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Ford focusing on health, peace of mind of customers during developing outbreak of new coronavirus, or COVID-19 Ford Credit is encouraging customers in the U.S. impacted by COVID-19 to contact the company to discuss potential delay of payments to provide relief. Additionally, Ford Credit is offering a program giving customers who buy new vehicles the option to delay their first payment for 90 days. The Ford Motor Company Fund, Ford’s philanthropic arm, is immediately directing more than $500,000 to nonprofit groups in southeast Michigan and will support delivery of food to senior citizens and to thousands of children who do not have access to school meals Ford Credit is launching an ad campaign starting today to raise awareness of its assistance programs. DEARBORN, Mich., March 16, 2020 – Building on years of helping communities during times of need, Ford is working to help customers affected by the developing coronavirus outbreak. “Ford is committed to lending a hand to the people who rely on us,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service. “The peace of mind of our Ford and Lincoln customers is our top priority as we work through the developments of this outbreak.” Ford Credit has long helped customers impacted by local and federal disasters. Now, existing Ford Credit customers in the U.S. affected by COVID-19 who purchased or are leasing vehicles are encouraged to contact Ford Credit to discuss options if they are having payment difficulty. For example, they may be able to change a payment due date or delay a payment. Customers are encouraged to access their Account Manager profile either online at accountmanager.ford.com or through the FordPass app; visit http://www.fordcreditsupport.com/ or call a special hotline – 1-800-723-4016 – to discuss options. In addition, Ford Credit is offering a program giving customers who buy new vehicles the option to delay their first payment for 90 days. Ford Credit will launch an ad campaign beginning today to raise awareness of the new program. “We want to make sure that anyone who needs assistance knows it’s available,” said Marion Harris, chief executive officer, Ford Motor Credit Company. In addition, the Ford Motor Company Fund, Ford’s philanthropic arm, is providing assistance to nonprofit organizations meeting critical community needs. As an initial step, Ford Fund is directing more than $500,000 to help nonprofit groups in southeast Michigan and will support delivery of food to senior citizens and to thousands of children who do not have access to school meals while schools are not in session. The two Ford Resource and Engagement Centers in Detroit are serving as drive-up food pantry distribution centers. Ford Fund also is supporting Detroit-area nonprofits that provide shelter to families and other at-risk people. In addition, Ford Fund is exploring how employee volunteers can assist nonprofits that are short-staffed. In other parts of the U.S., Ford Fund is redirecting funds to support food programs for children no longer in school. It also is launching an emergency aid program with the UNCF (United Negro College Fund) to help students with financial difficulties at historically black colleges and universities get home following the sudden closure of some of these institutions. “We are immediately targeting resources to ensure that the most vulnerable people are being cared for during this unprecedented situation,” said Mary Culler, president, Ford Motor Company Fund. “We appreciate all that our nonprofit partners are doing and will continue to work with them to address critical needs in our communities as the situation evolves.” About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 190,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit corporate.ford.com.

At this time when the news is dominated by Coronavirus (COVID-19), we wanted to personally reach out and let you know that we are vigilantly implementing enhanced protocols to ensure your safety when visiting our businesses. Every day, we closely monitor and analyze developments and statements from local, national and international health agencies, and we are taking actions to comply with their directives which are based on facts and medical science. There is nothing more important to us than making sure we manage this situation as effectively as possible, so you continue to feel confident visiting our business. Our senior management team meets daily and will continue to make decisions on how we can further improve our programs and actions to help protect guests and employees. The health authorities tell us that, to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, we must: wash hands frequently, heighten cleaning practices, avoid contact with sick people and stay away from work when ill. All our actions are focused in these areas. Here’s where we are at this time: We have implemented several new policies and procedures across our dealership, which will follow recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC), the World Health Organization ( WHO), and the Alabama Department of Health ( ADPH). We are in constant communication with our employees to reinforce our sanitization safety procedures. In addition, we are sanitizing high-traffic public areas at an increased frequency. We have provided additional literature and are providing additional hand sanitizer dispensers to employees. For guests, we are providing more hand sanitizer dispensers across our businesses in high visibility and high traffic areas. We are also increasing our reserves of hand sanitizers for use by our guests and employees over an extended period. We have bought more cleaning and disinfectant supplies to utilize throughout this health concern. We are increasing the frequency of cleaning high-touch surfaces in public areas. We are reinforcing training procedures to ensure cleaning processes are implemented properly by our employees. While we have had no employees infected by the Coronavirus at this time, we have instituted a policy that if an employee appears to be suffering from flu-like symptoms, they will be asked to promptly seek medical attention and to remain at home until they are free of symptoms. Their area will then be quarantined until properly cleaned so that we can ensure the safety of all of our guests and staff. We are encouraging guests who are ill to seek medical attention and to avoid public exposure as much as possible. Please avoid our businesses if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms and call to cancel any existing appointments. We will be happy to reschedule for a future date. Additional measures we have implemented to assist our Service, Parts, and Rental customers: Out of an abundance of caution, our Ford Service, Parts, and Rental customers will find that we as a dealership have instituted a disinfection process that enhances our standard pickup and delivery service for all vehicles involved. These additional steps will create a singular and safer experience for both our clients and our dealership employees. These new steps are intended to build trust that we as a dealership are doing everything possible to provide the best service in all situations. At high level, we have implemented the following disinfecting process which include: Using recommended disinfecting wipes to clean high-touch driver areas of both the loaner and client vehicles. Our staff will be wearing new/fresh form fitting nitrile or latex gloves when driving and delivering vehicles. We have asked staff to avoid shaking hands and other physical contact during pickup and delivery with a client. We will deliver loaner and client vehicle key fobs in an envelope after disinfecting the key fob with a disinfectant wipe. We will be placing a leave behind note on the passenger seat in both the loaner and the client’s vehicle upon re-delivery stating what actions we have taken to ensure both our client’s and our staff’s safety. Our Service customers will have curbside service and a guaranteed loaner vehicle that has been sanitized available to them simply by calling us at (256) 891-3000 and setting an appointment time for drop-off. If curbside service isn’t an option, then call us and we may arrange to pick up your vehicle from your home or workplace so that we may perform service on your vehicle. If we do so, we will provide you with a sanitized loaner vehicle to utilize while service is being performed at our dealership. Whether a customer has been a client of our Service department previously or not, we will work with you to ensure that you can have the services you require completed. We will work with anyone driving any vehicle so long as it is not considered a “luxury brand” vehicle (i.e. BMW, Mercedes, etc.). For those vehicles we recommend that you contact an OEM dealership. We are continuously reevaluating the public health situation and will be adapting these processes as advised by public health authorities. Additional measures we have implemented to ensure the safety of our Sales customers: We offer at home test drives. These can be taken advantage of in one of two ways; 1) a client can request that we deliver a sanitized vehicle of their choosing to their home or place of work so that they may test drive the vehicle firsthand while limiting their exposure to others or 2) our Sales staff has been trained on methods of offering virtual test drives to our clients where they will utilize video chat methods to demonstrate the vehicle of choice to our prospective clients. During a virtual test drive a sales team member will show the interior and exterior of the vehicle and they will demonstrate functionality of the vehicle as desired by the client. We encourage customers to utilize our virtual showroom at gilbertbaughford.com to find and narrow their vehicle interests down to a specific unit. We have implemented tools to assist customers in working their entire deal online which includes getting bank approval, choosing extended warranties, GAP insurances, and other vehicle care products. If a customer utilizes our online deal structuring methods, once they have selected their vehicle of choice, we will arrange for vehicle delivery of a sanitized vehicle to a place of the client’s choosing where they can inspect the vehicle, do a final test drive if necessary, and complete the remaining paperwork with the delivery driver. Our sales team has been trained to assist customers as they are working through their deal online and are readied to answer any questions a prospective client has remotely. Our dealership offers a chat service on our website where shoppers can get some questions answered by our chat attendants. Our sales staff oversees the chat attendants and if available can take over the chat to assist if they are not tied up with another client at that time. If they are unavailable, we encourage each customer to give the chat attendant their contact information and a member of our staff will be in contact as soon as the business allows for them to do so. Our Finance Department is working closely with our banks to ensure that we are taking full advantage of the lowered interest rates issued by the Federal Reserve. Our Finance Department has negotiated terms with one or more of our banks to offer clients with approved credit the option to delay their first payment for 90 days. We appreciate your business and loyalty to Gilbert & Baugh Ford. We are committed to implementing recommendations from the health authorities to give you peace of mind as you visit us now and in the future. The health and safety of our guests and employees will always be our most important consideration, especially in these challenging circumstances. We will continue to monitor this and all public health situations and abide to the recommendations of authorities. We are committed to work swiftly to change processes as needed to best ensure both our client’s and employee’s safety. Best Regards, Gilbert & Baugh Ford

It's that time of year again when we see the best deals of the year on all new Ford vehicles from the previous model year. Right now get the lowest pricing ever on all remaining new 2019 Ford vehicles plus, it's Ford Truck Month! At Gilbert & Baugh Ford in Albertville, Alabama Fords REALLY do cost less. Come see the difference. #ford #fordmotorcompany #fordmotors #forddealer #forddealers #forddealership #cardealer #cardealers #cardealership #cardealerships #dealer #dealership #auto #automobile #automobiles #truck #suv #car #ev #electricvehicle #electricsuv #carbuying #salesevent #al #alabama #albertville #fordvehicle #fordvehicles #fordtruck #fordtrucks #fordsuv #fordsuvs #fordcar #fordcars #fordmustang #fordmache #fordmach #fordelectricvehicle #fordelectricvehicles #fordev #certified #preownedvehicle #preownedvehicles #savings #deal #certifiedvehicle #certifiedvehicles #usedcar #usedcars #buyacar #buyatruck #buyasuv #bestford #besttruck #bestcar #bestsuv #bestford #toprated #modelyearend #endofyear #endofmodelyear

Gilbert & Baugh Ford receives 2020 CarGurus Top Rated Dealer Award for Excellence in Customer Experience Albertville, AL – March 4, 2020 – Gilbert & Baugh Ford today announced that it has received the honor of being named a 2020 CarGurus Top Rated Dealer. The CarGurus Top Rated Dealer awards are given to car dealerships that have received the highest average review ratings from shoppers who have submitted dealership reviews on the CarGurus platform. CarGurus uses verified dealership ratings along with other factors like pricing analytics to help shoppers search for a great deal on a vehicle.   “We are thrilled to recognize Gilbert & Baugh Ford as a 2020 Top Rated Dealer,” Ashley Karr, Vice President of B2B Marketing at CarGurus. “Customer reviews are at the core of CarGurus’ transparent shopping experience, and is a part of why shoppers have come to trust us. The Top Rated Dealer program gives dealerships like Gilbert & Baugh Ford the opportunity to showcase their customer service excellence, and we applaud their high standards.”   “Gilbert & Baugh Ford believes that providing excellent customer service is central to our business, and we are honored to be named a CarGurus Top Rated Dealer in 2020,” said Randy Baugh - Owner. We look forward to maintaining and developing trusted relationships with both our current and future customers, and we will strive to provide this same level of excellence in the years to come.”   CarGurus invites shoppers to review and rate dealerships with whom they have interacted during their car shopping experience on the CarGurus platform. Dealer ratings and reviews are visible to the public on the site, and they are also factored in the algorithm that CarGurus uses to rank search results for shoppers. About CarGurus Founded in 2006, CarGurus (Nasdaq: CARG) is a global, online automotive marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of new and used cars. The Company uses proprietary technology, search algorithms and data analytics to bring trust and transparency to the automotive search experience and help users find great deals from top-rated dealers. CarGurus is the most visited automotive shopping site in the U.S. (source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Automotive – Information/Resources, Total Audience, Q4 2019, U.S. (Competitive set includes: CarGurus.com, Autotrader.com, Cars.com, TrueCar.com)).  In addition to the United States, CarGurus operates online marketplaces in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain. To learn more about CarGurus, visit www.cargurus.com.   © 2020 CarGurus, Inc., All Rights Reserved.   CarGurus® is a registered trademark of CarGurus, Inc.  All product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.   Contacts: PR@CarGurus.com

TECHNOLOGICAL PERILS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROTECTION Today’s modern vehicle technology is very advanced and innovative, with some systems being able to see other vehicles, objects or children in the way; anticipate collisions; and automatically apply the brakes or take corrective steering actions, if needed. These high-tech systems rely on a number of sensors, cameras, lasers and radar to gather data and monitor what’s going on around the vehicle, as well as the road itself. This data is processed by computers, which then prompt action either from the vehicle or the driver. As savvy as the technology is, though, it’s not immune from failing, just like all electronics. That’s why you often see extended protection plans for phones and computers. If repairing this kind of special technology can be rather costly for a tablet or laptop, imagine how much it would cost on a vehicle! Without some sort of protection, it could cost you as much—if not more—as an engine or other major repair. How does that fit into your normal monthly budget? Chances are, it doesn’t. Fortunately, RTDA has you covered. Our Advanced Technology Protection can cover the cost of parts and labor for repair and replacement when a system has a failure. Protect yourself and your vehicle by planning for this failure due to a covered breakdown ahead of time and building it into your monthly car payment. In addition to mechanical breakdown protection, the plan provides 24-hour roadside assistance, covering: towing, battery service, flat- tire change, lockout service, as well as gas delivery. It also includes substitute transportation reimbursement. Additionally, trip interruption protection is provided for when you are more than 100 miles from home and your vehicle is inoperable due to a covered breakdown. Advanced Technology Protection: keeping your high- tech components running, so you can focus on the road ahead. For more information about RTDA’s Advanced Technology Protection, speak with your dealer representative today. COVERAGE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING OEM (ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER) INSTALLED COMPONENTS: DVD PLAYERS AUDIO SYSTEM, INCLUDING RADIO/CD PLAYERS AND AMPLIFIERS VIDEO AND GAMING SYSTEM NAVIGATION SYSTEM FORWARD, BACKUP, AND 360-DEGREE CAMERA SYSTEM PARKING ASSIST SYSTEM TOUCH/DISPLAY SCREENS BLUETOOTH COMPONENTS LANE DEPARTURE WARNING SYSTEM BLIND SPOT DETECTION SYSTEM WIFI DATA CONNECTIONS USB PORTS ACCESSORY POWER POINT CONNECTIONS HOMELINK SYSTEM Certain conditions and components are excluded such as, inadequate maintenance of the vehicle, pre-existing conditions, corrosion and parts designed for limited life such as bulbs, filters and brake pads. The OBLIGOR under this AGREEMENT is: United Service Protection Corporation, P.O. Box 21647, St. Petersburg, FL 33742, 1-800-283-0785. In Florida the OBLIGOR is United Service Protection Incorporated, P.O. Box 21647, St. Petersburg, FL 33742, FL License # 60016. In Oklahoma the OBLIGOR is Assurant Service Protection Inc., License Number 862541, P.O. Box 21647, St. Petersburg, FL 33742, 1-800-685-3034. This brochure provides a general overview of the product. Please refer to the actual contract provisions for additional information including details of benefits, eligibility, specific exclusions, terms, conditions, and limitations. Coverages may differ in certain states and coverage may not be available in all states. Brochure: RTDA-EV-Advanced-Tech-Coverages

Don’t let road hazards, potholes and debris be cause for concern with Tire & Wheel Protection from Risk Theory Dealer Advisors, providing repair and replacement when needed. Provides coverage on new and used vehicles in the event of damage due to road hazards such as glass, metal, potholes, debris, nails, blowouts, etc. Coverage on approved tire and wheel damages due to a road hazard.

Safeguard against environmental hazards inside and out, keeping vehicles in pristine condition. Shield everything from upholstery to paint in a layer of powerful, water-based protection. The ResistAll family of products are the most advanced, powerful exterior and interior environmental protection products available, with one of the most comprehensive warranties in the industry. ResistAll has interior and exterior protection that the manufacturer’s warranty does not cover. Our products are water-based, meeting strict environmental standards, so not only to further protect your vehicle from the environment on the outside, but also you and your family on the inside. And ResistAll can be purchased on both new and used vehicles. ResistAll also comes with a great warranty. EXTERIOR PAINT PROTECTION The outside of your car undergoes a lot of punishment from the weather and road conditions – oxidation, sand abrasion, road salt, bird waste, and tree sap, just to name a few. The superior protection of ResistAll will help keep the finish of your vehicle easier to maintain while creating a durable shield against potential environmental damage. ResistAll is a cutting-edge protectant employing nanotechnology to lead the industry with superior product performance and unparalleled warranty benefits. INTERIOR SURFACE PROTECTION Leather / Vinyl UV rays, excessive heat, cold, and dryness can cause damage to the fine interior surfaces of your vehicle. ResistAll interior protection acts as a shield, repelling harmful UV rays and conditioning your upholstery, dashboard, doors and other interior surfaces so that they look like they are in showroom condition. You will see how this remarkable leather/vinyl interior protection can prevent permanent staining, fading, cracking, and discoloration throughout the interior of your vehicle. Fabric Protection It’s more than likely you will experience some accidental spills, splatters, or mishaps that can affect your vehicle’s interior fabric and carpet. If you are all too familiar with these scenarios (including stains from drinks, lipstick, or even your family pet), the good news is that ResistAll’s fabric protection has you covered. Designed to coat each fiber of your vehicle’s carpet and fabric upholstery, this treatment effectively resists permanent stains from both water and oil-based spills. Warranty Coverage* When you purchase ResistAll from your dealership, you are also protected with a strong warranty. All exterior painted surfaces on your vehicle are covered up to 7 years, depending upon your coverage. It also covers painted bumpers, side view mirrors, and original factory-installed spoilers and painted body side moldings. And the interior protection covers food and drink stains, fading, cracking, gum, inks and dyes, lipstick, makeup, crayons, urine, vomit, blood, pet stains, and some punctures (less than ¼ inch). You can have confidence that we will repair affected areas and make it convenient for you – through your selling dealership, or even through one of our nationwide mobile technicians.*

Drive with confidence with a vehicle service contract from Risk Theory Dealer Advisors designed to minimize expenses of unexpected repair costs. Risk Theory Vehicle Service Contracts or "extended warranties" provide coverages beyond the coverages offered by the manufacturer. An extended car warranty may save you some money if your car ends up needing repairs that are covered under the plan.

Protect yourself when things go wrong in the worst way. GAP, or guaranteed asset protection, can help you cover the difference between what your standard auto insurance covers and the amount you owe on your auto loan in the event that your car is damaged, stolen or declared a total loss and you owe more than the car is worth. While GAP insurance isn’t typically required, a policy can be a lifesaver in certain situations. Get that extra peace of mind with Guaranteed Asset Protection, providing financial security at the unfortunate time of a total loss whether it’s from accident, fire or theft.

GILBERT & BAUGH FORD NAMED CARFAX TOP-RATED DEALER Verified Customer Ratings Used to Name the Inaugural CARFAX Top-Rated Dealers of 2019 Gilbert & Baugh Ford is being celebrated as a CARFAX Top-Rated Dealer based on verified reviews from actual customers. The select group of dealers being recognized in the inaugural CARFAX Top-Rated Dealers of 2019 received an average of 4.7 stars out of five. They are being celebrated for their commitment to building consumer confidence through exceptional service and customer care.   “These are verified ratings from real consumers,” said Scott Fredericks, CARFAX Vice President of Marketing. “These ratings help other shoppers feel confident about choosing where to take their business. This exclusive group of top-rated dealers is setting the standard for service.”   CARFAX.com has more than a million verified customer reviews. About CARFAX CARFAX, part of IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), helps millions of people every day confidently shop, buy, own and sell used cars with innovative solutions powered by CARFAX vehicle history information. The expert in vehicle history since 1984, CARFAX provides exclusive services like CARFAX Used Car Listings, CARFAX Car Care, CARFAX History-Based Value and the flagship CARFAX® Vehicle History Report™ to consumers and the automotive industry. CARFAX owns the world’s largest vehicle history database and is nationally recognized as a top workplace by The Washington Post and Glassdoor.com. Shop, Buy, Own, Sell – Show me the CARFAX™. Based in London, IHS Markit is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions.

Get up to $11,500 off 2019 Ford F-150 XLT this month at Gilbert & Baugh Ford in Albertville, Alabama Fords REALLY do cost less. Come see the difference.     #ford #fordmotorcompany #fordmotors #forddealer #forddealers #forddealership #cardealer #cardealers #cardealership #cardealerships #dealer #dealership #auto #automobile #automobiles #truck #suv #car #ev #electricvehicle #electricsuv #carbuying #salesevent #al #alabama #albertville #fordvehicle #fordvehicles #fordtruck #fordtrucks #fordsuv #fordsuvs #fordcar #fordcars #fordmustang #fordmache #fordmach #fordelectricvehicle #fordelectricvehicles #fordev #certified #preownedvehicle #preownedvehicles #savings #deal #certifiedvehicle #certifiedvehicles #usedcar #usedcars #buyacar #buyatruck #buyasuv #bestford #besttruck #bestcar #bestsuv #bestford #toprated

Hinting at upcoming Bronco production model, Ford’s Bronco R race prototype debuts in the desert to celebrate 50 th anniversary of Rod Hall’s historic Baja 1000 win, an overall victory in a 4x4 that’s never been duplicated in 50 years   It was built for this, its engine roaring through the heat of the Mojave and its racing tires spraying desert sand. As the last grain settled, the vehicle that is all at once a tribute and a test and a tease, came in to focus. It was no mirage. Bronco – in the form of a race-inspired Bronco R prototype – is back. As a tribute, it was appropriately parked alongside the Bronco that Rod Hall and Larry Minor famously drove to an overall win 50 years ago at the 1969 Baja 1000 – a victory that no other 4x4 has replicated. Featuring a race livery inspired by Hall’s winning vehicle, Bronco R passes the torch to off-road racer Shelby Hall, Rod’s granddaughter, who will drive it for portions of this year’s prestigious race in honor of her late grandfather. As a test, the Bronco R will head back to the Baja Peninsula later this month to take on the near 1,000-mile grueling off-road course and challenge the production Bronco’s powertrain and architecture. And as a tease, the Bronco R – developed by Ford Performance in collaboration with builder Geiser Bros Design and Development and Baja 1000 Trophy Truck champion Cameron Steele – drops heritage-inspired design and proportion hints of what enthusiasts can expect to see when the future Bronco makes its world premiere next spring “Bronco’s win at Baja in 1969 was epic, something that even after 50 years has not been repeated,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford chief product development and purchasing officer. “Rugged endurance racing is such a big part of Bronco heritage. The Baja 1000 gives us not only the perfect setting to honor Rod Hall’s win, it also provides an authentic test bed to demonstrate our upcoming Bronco’s desert racing capability and durability.” Iconic Bronco design at first sight Hidden behind an innocuous security door in a Ford studio basement, a small team led by Paul Wraith, Bronco chief designer, worked since July to make the race prototype unmistakably Bronco at first sight. The team worked in secret to create a one-off build that hints at the all-new Bronco to come, while paying homage to the first-generation Bronco’s styling and proportions that made the nameplate an instant off-road icon a half-century ago. The team focused on creating a race-ready look with an overall heritage-inspired design language. With its compressed body height and long-travel suspension, Bronco R features an ultra-wide stance, while a variety of aero components reinforce its performance intent. The prototype’s lightweight composite body includes a clamshell hood and roof, as well as clean body panels that harken back to the first-generation Bronco models (1966 – 1977). A cut-roof design allows rear seat passengers to use a second-row hatch for access. The exterior incorporates 15 LED lightbars from Rigid, including a grille sequence framing the new BRONCO brand lettering boldly. To underscore that this is a one-of-a-kind racing prototype, the “R” is given a sharp graphic treatment. Washers inscribed with the Bronco name are visible at various points around the exterior and secure the composite skin to the roll cage beneath it. A unique race-focused interior features lightweight off-road racing shells from Recaro for all three seating positions. Simple surfaces of the instrument panel nod to the first-generation Bronco, and the integration of a MoTeC data acquisition system enables real-time monitoring and measurement of the prototype’s performance attributes. With its exterior inspired by the winning 1969 Baja 1000 Bronco livery, the Ford Performance Bronco R race prototype pays tribute with its red, white and black colors accented by its blue space frame. No. “2069” stretches across its rear quarter-panel and wing – “20” to signal the class in which it will race and “69” in honor of the year in which Hall and Minor roared to an overall victory in the Mexican 1000 (now SCORE-International Baja 1000). “My grandfather was so proud of the 1969 Baja race and of his Bronco,” said Shelby Hall. “More than just the memory of winning Baja, he loved that Bronco. I have no doubt he would be blown away by the Bronco R race prototype.” Sketch to race prototype in six months To mark the 50th anniversary of Bronco’s Baja 1000 win, Wraith and team worked in concert with Ford Performance, builder Geiser Bros Design and Development of Phoenix, Arizona, and Baja 1000 Trophy Truck champion Cameron Steele to make the Nov. 22 race start. They used cutting-edge tools such as high-tech virtual reality, polygon modeling and 3D printing to develop parts, but also incorporated low-fidelity prototyping and role-playing to aid problem-solving and swift decision-making. “This wasn’t our usual development process, but it was the right process for this project,” said Wraith. “We found, created or adapted the right tool for the task at hand – a cool and exciting blend of old and new creative techniques. We stretched ourselves, but it was worth it – and great fun.” More than a celebration of Hall’s 1969 win, the Bronco R race prototype is designed with the production model’s body-on-frame architecture to test its capability and durability, while also energizing off-road enthusiasts who eagerly await the return of America’s original sport utility vehicle. The race prototype is built on a modified Ford T6 architecture that will provide the base for the production model. Beefed up for Baja, Bronco R features an independent front suspension with 14 inches of travel and a production-based five-link rear chassis design with up to 18 inches of travel, plus custom Fox shocks, 17-inch beadlock-capable aluminum wheels and 37-inch BFGoodrich tires. “Like the original Bronco, we kept Bronco R’s design authentic and simple, with a roll cage on a production-style frame, and a five-piece lightweight body on top,” said Brian Novak, Ford Performance off-road racing supervisor. “For the endurance needs of Baja’s 1,000 grueling miles, we built in a limited number of race-focused parts. But even the twin turbos of the EcoBoost ® engine are representative of what the production Bronco will offer.” For the vehicle that was, and the vehicle that will be – it’s the vehicle that is. The Bronco R race prototype is no mirage. The sand is flying again, and the heat is on. It was built for this. About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 191,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit corporate.ford.com.