Lucas Bell 
For many people, cars are a way to escape from everyday life for a little bit of time. Whether it be a drive down your favorite road or reading up on the latest and greatest, there seems to always be something automotive related to look forward to. The industry doesn’t exist in a bubble however, and we are starting to feel that more and more as of late. Ford have announced today that the highly anticipated media events for the 2021 Ford Bronco have been called off due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 virus.
Further details, including a possible rescheduling of the event, are not immediately available at this time.
More commonly known as the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 has dominated the news cycle as of late. With the World Health Organization officially deeming the virus outbreak a pandemic earlier this week, it is clear that an increased sense of caution is necessary to slow transmission rates here in the United States. The announcement from the Blue Oval comes as the company put out a statement telling all employees in non business-critical roles to work remotely during this time. The transcript of that announcement is as follows:
Ford’s top priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees, dealers, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Thankfully, the effect of the coronavirus on Ford employees so far has been very limited. In recent days, though, we concluded the issue has taken on a different dimension – and are continuing to act in real time to keep our people safe and help limit the spread of the virus in communities where we live and work. Therefore, starting Monday, we are instructing much of our global workforce – except those in business-critical roles that cannot be done away from Ford facilities – to work remotely until further notice. The action will additionally help reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus while maximizing the health of our business.
Nobody can be upset with the automaker for making a decision like this when there is still so much uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. The CDC recently stated that events with crowds of more than 100 people should be cancelled, which the Bronco launch would have been without question. That being said, it is still a bummer that we won’t be seeing the wraps taken off the Ford Bronco when we expected.
MC&T was supposed to attend the backgrounder of the reborn SUV next week.
We already pretty much know what the SUV is going to look like thanks to the most recent crop of leaks, and – like the coronavirus – until the situation is more under control, the continued leaking is just going to have to be enough for all of us. And just like so many fans out there we remain excited to welcome the beloved nameplate back to market for the first time since 1996.
