- Georgia-based Vintage Broncos drapes modern Bronco bones with classic Bronco sheet-metal
- Believe it or not, Ford doesn’t like this, citing trademark infringements
- Top tip: don’t copy someone else’s homework, kids
Recommended Videos
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then it seems Ford doesn’t want to hear it. A Georgia-based company called Vintage Broncos is in hot water with the Dearborn automaker over vehicle builds which purport to plunk retro-style Bronco bodywork atop modern bones.
Given the fact Ford has recently announced its new Bronco SUV output will be trimmed in 2025 thanks to wilting demand, one could make the joke that a suit somewhere inside the Glass House said “Hey, if we can’t sell Broncos, no one can!” But we wouldn’t say anything so crass. No, sir.
The best way to ward off any lawsuits, as anyone knows, is with a little legal disclaimer fine-print; to this end, the Georgia outfit addresses this confab with a footnote at the bottom of its website, stating:
Vintage Modern, Inc. specializes in creating modernized interpretations of classic automobiles. By integrating our own custom-designed parts, we craft vehicles that capture the essence of classic cars. Vintage Modern has no sponsorship, association, approval, or endorsement from any motor company including Ford Motor Company. The names Ford® and Bronco® are trademarks of Ford Motor Company, and any other trademarks mentioned belong to their respective owners. References to these trademarked names or marks are solely for identification purposes.
It goes on to add:
Vintage Modern vehicles should never be referred to or described as a “Vintage Ford Bronco,” “Ford Bronco,” “Vintage Modern Ford Bronco,” or “Ford Vintage Modern Bronco.”
This latter exhortation is indeed curious, since the company uses the word “Bronco” in, you know, its actual name. It probably doesn’t help that it also rips off the Ford badge from the nose of its builds and smacks its own logo on there. This is different from, say, the Singer company, whose job it is to build meticulous re-imaginings of the Porsche 911.
However, while that shop has a similar “we’re not affiliated with Porsche” notation on its site, Singer does not slather builds with its brand, nor refer to the German manufacturer or its products in its official name. Its approach to cranking out vehicles is also quite different, given it does not drape its designs over the bones of a new 911, choosing instead to go through an original car with a fine-toothed comb and improve just about every aspect, right down to the dashboard screws.
Vintage Broncos is hardly the first company to stick retro bodywork on a modern machine. There are umpteen companies grafting classic clothes onto a present-day Chevrolet Tahoe, for example. Some of those efforts don’t get the vibe quite right, as if someone described a 1972 Chevy over the phone or sent a really blurry picture.
The vehicles from Vintage Broncos hew much closer to the original, which is likely the reason this sticks in Ford’s craw. Also, if the builder is making its own sheet-metal in house, who’s to say it is worthy of modern crash testing and the like? But, for now, Ford’s lawsuit seems to be putting its nose on use of the Bronco name and logo. Stay tuned.
Sign up for our newsletter Blind-Spot Monitor and follow our social channels on Instagram ,Facebook and X to stay up to date on the latest automotive news, reviews, car culture, and vehicle shopping advice.