage through the Ford parts bin, contributing heftier drums all round. At the time, these drums were thought to be over specified. It would he nearly a decade before Ford fitted front discs as standard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ford made much of the anti-dive geometry built into the front suspension so that it reduced front end  dive under heavy braking, it made it easier to use the optional snow plow attachment! In the hardtop Bronco, the one that looked most like a station wagon, it was necessary to pay extra for the rear seat.

Maybe it was just as well that the entire chassis was welded out of heavy-gauge steel. But in one way the Bronco’s under-body did mark it out as different from the Scout. The live front axle was located by radial arms extending back to near the transmission cross member, and was able to take the braking and driving forces, while a tubular track bar also located the axle. This meant that the front springs had nothing to do apart from cushioning the body, so Ford was able to fit coils instead of the leaf springs which every other 4×4 possessed. The result was a more comfortable ride, plus the added advantage of a smaller turning circle as the coil spring took up less room.

At first, the Bronco came in three versions: Hardtop. Pickup and Roadster. The latter had no roof of any kind, and for true wind-in-the-hair sensation one could fold down the windshield, while the pickup suffered from a very short bed of limited usefulness. “The roadster was soon dropped. The pickup hung on for many years. The hardtop Bronco, preferably with optional rear seat in place, became the key seller.

Ford had intended its new 4×4 to sell as much to farm and forestry workers as to weekend off-readers; at the 1965  launch,  Ford  general manager Donald Frey made that clear, describing  the Bronco as “neither a car nor a truck, but as a vehicle which combines the best of both worlds. The Bronco can serve as a family sedan, sports roadster, snow plow or farm and civil defense vehicle. It has been designed to go nearly anywhere and do almost anything’.

This was reflected in the options list, which included ft and rear power take-offs, snow plow, a low bar, tow hoof and a winch – even a hand throttle to ease driving over severe off-road conditions. Then there was a mower, a power broom and a post-hole borer. But most buyers wouldn’t have been interested in snow plow or power brooms. The Bronco’s real appeal was to weekend sportsmen, “oil-road enthusiasts and  aspirational  urbanites, for them, Ford offered an option “custom equipment package”, which brought a cigarette lighter, chrome plating for the wheel covers, fenders and light bezels  full-width,  front floor mat, oil pressure gauge, Ammeter, horn ring and dual sun visors. A radio and  baggage rack were among the other options.

So what did the magazines think of it? Fortunately, in those days. they weren’t always so ruthlessly critical. Putnam-Science Month proclaimed The Bronco to have a ‘passenger car ride and sports car handling’, while Car Life loved it .  Producing the headline. ‘Even a Dude Will Holler Eeeeeeaaayyhhoor!! However  Dude  even had to admit that a highway cruising speed of 55mph  limited by low gearing, was on the low side. At 60 mph they felt this the little six was working unnecessarily hard and seemed about to blow its top at  the maximum of 74mph.

In its intended use, however, the Bronco had a happier time. Car- Life drove it up into the California mountains, “through muddy creek beds and a hog or two Slush, frozen mud. stiff sagebrush and broken rock were taken in stride with the Bronco’s range of’ gearing’. But theystill wanted a bigger engine option, plus overdrive, to provide more relaxed highway cruising.

More than one road tester had already noticed that the Bronco’s engine bay was easily wide enough to take Ford’s 289 V8. Moreover  they recommended keeping a spare set of wheels with chunky off road tires in the garage, the standard Goodyear Power Cushions being too road-biased to give adequate traction in muddy conditions.

Car Life considered the Bronco’s ride, stiff to say the least’, but not as harsh as that of other 4×4′s. In fact, it maintained that Ford’s four-wheel-drive had fewer idiosyncrasies for the 4×4 novice to get used to than the Jeep, Scout, Land Cruiser or Land Rover. It liked the gear change and fine visibility, and thought that 14mpg was reasonable after the tank of fuel had coped with a 5,000­ft mountain climb in four-wheel-drive. Despite the short legs, Car Life was won over by the Bronco:  it didn’t pronounce it a fun car, but somehow one knew that’s what it meant.

Power & Speed

Whatever the truth, third parties lost no time making their own improvements to the Bronco. Barris Kustom, of North Hollywood, California, produced the one-off Bronco Sportsman, a roadster painted in Golden Saddle Pearl, with a roll bar, walnut side panels, wide wheels, bucket seats and many other period custom details. It made the rounds on motor shows in 1966.

Later the same year Open Road Campers announced a two-berth camping unit which could be fitted to or removed from a Bronco pickup in a few minutes. It came fully equipped with a double bed, 50-lb ice box, three-burner gas range and electric lights.

But the big news came in September 1966, when Ford unveiled its own Bronco V8. It had been simple enough to produce: the very first journalists to take a look under the Bronco’s bonnet observed that the engine bay was nicely VS-sired. and Ford’s well-proven 4.7-litre unit, also shared with the Falcon and Mustang, was ready and waiting. It turned the Bronco into something that really did buck, with   200hp at 4,400 rpm and 282 ft at 2,400. This was the first lightweight 4×4 to offer a V8 an option Jeep didn’t yet have, and although International soon responded with a VS Scout, it couldn’t match the Ford for power, while Land Rover’s V8 Range Rover was still four years away. According to Four Wheeler magazine, the combination of V8  power with front and rear limited-slip differentials made the Bronco unbeatable on the rough. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, when off-road competition was just beginning to emerge, from short local meetings to the famous Baja 1000. The Bronco V8s acquitting themselves well in both.

The V8 was all very well, but it was little more relaxed than the six on long highway drives, as it still featured the same three-speed manual transmission. With no  sign or a solution from Ford. the specialists moved in. The Rancho overdrive, on offer from 1968  , was able to use the full potential of the torquey 289 to reduce engine revs by a substantial 33 per cent, from 3,9000 rpm at 65mph lo just 2.600, resulting in less noise, less wear and tear and less driver fatigue. One magazine found that economy improved from 13.7 mpg without overdrive to 17.5 mpg with it. That same year, Ford replaced the Bronco’s 289-V8 with a 302 , making the need for an official solution even more urgent.

The alternative was a four-speed conversion. Fairway Ford of Placentia, California, sold an adaptor kit to allow any suitable Ford four speed gearbox to be fitted, with dramatic results. Four Wheeler magazine tested a 1969 Bronco 302 with this conversion and changing up at 4,000rpm found it to he capable of 35mph in first gear, 50 mph  in second, 65 in third, running up to around 85mph in fourth. Moreover, it gave a wider choice of ratios for off-road driving.

 

Whatever the number of gear ratios, the Bronco continued to be the 4×4 to beat in off-road racing, where it came to dominate major events like the Baja 1000 and Ascot as well as many local races. It’s short wheelbase give it more maneuverability than the  Scout and new Chevy Blazer. For weekend competitors, it was probably the best buy.

The Blazer,launched in 1969. represented a real threat the first response from a mainstream manufacturer to Fords 4×4. It looked bigger, tougher and less utilitarian than the boxy Bronco, and by 1971 Chevrolet was struggling to keep up with demand. Motor News compared a Blazer with a Bronco and Jeepster Commando that year. and drove them into the mountains of eastern California.

One look at the specification sheet suggests that the Bronco may have met its match. the Blazer having more space, power and comfort. It had an automatic transmission option, plus power steering and disc brakes, while the interior was more like a car than a van. Back from its mountain trip which had been a combination of dusty tracks, rocky grade and smooth highways, the Motor Trend team awarded the Blazer a narrow victory, with the Bronco a close second. The poor old Jeepster didn’t really stand a chance, in that it was considered underpowered and too much of a compromise between street and trail. Ford engineers went back to the drawing board and began plans for the next generation Bronco.

 

Popularity: 13% [?]

SUV’s – Best All Time – Car Buying Tips – Brad Your Car Guy

The Selection Criteria & True

Starting with this post I will list the most influential SUV’s  of all time. This list will comprise almost every SUV manufacturer or name plate. The more copy per vehicle in this first post does not signify the overall importance in the All Time List. Other makes and models will be listed, often by name only, to demonstrate the growth and expansion of this niche. However most of these will be pretenders rather than contenders for the Top Ten List.

After I complete the all time list I will then break down this list, eliminate the non-contenders then set up and rank them in a Top Ten List. I will rank them One to Ten starting with the number ten of most influential SUV of all time.

Major Reviews

As part of and Included in the Top Len list will be major review of each SUV. To start is an overview of the SUV market in alphabetical order by manufacturer. If you don’t see a particular model listed it is because the parent SUV is listed.  The other SUV’s makes or models in that family are in essence “children”…Example: Ford Bronco is the Parent. The Ford Explorer would be a descendant of the Bronco or the Parent. The descendants or children would continue with the Excursion, the Navigator and so on.

The Birth of the SUV

The first SUV’s had their birth in WWII with the Jeep. These were actually hybrids of the Sport Utility Vehicles to follow.  They were working vehicles rather than SUV’s.  Their application as passenger carriers being somewhat of an afterthought.

The Contenders in Alphabetical Order

Chevrolet Blazer:

Off-road racing began to grown in popularity and four wheel drive was increasingly seen as a new leisure pursuit, part of the great American Outdoors. This encouraged General Motors to wade in with the 1969 Blazer almost four years after Ford introduced the Bronco.

Ford Bronco:

When Ford launched the Bronco in August 1965 it marked the beginning of  a new era in the history of off-road vehicles, at least from an American point of view. Until then, four-wheel-drives had either been made by the specialist domestic manufacturers, Jeep and International,  or they were imported in small numbers from Toyota or Land Rover. No mainstream auto manufacturer, up until the mid 1960’s attempted to build a lightweight four-wheel-drive for the man in the street.

Datsun (Nissan) Patrol:

The Datsun launched a research program into a new 4X4 whose appearance left no doubt as to it’s inspiration. The time was 1950 and occupied Japan was full of Jeeps. Production started in 1951 with great success. It continued to sell well 50’s. 60’s and into the 70’s and became the off-road of choice in Southeast Asia and Africa. Then exports exploded in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Nissan was right around the corner.

 

Dodge Ramcharger:

Like the Blazer and Bronco the Ram-Charger was little more than a pick-up with a hard and longer list of options. By today’s standards they were crude SUV’s. Oh well, you do have to start somewhere.

 

HONDA: This is a classic example of a manufacturer that came to SUV’s late, attracted  to the flourishing marketing in the late 1990’s. It had no history of four wheel drive. In 1997 and 1998 CR-V and the HR-V were Honda’s take on the SUV.

Hummer:

By the late 1970’s the Jeep was no longer capable of satisfying modern military needs. It was now too small, too slow, and not sophisticated enough for the US Army. So a competition was launched to design and supply what the Army officals termed a High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle-HMMWV later shortened to Hummvee and still later to Hummer.

Isuzu:

Isuzu is Japans oldest manufacturer, its origin stretching back to 1916; but it was the last of its compatriots to make the transition to 4 wheel drive in 1981 with the introduction of the Trooper.

International Scout

Truck maker International threw their hat in the four drive market with the introduction of the Scout. The Scout was an off road vehicle aimed at the fanatical off road enthusiast, a fast growing market segment.

 

During World War II the US needed a go anywhere reconnaissance vehicle. The result was the Jeep, an icon of the 2oth century and part of the American dream. It also made a fortune for Willys Overland, and inspired a whole fleet of other manufactures to build their own versions after the war, with Land Rover, Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu and Mahindra, among others all producing post-war four wheel vehicles as a result.

MERCEDES BENZ G CLASS: The story of the Mercedes Benz SUV is the story of just models the G-Wagen and the M Class. The G-Wagen was designed and built in Europe, originally as a military vehicle. The M-Class, although designed in Europe was built in a new plant in Alabama for the North American Market. The engineering trick was to take the on-road brilliance to the off-road experience.

 

Range Rover:

Was a milestone change. Here was a SUV that could outperform any other off-roader. The long-travel coil-sprung suspension with load leveling at the rear gave the Range Rover unrivalled ride on-road. This SUV was the impetus for the luxury market in Europe.

Subaru:

Subaru was really never in the SUV market in the image of Land Rover, Jeep or Toyota SUV’s. What Subaru did was pioneer the use of 4 wheel drive in the conventional sedan passenger cars.

 

Suzuki:

Suzuki came late to the world of off-road vehicles exporting its first 4X4 to the West in 1971. The Suzuki Brute sounded big but was really the smallest road-legal-off-roader in the world. The little Brute failed in Africa, although it seemed it would stand a chance in the U.S.A. At this time small was beautiful.

Toyota Landcruiser:

The Toyota abandoned the copycat pickup adoption and was really a passenger version of a tough working vehicle. The Toyota in the late 60’s was starting, just beginning to catch on as quality vehicle, in the mid-range price category. The SUV market gave the Toyota niche a higher ride, better view and perceived safety over the Toyota passenger vehicles.

Volvo:

By right, traditional Volvo owners should be ideal SUV customers. They like roomy, well-built cars that have presence and status. But t is was not until 1997 that Volvo offered a 4 wheel version.

 

Other Contenders and Pretenders:

Daihatsu, Hyundai, Kia, Lada, Lexus, Mahindra, Maserati, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Volkswagen.

The next post(s) will take each SUV listed and examine in detail prior to releasing the Top Ten.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Doenges Ford-Bartlesville Oklahoma-a Genuine Legacy

By Russ Mullin Guest Contributor

To Live-To Love-To Learn-To Leave a Legacy. The term legacy implies leaving something of value for others to enjoy and or benefit from. Before you can pass along or bequeath value you have to earn the value. True value is earned by design, desire, vision, sacrifice, giving, learning , passion and hard work.

Giving Back to the Community. We hear this term a lot and at times  “giving back to the community” echos  a shallow rhetoric theme.  Some businesses have no idea what giving to their community really is. I have seen ads in different forms of media proclaim “We give back to the community”.  Action speaks louder than words.  The business that really gives back value does so incognito. You don’t need to brag about it.

A local, hometown business is dependent on the local population for survival and success. The business must offer their products at a fair price and excellence in service after the sell.  Excellent service is another over used and abused word. When we discuss the  equation of a Legacy  the terms service and excellence must be defined.

What is Excellence in Service? To achieve excellence does this mean satisfy 100% of your customers 100% of the time?  I think we would both agree this is a fantasy. No one person or company is 100% .  But 97% or 98% is a fantastic number to shoot for.

The 3% Brain Damage  Rule. I have found in my business career that there are three people out of every one-hundred I cannot satisfy regardless of what I do.  Sometimes I think these three customers are people who’s  sole goal in life is to complain and spread misery, they are radioactive in any environment they occupy. If you work in any customer service environment you will meet three jerks out of every 100 customers you encounter. To prevent brain damage when you encounter a jerk just say to yourself “one down two to go”.

Excellent Service is Not A Destination. Now I don’t want to leave the impression that the other 97 customers are always in the “hunky-dory” mode. We have our service problems but I can tell you we solve 99%  of all service issues.  You may ask well how about the other 1% ?  Well there is at least one loon out there  for every 100 customers who will never be satisfied. I call it one of  life’s mystery that will never be solved.

So What Does All of This Have to do With The Doenges Legacy? Before you can even be considered a Legacy excellent service needs to be an integral function and part of you business DNA. Excellent Service covers a wide net. You need to think in terms of Service in the following four areas.

• Excellence in Service to Your Customers
• Excellence in service to Your Employees
• Excellence in Service to Your Vendors
• Excellence in Service to Your Community

To build a legacy you need to hit the ball out of the park on all four of these service levels. Then you have to do it for five or more consecutive years.

The Doenges Family has been an Excellent Service Provider in All Four Arenas For the Last 69 Years! The Doenges team has mastered these  four areas of Exemplary Service for 69 years. How many other enterprises, nationwide,  have achieved this plateau of distinction? Well we both know that answer, few and far between. 

Awards Should  be  Designed to Recognize Superlative Achievement. One proud community in Northeast Oklahoma hosts a prestigious Award Program called the Legacy Hall of Fame . According to Julia Crouch the Bartlesville Community Foundation that produces the event; The  2010 Legacy Hall of Fame honoree, the Bill Doenges family, represent generations of giving back to the community of Bartlesville.

Bill Meets Bert 69 Years Ago-The Start of Another Bartlesville Legacy. Crouch  continues, the Doenges family story came to life in Bartlesville in 1941, when William C. “Bill” Doenges, purchased the Ford dealership from Bert Gaddis. Bill had already been working in the car business for over twenty years, operating numerous dealerships, including Tonkawa and Coffeyville. Bill continued to expand his business and bought the Ford agency in Tulsa in 1948.

How Bill and Elizabeth Spreed the Wealth. Crouch added , the car business wasn’t the only love that Bill Doenges passed on to his family. He and his wife Elizabeth really cared about this community. Through their leadership and financial support for dozens of organizations, sports teams, and causes, the couple set a great example for others to follow. That spirit of generosity is seen in present-day Bartlesville, as the Doenges family continues to invest quietly in valuable programs and community projects, including being the longest-running sponsor of an American Legion baseball team in the United States.

Today, two generations later, Doenges Toyota Ford Lincoln Mercury continues its success as a premier auto dealership in Bartlesville.

Popularity: 7% [?]

What the Heck Happened at Price Tower? The Doenges Ford F-150 Platinum Price Tower Promotion Recap

“Debate is Good for the Soul”

As promised I’m going to provide you with a detailed account of the Price Tower “Drop Event” we staged Friday night July 10th 2009. However it may not be posted until in the morning due to the volume of feedback that continues to pour in.

The Community support and enthusiasm was real strong; over 2,500+ men, women and children showed up.

The feedback and debate on the merits of this event [pro and con] has been lively,spirited and welcome.

* I plan to publish every comment [pro and con] that we have received in this blog/column/ website www.bradyourcarguy.com, as well as all the comments and feedback from  Facebook, Myspace, Google, the Bartlesville Enterprise Newspaper, e-mail and phone calls.

• There have been a few rumors pop-up that we will dispel and answer.
• If you have any additional comments please post them below.

Sincerely

Brad Doenges

P.S. The last Big Debate is pictured below…do you remember this one?

Popularity: 100% [?]

Three Reasons Why Ford Motor Company is Not on the Front Page of the Interent, TV or Newspaper

In the business of reporting the news there is a slang term the media uses, “If it bleeds, it leads”. Interpretation: The more negative, horrifying, and grotesque the story, it is guaranteed the lead story on TV and front page of the Internet or the newspaper. Now if you throw in some “blood splatter” you are guaranteed a ringside seat for days if not weeks to come.

So with that introduction let me state my “3 Reasons Why Ford Is Not in the Headlines”

Reason # 1. Ford Motor Company has nothing negative to report.

The only news coming out of Ford Motor Company is good news. Unfortunately good news gets buried on page 32, if reported at all. For instance here are a few “good news stories”

• Ford is offering “Chrysler Orphans” incentives to discover the Ford Advantage.
• Ford Stock is selling at 600% better than GM
• Ford is increasing production of its vehicles to meet a strong demand.
• Ford just announced the strongest month of sales since July 2008
• In the Arts….Ford donated a million dollars to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra fund raising arm.

Reason #2. Ford Motor Company has offered the Best Vehicle Purchase Plans and Incentives Available.

• Get it  straight from the “horses mouth”, go check out what you get for your money when you purchase a Ford. You and your family are in for a delightful surprise, find out this man’s confession and then the truth. Just click on the following link (after viewing click on the return arrow at the top left of the your screen to go back to this site)  http://www.thefordstory.com/planandprogress
  
• Ford has a whole book on incentives and special deals to apply to a purchase of a new vehicle that we don’t have room to list here. For the complete list call 918-333-0900 and ask for Tina.
• Every incentive offered is made with the idea of boosting consumer confidence in purchasing a Ford Product, with no hooks, no surprises, no games…just the fact you made the right decision.
• These  plans also offers you and your family 0% and other attractive financing options.
• The resell value of your vehicle will hold up real well compared to the competition.

Reason # 3. Instead of Exerting all of their Energy Putting out Fires and Administrating CPR; Ford Motor Company is Innovating on Three Consumer Focused Fronts. Producing Quality, Producing New Products, Producing New Purchase and Finance Opportunities our Customers Deserve.

• While GM and Chrysler are spending all their money and effort on deciding what life support system they need, Ford has at least 57 new consumer focused products on the drawing boards.
• We wish all the luck to our domestic competitors, fact is it will take them years to catch up, if ever.
• Ford Motor Company is now and will be for a long time the leader in total automotive innovation and quality and resell value. Ford will be the domestic Gold Standard for quality and value.
• Ford Motor Company commitment is to improve everyday as the leading transportation problem solvers in the world by producing one quality vehicle at a time. Making our customers and employees life’s better one day at a time in the process.

I want you to log this into your daily planner or your to do list and jot this down…. Come visit our dealership, Doenges Ford-Lincoln-Mercury in Bartlesville Oklahoma, pick a vehicle you like and take a test drive. At the end of the test drive I guarantee you will understand our commitment to innovation, passion and the reasons why we are the best choice.

Popularity: 42% [?]

Ten Signs You Need a New Car

People love their cars. They form bonds with them very much like they form with friends and family members, especially in parts of the country, like here in Bartlesville, where a car is a necessary part of life. And what’s not to love. Cars are, for the most part, beautiful pieces of machinery that make our lives a lot easier and a lot more fun. Every now and then, though, that love can turn into something ugly. I mean really ugly.

Do you know anyone who has a favorite shirt or pair of jeans that they have had waaayyyy too long? You know, the ones with all the holes in them that show some patches of skin that normally aren’t supposed to see daylight. Well, people often have a tendency to do the same thing with their cars. They drive them until the simply wont run any longer.

The problem is that, just as with people you love, when you are too close to something you often have problems seeing its faults. With people this is fine. We should hold onto them as long as we can. But cars are inanimate objects and there comes a time when it is high time to just let that sucker go.

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Popularity: 28% [?]

Toyota Camry — The Crowned King of Used Cars

And as the number one used car we have….The Toyota Camry. Well, no big surprise there. Its kind of like when Spielberg wins for best director. But the truth of the matter is, new or used, its tough to beat the Camry. As one of the best selling vehicles in history this car finds itself at the number one spot in a number of lists due to the plain and simple fact that it is, in almost all respects, consistently among the very pinnacle of its class.

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Popularity: 22% [?]

Honda Accord: A Good Reliable Well-Made Car

In last month’s used car top ten list I said of the Honda Accord that it is one name that is never far from used car top ten lists. To prove myself right, and because a top ten list that doesn’t include the Honda Accord can be immediately disregarded as flawed, I have included the Honda Accord at number two on this month’s top ten list as well. I may own a Toyota dealership, and I truly believe that Toyota makes cars that are in some respects equal and in many respects superior to Hondas, but a good, reliable, well made car is a good, reliable, well made car. And the Honda Accord is, yep, you guessed it, the Accord is a good, well, you know what I’m saying.

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Popularity: 27% [?]

Toyota RAV4 — Fuel Economy, Cargo Room and Fun

The Toyota RAV4 is the original compact SUV and, even after an influx of competition, still a leader in its class. As such it has earned a significant following of loyal fans and is attracting more daily. Because of this, and because of all this vehicle has to offer, the Toyota RAV4 has earned the third spot in this month’s top ten used cars list.

The First RAV4, The First Compact SUV

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Popularity: 35% [?]

Nissan Maxima — Quirky in Style, Quality for Miles

Last month the Nissan Altima was on the top ten list and this month Nissan is back, this time with the more refined Maxima model at number four. Like the Altima, the Nissan Maxima is a mid-sized sedan. But, where the Altima is Nissan’s family sedan the Maxima pursues consumers of a more specific taste. Focusing on performance and style the Maxima is not especially well suited for the family. It is however very well suited for the individual in search of a luxurious, powerful, stylish and smooth riding car. These are the features that have earned the Maxima fourth place on this months used car top ten list.

Styling That Turns Heads

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Popularity: 20% [?]

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