Either the Ford Motor Company has a twisted sense of humor or it failed to realize it would be unveiling its new Bronco on OJ Simpson's birthday. The Bronco—heading back into production for the first time since 1996—is almost synonymous with the former football star and murder suspect, who fled from police in a white Bronco on June 17, 1994, after being charged with the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Some 95 million people tuned in to the chase on I-405 in Southern California, broadcast live on TV, reports the Detroit Free Press.
"Everybody in the world knew that OJ was fleeing in a white Ford Bronco," said Autoline.tv host John McElroy, who predicted Ford would change the date of its release, set for July 9, Simpson's 73rd birthday. "I gotta believe this is a mistake. Didn't anybody look at the calendar?" In a statement, however, a Ford North America product communications manager says the release of the SUV will go ahead as planned. The timing, he adds, is "purely coincidental." The new Bronco, available in two-door and four-door versions, will go on sale next year, reports Fox Business. (More Ford stories.)