The Checkered Flag on 2022

By Seth Burgett

As we round the final turn of 2022 and head toward the checkered flag, the Gateway Bronco team has a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. We appreciate all our customers, partners, fans, and those who have expressed interest in our custom reimagined SUVs and trucks.

Reaching this point required many long days at the facility and more than a few risks taken along the way. It is satisfying to look back at the victories and marvel at the team’s accomplishments, this has been a record-breaking year for us!

First, a record number of orders came in over the past year followed by a record number of deliveries. We had an increase in the number of repeat buyers in 2022, as well. Many of them own multiple homes and love their bespoke Bronco from Gateway so much that they want to have one wherever they go.

With these record sales have come record values, which is why our clients have been stating “I have never considered a car to be an investment, I feel that’s the case with a Bronco from Gateway”. More and more, buyers are stating, although they never plan to sell their Bronco, it feels good that it will grow in value. We routinely see our reimagined SUVs valued in the $300,000 to $600,000 range and recently took an order for a “Survivalist Edition” Bronco with night vision IR headlights that exceeded the world record setting Ryan Blaney Foundation Bronco which sold at Barrett-Jackson in January, 2020 for $650,000.

Hitting these benchmarks required considerable investment in our company. Over the past 12 months, Gateway Bronco has made its largest capital expenditure on R&D in its history.

That investment led to the introduction of several new products and features in 2022, such as our proprietary hardtop with Freedom Top convertible at the push of a button, and our new 3D configurator which allows anyone to design their dream Bronco through our website. We have new trucks and trailers to deliver our vehicles including a new Freightliner and the venerable Ford F-450 Super duty so we can have a delivery to each coast simultaneously. To fulfill on our industry leading 7-year bumper to bumper warranty we built a proven field service model to taking care of our customers with a “zero cost” white gloves approach.

We doubled the size of our team and closed five-year deals with both Eaton and Glasurit as our strategic partners in building our custom vehicles. Look for press releases in early 2023 with the announcement of these partnerships.

A major portion of our 2022 R&D investment is in a “next generation” vehicle that will reimagine the Bronco in an exciting new way. We plan to officially announce it in early 2023 and formerly introduce the first production unit at Monterey during Collector Car Week in August.

Of course, no review of 2022 would be complete without highlighting Gateway Bronco’s support for the Special Operators Transition Foundation (SOTF), and the sweepstakes Bronco custom-built to raise funds for this worthy organization. The cause and truck have both drawn praise from automotive celebrities such as Jay Leno, Chris Jacobs, Cristy Lee, Tanner Foust, Chip Foose and Adam Carolla. We’re thrilled to have their support for Gateway Bronco’s philanthropic efforts.

Our reputation for tailor-made resto-mod Broncos is growing in celebrity circles. Celebrities from all corners of the entertainment and sports industry have purchased vehicles from Gateway Bronco in the past year, from A-list actors to Billboard chart-topping musicians. Some have purchased multiple vehicles. The latest was delivered to Ben Affleck in Los Angeles, a present from Jennifer Lopez for Ben’s 50th birthday.

Success breeds success, as the saying goes, and Gateway Bronco’s brilliant year has carried over into my personal life. Through the relationships built with Ford and in the automotive world I now have two world class coaches, Billy Johnson and Zac Anderson. With their patient support, we were able to win a racing championship in my Rookie season, notching five podium finishes, four wins, and two track records along the way.

So please accept our sincere thank you to everyone who accompanied us through our best year yet. With 2023 approaching in the windshield, we are bullish on a great outcome in the next 12 months. Everyone can rest assured, we have our foot firmly on the throttle!

For more on Gateway Bronco’s record-setting year, please click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jw5jtzkMQE