Five Other Things O.J. Simpson And The Ford Bronco Share In Common

As what appears to have been promotional serendipity, Ford originally scheduled the release of the Ford Bronco as today (on July 9^th), which is also the 73^rd birthday of Orenthal James (a.k.a. “O.J.”) Simpson. Those of us who remember the conundrum of simultaneously wanting to watch the suspense of Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals and O.J.’s surreal ride in the now infamous, white Bronco shall forever link Simpson and the Bronco. Passenger and vehicle. O.J. and Bronco. Several days after that announcement, though, Ford postponed the release date; almost assuredly to avoid the additional press. Too late.

In the midst of yet another touchpoint in their histories, it’s worth a fanciful look back at where else the two share additional commonalities.

1: Started Production in ‘65

The first Ford Bronco was a compact Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) assembled using its own chassis in 1965 at Ford’s Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, Michigan, where it shall return to production in 2021. It was designed as an off-road vehicle with Lee Iaococca, the eventual Chairman of Chrysler, approving the clay models in 1964.  

O.J. also started his production in 1965. At that time, he enrolled at City College of San Francisco. Interestingly, he started as a two-way player starring at both running back and defensive back, and was named to the Junior College All-American team as a running back with 26 touchdowns and a whopping 9.9 average yards per carry. As Dr. Harry Edwards later described The Juice’s collegiate career, “He ran through ‘em like foreign water through a tourist.”

2. Set Records in the Early 70’s

It has been argued that O.J. Simpson was the Most Valuable Player of the NFL for the entire 1970s despite having only made the playoffs once in his career. On the way to the first 2000+ yard season ever in the National Football League – most notably in a 14-game season – he set eight records that still hold nearly a half of a century later. The most impressive of those records was likely from 1973 when he averaged 143.1 yards per game over an entire season.

At the same time, the Ford Bronco sales were quite successful for that marketplace and era. In the first year, Ford sold 24,000 vehicles, but 1974 was its record year at 26,000 Broncos. In addition, the vehicle started breaking speed records in off-road races with the likes of Parnelli Jones, who won the 1970 Baja 500 and set the record at the 1972 (and 1973) Mexican 1000 inside “Big Oly”, a modified Ford Bronco.

3. Second Go-Arounds Cost Millions In 1997

For both O.J. and the Bronco, 1997 was a sour year since they both experienced sequels that ended with painful legal battles.

O.J. was fresh off the not-guilty verdict of his criminal cases for the stabbing murders of Nicole Brown (his second wife) and Ronald Goldman when he was hit with a second go-around: civil cases brought by the Brown and Goldman families. In February of 1997, Simpson was found liable for the two deaths, and both the jury and appellate judge awarded the families $33.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Despite having famously auctioned his Heisman Trophy in 1999, only 1% of the award has ever been collected.

The Bronco II was Ford’s sequel and was plagued by rollover fatalities. Despite claims that the Functional Safety issues were the result of unsafe owner-modifications and driving maneuvers, Ford settled the litigation for $113 million, agreeing to improve its safety warnings, replace defunct suspension systems and subsidize the cost of replacing dangerous modifications made by owners.

4. Ended Long Runs in Showrooms in late 90’s

O.J. was a showman and entertainer. He appeared in over thirty TV shows and movies, most notably the Naked Gun comedies where he played Detective Norberg, the unlucky and frequently-injured, long-time friend and partner of the protagonist. Not surprisingly, his filmography, though, screeched to a halt at almost the same time as his white Bronco with his last non-documentary appearance being an unaired 1994 TV movie entitled “Frogmen”.

On June 12, 1996, the last of the fifth generation of Ford Broncos rolled off the assembly line at, once again, Ford’s Michigan Truck Plant. It was rumored that the fateful 1994 drive and O.J.’s “Trial of the Century” caused its removal from showrooms, but Ford stated multiple times that it replaced the Bronco with the popular Ford Explorer since the Bronco’s seat belts and brake lights were no longer street-legal.

5. Became Very Relevant Again in 2020

There have been two relevant macro-trends in the past few months: the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter. Coronavirus has halted sports around the globe and, in the midst of this fasting, sports junkies have looked to sports documentaries for their fix. Docu-series like The Last Dance and LANCE have enjoyed large audiences of starved viewers, but “O.J.: Made in America” has an additional element of interest due to the social injustices behind the Black Lives Matter movement. The five-part, “30 for 30” series was an Academy Award winning portrayal of the racial tension and mistrust between the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the people of Orange County. As said best by ESPN itself, “Because at the end of what seems like a search for the real truth about O.J. Simpson, what’s revealed just as powerfully is a collection of indelible, unshakable, and haunting truths about America, and about ourselves.”

Meanwhile, production of the Ford Bronco Sport will begin in the fourth quarter of 2020. Ford is hoping this differentiated product, along with its hundreds of accessories, will improve the profitability for itself and its dealers amid the global pandemic. Ford expects sales of the Bronco and Bronco Sport to exceed 200,000 trucks a year as soon as 2021. Right now, Ford stock has been at the top of Robinhood, a trading platform for typically younger, individual investors since the stock price has been low, it is a global brand and product releases like the Bronco make the stock seem like a reasonable bet.

O.J. was made in America and soon the Bronco will be again.