posted by Matt Z
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: Bronco II and Dodge Raider – Old School Compact SUVs
– Posted on August 25, 2020
posted by Matt Z
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Quite a find, catching those 2 together. I’m in the Northeast so have not seen either of these in person in years. I had an 85 S15 Jimmy, so was very much aware of these little SUVs back in the day.
I did see an 85ish El Camino yesterday, which is a rare bird for me. And not 10 minutes later another, although bright yellow, so surely not factory. Probably won’t see another for a few years.
These are both very rare in my neck of the midwest. The Bronco II is only driven in the summer by the owner who owns(ed) a small Ford dealer and has their body shop keep it in pretty nice shape. Years ago I had the owner show me it and it’s not as nice as I thought it would be, but still not a bad example.
The Radier on the other hand, I have no idea how that thing hasn’t rusted away yet. The owner actually uses it as a plow vehicle and drives it all winter. The only rust that I’ve noticed without a close inspection is by the rear bumper. It’s a local vehicle too since it has the hand painted dealer tag on the back of the gate from the local Dodge dealer that went out of business quite some time ago.
The only thing I can think of is that it stayed in someone’s garage for many years and has only started to see use in the last few years. Just check out the tires; they’re Firestone Radial ATX. Remember the big recall back in the early ’00s? When was the last time you saw a set of those?
Is it just an illusion due to proximity to the camera, or is the Raider/Montero really that much taller than the Bronco II? I’d always thought the Bronco II seemed like a really tall vehicle back when they were common, but the Raider in this photo seems *really* tall compared to the Ford.
The Montero/Raider (and to a lesser extent, the Isuzu Trooper) was noticeably taller than anyone else’s compact SUVs at the time, about 4″ taller than a Bronco II or 8″ taller than a low-slung S-10 Blazer or XJ Cherokee.
The online CC-effect strikes again! I was just on Bring a Trailer and one of these caught my eye.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-ford-bronco-ii-10/
For some time now I’ve been wondering when the Bronco II might start going up in value. The first-gen Bronco has long been collectible and somewhat overpriced. The Bronco II is of a similar size, offers the potential for respectable off-road prowess, fairly rugged mechanicals with good parts availability, reasonable fuel economy, and low price of entry. The main ding against them is the II after the name…too much like the unloved Mustang II.
For my family, a borrowed late-eighties Bronco II was the vehicle that turned my mother on to SUV’s resulting in the Explorer becoming the family wagon of the 1990’s.
Fixed roof hurts it, original Broncos are in essence akin to Jeep CJs/Wranglers or international Scouts with open air off roading capability. The Bronco IIs size is right but what novelty does its enclosed packaging promise that you couldn’t get with a XJ Cherokee, or even its Explorer successor(or a number of other modern family SUVs)? The problem is it’s not that good of a vehicle to begin with mechanically, due to its era, and also consequently subjected to emissions testing in many places discouraging modification. To my eyes, other than the novelty of having only two doors it is really just a primitive ancestor to the modern urbancentric SUV/crossover. There were many Japanese 2 door soft top SUVs that lingered through the 90s as well, I’d wager the values of those surviving examples will go up before the Bronco II does at this point
I don’t think the name hurts it, Mustang II is damaged by way more substantial elements than the name, the II is stupid because there was no Mustang I in its time frame, it was a sequel rather than a companion, which the Bronco II was to the Bronco(1). Chevy IIs aren’t inherently worth less than big Chevys, and depending on the year/bodystyle/engine/trim they’re often more valuable
Matt,
You are right of course, the real issue with them is the primitive engine controls and emissions equipment. In much of the country that’s nothing an engine swap can’t fix but…
I was mostly joking about the II-suffix. Certainly I don’t expect the Bronco II to ever approach the value or popularity of the original. But now that they are old enough to be cool, I expect they will be one of those cool niche vehicles that sticks around.
Great catch. I wonder which of these two was more prone to rollover accidents. I’m just remembering things I had read about the Bronco II. The Dodge-branded Mitsu looks taller and probably isn’t that much wider.
I’m going to bet the Bronco II, assuming the two vehicles are on the same tires. Those back windows are big, heavy, high up, and rearward. The glass on the Raider looks significantly smaller and perhaps a little bit more forward inside the wheelbase.
Though that strange Raider might now be a grader
And now some codger’s hodge-podge Dodge,
It is, in fact an un-fishy (and reasonably dishy) Mitsubishi,
And called “Pajero”, where that name was no canker
Though ofcourse, “Montero” in places
Where the former
Meant something ranker.