This coronavirus pandemic isn’t really something to be happy about, but it has brought a few good things to fruition. One of which was Frank Stephenson, which started to upload videos on his YouTube channel in the past four months; probably because he was holed up at home and got nothing else to do. We’re not sure.
As a car designer, Stephenson’s videos are mostly about how he came up with his previous work on many cars. He also shares insights (or criticisms) about modern cars – most notable of which was his roast of the new BMW 4 Series.
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This time, Stephenson shared his thoughts on the Ford Bronco. He pretty much liked what Ford has done with the modern Bronco, though he refused to call it a retro design as many would have described the styling. For him, it’s an evolution of the original Bronco from ’60s or “a design language that pays respect to the original theme.”
The former BMW design chief also pointed out the oxymoron in the Bronco’s design, particularly the round edges that make it appealing to be seen anywhere. Interestingly enough, Stephenson somehow described what the majority of the Bronco’s buyers would be: “a vehicle that a lot of people are going to buy just for the message that it delivers.”
At around the 4:18 mark, however, I think Stephenson was describing the rear of the Bronco Sport rather than the fully-fledged counterpart. Maybe we can blame that on whoever edited this video. Nevertheless, Stephenson scores the new Bronco’s design 8.9 out of 10, which is pretty high on his scale, according to the video on top.
Stephenson’s list of design credentials is quite long, which includes the McLaren P1, the modern Mini Coopers, the iconic Ford Escort Cosworth wings, among others.
Time