Article: My Name Is Sal Gusmano, and I Break Ford Vehicles for a Living (at Michigan Proving Grounds)

[Beachin 74]

Like they say, if you enjoy your job, you never work a day in your life.
This would be my dream job.

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[93_SVT_3503]

Gives me flashbacks! I'm sure he was in several of the original spy photos! Thanks Doug!

 

[BobN - USAF]

Awesome story. Awesome job! I wanted a Bronco since 1977 but in 78 (is that right?) the first gen was done. Didn't like 2 thru 5. Gen6 is pretty dang good and I would have liked to get a Wildtrak or Badlands. It was early 23 and the Bronco frenzy was just letting production keep with demand. My 23 still had a "market adjustment" add of $10K for nothing. The timing such that I told the dealer for 10K I could fly to any dealer in the US, and have driving it home. I was already retired so I also had plenty of time. So the 10k was gone but there was other foolishness that I couldn't get them to budge one, like Nitrogen air allegedly in the tires, tinting (which I've never really cared about) and likely some other junk. I usually trade out after 3 years but this March 26, I don't think it will happen as I still have a ton of smiles driving the 23. The large screen on the newer models is nice but not enough to start over with all the mods I did to this one. Oh, crazy thing, it come with the hard top installed and the soft top stuffed in the back seat and cargo area. I generally prefer the hard top. And the snow? That was January 2025 in Tallahassee, FLORIDA. Why by Florida standards it was a flipping blizzard at up to 3 inches. LOL

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[Kevin Scarbel]

At Ford, we mean business in off-road capable vehicles. That's why we designed the Bronco family of SUVs from the ground up to exceed all your expectations. It's why the Bronco is engineered to dominate with meticulous design that can withstand merciless testing. And it's why we incorporate cutting edge technology that has made Bronco the benchmark for and envy of the competition.
The Bronco from Ford Motor Company. Visit your local dealer today and see why we're so proud.

 

[barbihardt]

Well now I know how my Bronco arrived with about 70 miles on it.
It had a note it was selected for testing. I think that is cool, 3 years later it’s a great vehicle.

This is interesting to see. I'm still waiting on my bronco to arrive. it was ordered 6/20/25. It was built on 10/6/25 and then pulled for Quality control certifications. I wonder if there will be a note saying that's what happened. its now 1/21/26 and still no bronco.

 

[calbare]

Well now I know how my Bronco arrived with about 70 miles on it.
It had a note it was selected for testing. I think that is cool, 3 years later it’s a great vehicle.

My brand new Bronco had 70-ish miles, too. They didn't say why. Mine is also "almost" flawless, except for a rattling noise under the vehicle when driving over stone roads in Mexico.

 

[calbare]

We drove to Mexico in San Miguel de Allende in our new Ford Bronco. It ate up the roads as we drove, and it seemed to be the right vehicle for that town since the roads are made of cobblestones. The cobblestones put a lot of wear-and-tear on the suspension and tires of all the cars driven there.

One thing I noticed when we were driving along a long stretch of road was a noise coming from underneath the car. There was the rumble of the tires/suspension from just going over the road. But every once in a while I could hear a secondary higher pitched rumble. It would come and go with regularity as we went driving down the cobblestone road. Not all of the roads, though.

The road I'm talking about was a flat stretch of road where one could drive just a little bit faster. It seemed to really stress the suspension/tires because almost all the roads in SMA are like this. But the long stretch of flat road in the Atascadero section of town was the only stretch of road where I could hear that noise.

I spoke to an auto mechanic and said if he could check the noise we heard in SMA. He's a great auto mechanic and did find a noise when he pounded on the gas tank. He said to have Ford check it out since it's under warranty. He said he wouldn't drive like that. However, we drove a few thousand miles like that.

I haven't taken it to a dealer yet because phoning them for an appointment gives you a phone recording, and they never call back after leaving a message on their service. I'll need to go there physically to schedule and hope they don't keep my car for weeks on end.

Everything else on the car was flawless, though. I'm really impressed with the quality of this American car.

ps: the road in SMA we drove on is called Cuenta de San José. That cobblestone road, being quite long, would make a great test for really shaking the vehicle and seeing if anything shakes loose.

 

[ChrisD]

He's testing stock vehicles. Not ones that have been lifted with oversized tires. Every post I've seen on here where someone broke a tie rod, the Bronco was lifted with oversized tires.

I've even asked for posts from people who brock a tie rod in a stock vehicle.

Stock Wildtrak, Labor Day, 2022, Top of the World trail in Moab. Not mine, but I was there. Fortunately, about three of us had spare tie rods in our kit, so we repaired on the trail and continued on.

 

[CalvinT]

Stock Wildtrak, Labor Day, 2022, Top of the World trail in Moab. Not mine, but I was there. Fortunately, about three of us had spare tie rods in our kit, so we repaired on the trail and continued on.

I wonder if he hit the throttle with the wheels turned and front locker applied. That's an excellent way to break a tie rod. Also was he on rock or something loose? Rock doesn't slip as much.

 

[ChrisD]

I wonder if he gave it gas with the wheels turned and front locker applied. That's an excellent way to break a tie rod. Also was he on rock or something loose? Rock doesn't have much give.

Yeah, climbing up on that ledge you see in the foreground, but I think the front locker was disengaged from the conversation. Anyway, it happened, now, it's never happened to me, but I carry a spare tie rod just in case. It's cheap insurance.

Honestly, I doubt Ford would have released the beefier steering unit you can get on Ford Performance Parts unless they'd identified a problem over time. That said, it doesn't apply to my model, but a spare tie rod was about $100 and I carry a full tool set when wheeling, so no big deal.

 

[CalvinT]

Ford did a lot of testing. Just like software companies do a lot of Beta testing. But the final test is when a product is released to the public. Once you increase your testing pool the chances of finding a problem increase.

Trained drivers, probably accompanied by engineers, did all the driving for Ford's testing. An untrained driver can be more creative about how to break something.

I like the idea of carrying a spare tie rod. I'm considering it since they don't cost much and don't take up much space. But I probably won't. I have no interest in rock crawling and given the option of two different paths, I'll always take the easiest one.

 

[Spooled]

My brand new Bronco had 70-ish miles, too. They didn't say why. Mine is also "almost" flawless, except for a rattling noise under the vehicle when driving over stone roads in Mexico.

I work for a different OEM, and we do it randomly to audit our processes. Most of the time there's nothing wrong and they're just sanity checks.

 

[bsh]

This is interesting to see. I'm still waiting on my bronco to arrive. it was ordered 6/20/25. It was built on 10/6/25 and then pulled for Quality control certifications. I wonder if there will be a note saying that's what happened. its now 1/21/26 and still no bronco.

That's terrifying! I placed my order this week and I'm already counting days...

 

[barbihardt]

That's terrifying! I placed my order this week and I'm already counting days...

There was nothing special about my order. i had no custom requirements. Only reason I custom ordered mine was there was not red ones within several states. They told me 30 days. Still waiting with a pile of bronco swag......waiting on the bronco......

 

[DALOLA]

Gives me flashbacks! I'm sure he was in several of the original spy photos! Thanks Doug!

As soon as he became a supervisor, he traded a drivers seat for a desk chair....

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