Bronco Trail App points off-roading Fords to best paths

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There are few things on this green Earth which irritate more than people intentionally unwilling to share their toys. Sure, it’s unlikely a gearhead will toss the keys for their pride-and-joy to a total stranger, but letting a friend borrow the new socket set or use the lift in yer garage? Where’s the harm in that?

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This is our take on the new Bronco Trail App, and we’re stickin’ to it.

Rolled out today in the Apple App Store and on Google Play, the app is designed to “discover, plan, and share” off-road journeys. After installing it on a device and linking to one’s FordPass account, users can enjoy curated trail maps of popular off-road areas, learn about points of interest, take advantage of available satellite imagery, and even build an adventure tracker in which one may bookmark or record their favourite trails.

The catch? You gotta own a Bronco to use it.

On the surface, this may seem sensible. After all, why would tech engineers for the Blue Oval spend time and money on an app which could end up being used by their mortal enemies who chose to buy a Jeep Wrangler? Or, gawd forbid, a Toyota 4Runner?

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Because this could have been a chance to market the Bronco to those very people, that’s why. Marketing 101 states being top of mind during the customer buying process is a key part of getting that person to consider your product; putting a Bronco-branded app in the hands of Wrangler and 4Runner owners would do this very trick, not to mention subtly highlighting the fact those brands don’t currently have much like this in their toolbox.

There is a precedent, here. Polaris, the company which primarily builds off-road vehicles such as ATVs and side-by-sides, allows its RideCommand app to be used by anyone — no matter which brand of off-roader to which they hold the keys. The app features many of the same functions as this new Bronco Trail App, making it a great tool for group rides or solo adventures.

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Your author can say with absolute certainty at least two of his buddies have swapped a competing product for a Polaris thanks to being exposed to the brand through the RideCommand app. I’d wager the same would happen with the Bronco app, as well.

But, for now, we’ll never know, since Ford has decided to wall off its garden. Sure, there are parts of the app which can only work when paired to a Bronco – pitch/roll readouts, air pressure information, stuff like that – but teasing Jeep owners with that detail after they start using the app could be just the ticket for them deciding to seek out their nearest Ford store.

Some will blithely mutter that opening its app in such a fashion would be like permitting one to order Burger King from the McDonald’s app. We just think it’s a missed opportunity.