Few vehicles in history are more indelibly linked to a single person than the Ford Bronco to O.J. Simpson.
Simpson was 46 years old in 1994 when, facing charges for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend, police chased him in a white Bronco at low speeds around the freeways of Los Angeles. The former football star turns 73 next month, on July 9.
Now, guess what date Ford Motor Co. chose to reveal the new Bronco, which is returning after a 24-year hiatus.
That's right: July 9.
Ford called the timing "purely coincidental." But after a flood of coverage and jokes about the coincidence last week, the automaker pushed the debut to July 13 "to be sensitive and respectful of this concern."
The Bronco was supposed to be shown in April, but the event was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
For all we know, no one at Ford thought to look up Simpson's Wikipedia entry before originally rescheduling the Bronco's reveal. If anything, the automaker has tried to downplay the Bronco's connection to Simpson over the years.
Let's just hope Ford remembers not to unveil the new Bronco in white.
