GOODYEAR WRANGLER TIRES TO BE ANONYMOUS ON FORD BRONCO: REPORT

Despite the Jeep Wrangler being on the top of the Ford Bronco hit list, the two off-road SUVs have a surprising history with one another that’s filled with surprising connections. To kick things off, Ford actually was responsible for the design of the iconic Jeep seven slot grille. Later on, when Ford was developing an SUV rival for the Jeep CJ-5 in the 1960’s, they actually considered Wrangler as a name before ultimately settling on Bronco. The Wrangler didn’t appear on a Jeep product until 1986.

Now, there’s yet another ironic connection between the two. The Bronco will use a variety of off-road tires across the model range, and there’s a good chance one of the offerings will be the popular and capable Goodyear Wrangler tire. According to an interview with Ford by Motor1, Ford is already realized the conflict of interest here.

Ford has reached out to Goodyear, and asked that all of the Wrangler tires supplied to them for the Bronco to have all of the exterior ‘Wrangler’ branding removed. Still, the Goodyear Wrangler tires will have the name on the inside of the tire because it’s a part of their aftermarket branding.

Along with the Goodyear Wrangler, the 2021 Ford Bronco 2-Door and 4-Door will feature the BFGoodrich T/A KO2 all-season tire. It’s easy to see why, too. Both tires have earned a strong reputation as some of the most off-road-capable yet daily-drivable tires on the market.

Ford hasn’t made it immediately clear which tires will be fitted on the seven different variants of the Bronco 2-Door and 4-Door SUV models. Goodyear also makes a many versions of the Wrangler tire, so we could even see multiple iterations across the Bronco range. The Base will use an all-season tire, but Big Bend, Black Diamond and Outer Banks will get a 32 inch all-terrain tire. The Badlands then steps up to a more aggressive 33-inch all-terrain tire. All Bronco models will can option the Sasquatch package that comes with the massive 35-inch tires, among other goodies. That package comes standard on the Wildtrak and First Edition models.