Ford Broncos pile up at ‘Dirt Mountain' as new delays test buyers' patience

DETROIT — Tyler Schanzmeyer's 2021 Bronco Badlands was built more than two months ago. But instead of sitting in his Boonville, Mo., driveway, it's languishing amid a sea of snow-caked SUVs in a holding lot near the Michigan Assembly Plant.

Communication from Ford Motor Co. has been "nonexistent," he said, though his dealer blamed the holdup on the global semiconductor shortage, which the automaker has confirmed. His delivery date has been pushed back five times and now is tentatively scheduled for April.

"I am concerned about my vehicle sitting out in the elements," Schanzmeyer told Automotive News. "Its value is depreciating even before I take delivery."

The lot holding Schanzmeyer's Bronco — mockingly referred to in online forums as Dirt Mountain (and lately, Ice Mountain) for a large pile of upturned earth on the site — has become a sort of measuring stick for Ford's production woes.

Dirt Mountain was packed with Broncos last summer when roof issues caused delays but started to empty late in the year after Ford replaced the bad parts. Now the lot is filling up again, signaling that the top of the Bronco may have been the tip of the iceberg for frustrated owners waiting on their off-roaders.

Recent photos and videos posted on the Bronco6G forum show workers installing something under the hoods of some models, while others appear to be shuttled in and out.

The lack of information about how long their vehicles may be sitting prompted one buyer to joke that his Bronco will need historic plates even before it arrives.

Ford, in a statement, confirmed the backup was chip-related and said the goal is to get the “few thousand” Broncos affected out to customers within three months.

“The global semiconductor shortage continues to affect Ford’s North American plants – along with automakers and other industries around the world,” Ford spokesman Said Deep said in an email. “Behind the scenes, our teams have been working on how to maximize production, with a continued commitment to building every high-demand vehicle for our customers with the quality they expect. Our goal is to have all updated in the next 90 days, pending chip availability.”

Similar overflow lots have cropped up around the country as Ford and other automakers have looked for places to stash vehicles awaiting chips. Tim Hovik, Ford’s dealer council chairman, thinks that, despite the frustrations of some buyers, that strategy is smart.

"The approach they've taken to actually build vehicles, and then as the chips become available add that finishing touch, is a much more efficient way," said Hovik, who wns San Tan Ford in Gilbert, Ariz. "I think it will help dealers get vehicles in customers' driveways sooner."

Jason Wallace, who lives in a suburb of Birmingham, Ala., ordered a Bronco Badlands for his wife last June. It was built Feb. 1.

After receiving a May delivery date, Wallace said he called a Bronco hotline to get answers. The operator mentioned the chip shortage but didn't provide additional information. His dealer wasn't able to offer more details, either.

"It's been a pretty frustrating process, especially without any transparency on Ford's end," he said.

Wallace, who previously lived in Michigan, said he was "extremely concerned" about the vehicle potentially sitting in the snow for weeks or months.

"I know how brutal the winter is up there," he said. "I'm of the mindset that if my vehicle is going to get trashed by the elements, I'd like to be the one doing it."

Ultimately his concerns were short-lived. Last week, Wallace said he received a notification "out of the blue" that his Bronco was en route to his dealership and would be delivered in the coming days.

"At the end of the day, the whole process has been somewhat of a shit show, but we are really excited to be getting our Bronco," Wallace said. "I know there are a lot of folks out there who aren't as lucky."

Schanzmeyer, a self-described loyal Ford owner and Bronco fan who placed a reservation the day the SUV was unveiled, said he's not only frustrated with the apparent chip-related delay, but with Ford's handling of Bronco reservations in general.

Bloomberg last week reported on owner angst over how Ford has handled dealerships' Bronco allocations, which haven't followed the first-come, first-served path that many expected.

"I was patient with COVID, supply shortages, etc., but I am very upset that the advertised reservation process has not been followed and I still do not have my Bronco that I ordered in July of 2020," Schanzmeyer said.

Meanwhile, it looks as though Craig Appleby, who lives in Sullivan, Ill., will get the Bronco he ordered four months ago without much of a wait at all.

Appleby's vehicle, a base model, came off the assembly line in late January. It's been sitting at Dirt Mountain since then but is supposed to be delivered this week.

"I feel pretty lucky to be getting it as soon as we are," he said.

Appleby said he hasn't received much communication from Ford but that it's understandable given the extraordinary circumstances the industry is going through.

"I think Ford is doing the best they can given all of the building and raw-material limitations that they are facing," he said. "I do think they could be communicating better, but as a company facing everything that they have had to face the last two years, it's hard for me to feel too upset about it."

As the wait for some Bronco buyers stretches on, Ford continues to spend money sending them sorry-for-the-wait gifts. The items have included posters, flags, hammocks and, most recently, a Bronco-branded backpack filled with outdoor gear.

Wallace said he appreciated the gesture. "It was really a nice way of keeping us engaged," he said.

"After a while, each trinket felt a little more like a reminder that we didn't seem any closer to getting the Bronco than we were when we reserved it. Now that it's officially almost here, those are cool little reminders of what it was like ordering a vehicle in the middle of a pandemic."

It's unclear how much longer Ford will have to keep up the flow of apology gifts. Executives have warned that the chip crisis will continue to stunt vehicle output until the second half of the year.

"It's Groundhog Day," Hovik said. "One of these days we'll wake up and it's not going to be, but we're not there yet."