I saw a Ford Bronco Sport Free Wheeling on a lot the other day and thought the dealership had gotten creative. But nope—that’s a trim level Ford makes as an homage to a special one it did back in the 1970s, with a sweet set of sunset-tone stripes on the side. Then today, Land Rover dropped a special Defender with basically the same motif. And of course, another automaker has famously invoked those colors on its trucks for many years. Three make a trend, right?
[Correction: We had originally posted that Ford and Land Rover were both cribbing classic Toyota colors but I was wrong—Ford’s Free Wheeling trim and colorway predates Toyota’s Baja racing program, there were Free Wheelin’ Ford Broncos in the ’70s rocking the sunset fade decals, though with more of a gradient look than segmented stripes.]
Toyota made red/orange/yellow striping its signature look on racing trucks decades ago, in Ivan Stewart’s Baja heydays. You didn’t see that color combo evoked much in the 2010s, but it’s recently made an appearance on some TRD special-edition and heritage-edition trucks.
Of course by “special edition” I mean “shameless cash grabs.” Fifth-gen 4Runners are charming but they are not, objectively, special.
Nevertheless, as a big fan of automotive graphics, I’m pleased to see automakers offer vinyl designs that are thoughtfully matched to the body lines of their vehicles. I just think it’s kind of funny that, as of today, three different SUV brands are using basically the same theme.
On one hand, this new Land Rover limited-edition “Beach Break” Defender looks pretty good. On the other, really guys? We’re all just copying each others’ homework here.
I have been saying, and will continue to say, that vinyl graphics are a great way to make a car stand out without spending much money. You don’t have to go all Fast and Furious with it, just some gentle stripes that follow or accentuate a car’s body lines can really go a long way.
Here’s hoping we keep seeing automakers, or dealers, offer stuff like this. And if they don’t, hey, it’s not that hard to cut your own vinyl! My wife and I designed, cut, and laid the stripes on my Montero. Which, you guessed it, is not terribly far off the swatches used by all three examples in this blog.
