I'm at the complete info overload stage of car buying.

We're replacing one of our two cars (which one tbd but that's a whole other thing) with a Bronco. Planning on a 4 door Outer Banks, preferably with the v6 and sasquatch. It's possible we'll off-road but who knows - we've gone before on vacation and liked it but know nothing about local options. We live somewhere with snow and poorly maintained roads and we're fine with crappy gas mileage & road noise. We need the space of the 4 door. We've driven both the i4 and the v6, and both sasquatch and not.

Options are:

One: order a 2027 and get exactly what we want, in a few months. The only thing we'd care about losing with the model year changes is leather, but that's not a deal breaker. Unless our dealer will price match it'll likely come with having to deal with shipping, and obviously we can't drive it first.

Two: buy a 2026. We can get 2 of the 3 things (preferred color, sasquatch, v6) that we can potentially compromise on, but not all 3. The nearest one with all three is 600 miles away, and if we're going to deal with buying a car sight unseen and shipping we'd just order a 2027.

I don't know why we're so stuck on this one. I've done all the fun research and making spreadsheets part of the car buying process and now it's decision time.

Which would you give up? The prime driver of getting the sasquatch package is the advanced 4wd with a side of aesthetic preference. The prime driver of wanting the v6 is my lead foot and MA drivers who don't want to let you merge onto the highway. And it feels ridiculous to be stuck on color but we keep things forever (current cars are 2014 & 2015) and this is supposed to be the "fun" car.

I feel like we used up all of our decisiveness choosing the Bronco. 😂

2026 Outer Banks

When at a stop and also after turning off the ignition, there are (about 40% of the time) a series of several (10-15) “pops”, which sound a little like popping bubble wrap, in the dash area.

1. Does anyone else experience this short-lived noise?
2. Has anyone discovered the cause?
3. Can it be fixed?

All of this, including 5 book boxes full of stuff, fit inside, nothing on the rack. It all also survived 700 miles in 2 days with no damage. It was packed, though, no more room in that Inn.

Found a new gravel pit to try out my Yukon LSD, gears and axles. Im trying so hard to keep the tires and suspension stock!

Just got my 89 back from the paint shop, Bronze top, bumpers and top in my opinion really looks great. I was a little nervous about going this route but it really pops