The fact the 7-speed automatic transmission isn’t available with the Sasquatch package seems to have created a bit of an uproar with enthusiasts who were hoping to pair the two together. (Image courtesy of Ford Motor Co.)
As I was scrolling through my morning Twitter feed I came across an interesting thread started by @oliverdueck on July 15, when he asks Mike Levine, North American Product Communications Manager for Ford Motor Co., a simple question about the just-revealed 2021 Ford Bronco: “Haven’t seen this clarified elsewhere, but is the Bronco’s Sasquatch package available in conjunction with the 7-speed manual?”
When Levine replied the Sasquatch was only available with the 10-speed automatic and Ford is open to feedback, the floodgates opened. There were at least 470 comments on @mrlevine’s reply at the time of writing this article.
Sasquatch is only available with the 10-speed automatic. We’re open to feedback for those that feel otherwise.
— Mike Levine (@mrlevine) July 15, 2020
Frankly, we thought it was a bit weird when we were looking at the trim and package inclusions and realized the coolest off-road package wasn’t available with a slow-crawling manual. I mean, what in the heck was Ford thinking?
Apparently, there are few people who agree with us.
While we saw a couple of journalists jump into the conversation, the majority of comments we saw were from potential owners who had placed reservations with the singular hope they could get Sasquatch with the 7-speed manual.
Several said they would cancel their reservations if this didn’t change. Others said they hadn’t reserved one yet because of this omission.
BRB, going to cancel my reservation.
— Michael Herndon (@mvherndon) July 15, 2020
The best question comes from the Twitter handle @BarnettATX: “So you’re telling me, you are building a vehicle to target a market that is comprised of fringe buyers, who literally created that market in the Jeep product. Yet you are not going to let those buyers who stand outside the norm, build their Bronco to order they way they want to?”
Another commenter, @chipbutty8, jumps in with the following: “You guys need to fix this. No manual on the V6 and now no Sasq on the manual? So many ppl were looking at doing a BaseSasq. A lot of ppl willing to pay good money for the Sasq. That pkg and the no manual V6 are big topics of discussion in the community.”
After a borage of comments, Levine jumps back into the thread and says: “Buy a Bronco with a MT and 33s. Add a bit of lift and then install 35s. Boom.”
Buy a Bronco with a MT and 33s. Add a bit of lift and then install 35s. Boom.
— Mike Levine (@mrlevine) July 15, 2020
Okay. Maybe. But that doesn’t entirely solve the problem. The Sasquatch package is more than just 35-inch tires. It also includes electronic locking front and rear axles, 4.7:1 final drive ratio, high-clearance suspension, position sensitive Bilstein shock absorbers and high-clearance fender flares.
More than one commenter didn’t think this was the right answer.
@Dtaub1 replied: “Feedback: make the manual available with the Sasquatch package. If I wanted to build my own truck, I wouldn’t buy a brand new truck. It has a crawl gear and you’re going to forego giving us the ‘gear’ to help make it crawl? That seems counterintuitive.”
But the real knife in the back comes from @EvanAlumni: “That’s very ‘Jeep’ of you to imply we should fix something that could have been taken care of at the factory. Customizing? Totally. Adding parts that were at your factory when this thing was being built and people would pay for? I think the f*ck not.”
The bottom line
I was trying to figure out why this thread popped into my feed 15 days after it started, and then it hit me: People are still commenting on it and retweeting it.
So, the desire for a manual transmission with the Sasquatch doesn’t seem to be a flash-in-the-pan desire.
Send along feedback. We wouldn’t have the badass and amazing #FordBronco we do without listening to customers. This is just the start.
— Mike Levine (@mrlevine) July 15, 2020
Ford says it wants feedback, so what do you think? Should the Sasquatch be available with the manual? Comment here, jump into the original Twitter thread, send me tweet @jillciminillo or tweet at @mrlevine directly – he’s a good guy and fairly responsive to respectable questions on Twitter.
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Hi Jill – I put down a $100 deposit to reserve a 4-door Bronco and would prefer a manual with the V-6 and am surprised it is not being offered. I received an e-mail from Ford last week saying the Bronco Build & Price configurator on Ford.com will open in mid‑October. I doubt there will be a change in a week, but I am hoping by the time I hear from the dealership late this year or early next year to place my order that that will change. Otherwise, I may not go forward with the purchase. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way and I’m hoping that Ford gets the message. One of the attractions of this vehicle is the ability to configure it and place and order like the old days. My father would tell me that back in the 60’s there was a build sheet that the dealers had and a buyer would check off every option desired. In fact, the term “radio delete” description on some classic cars is a misnomer; it simply means that box wasn’t checked, and therefore, not part of the build.