2 weeks Ago
Hanahan resident Kim McManus couldn't wait to buy a Ford Bronco, racing to to buy the first one she could get her hands on. Two years in as an owner, she’s now a member of several groups inspired by the brand, such as the Charleston Bronco Club and the Bronco Ladies Group. And she's made dozens of new connections simply by owning her husky 2022 Big Bend model in a shade of blue known as "Area 51.
" “I first became interested in Broncos when I learned they were offering a manual transmission,” she said. “But now, I don’t want to say it’s a cult following, but it’s a lot like owning Jeep with its own community.” McManus purchased her pre-owned ride from AutoNation on Savannah Highway in West Ashley, but wanna-be Bronco buyers in Charleston will soon have a specific spot to test drive and purchase the SUV that’s only rising in popularity.
SC automaker Volvo cutting sales forecast amid turbulent market for EVs Kim McManus of Hanahan owns a 2022 Ford Bronco Big Bend model featuring a shade of blue called "Area 51." Graham Eubank, owner of Palmetto Ford, is expanding his operations with a Bronco-only showroom at 1739 Savannah Highway. He'll also be stocking Bronco-related accessories, including hats and clothing.
“We needed some more space to be able to display more vehicles, more Broncos and even more Fords at the main store," he said of the longtime dealership nearby. Palmetto Ford already owned the less-than-an-acre property down Charleston's so-called Auto Mile, and Eubank said it made sense to stretch out there. When it opens around mid-November, Palmetto Bronco will be the only standalone Bronco showroom on the East Coast — and one of only about five nationwide.
The closest is in Alabama. A 2024 basic Bronco starts at around $40,000, but can range up to $90,000 for the top-of-the-line model. Ford reintroduced the truck on July 6, 2020, with production beginning in 2021 at a revamped Michigan assembly plant.
The pioneering U.S. car manufacturer said sales of the off-road icon peaked at 127,476 last year, and projections for 2024 are lower at nearly 108,000 units, as demand normalizes after the initial surge, according to trade reports.
While dealerships are independently owned, some have "invested and opened an additional, standalone site to sell Broncos due to the vehicle's popularity and unique lifestyle brand," a Ford spokesperson said. Here's a look at Scout's newly revealed EVs to be built in SC Similar to the secret wave among Jeep owners and a nationwide Duck Duck Jeep game — leaving rubber ducks on the vehicles — Bronco owners are pushing “Buck Buck Bronco,” with most placing a horse-related item as a nod to the legacy of the brand. Drivers are also brainstorming a gesture, maybe something like swinging a lasso, McManus said, again to harken back to the Bronco theme.
Palmetto Bronco also will offer Buck Buck suggestions. Rubber ducks are finding home on Jeep dashes in Florence. What's going on? Ford's first generation Bronco hit the streets in 1966, but after five generations the SUV was discontinued in 1996.
Some questioned if O.J. Simpson ’s infamous 1994 car chase where he evaded police through the California highways in a Bronco was cause for the company’s decision to cease production, but Ford has maintained there was no connection.
"We had decided to move away from the two-door, two-row, large SUV," a communications manager for Ford told USA Today in a 2014. "It was already fading in customer popularity, long before O.J.
made it a celebrity.".
