A 2021 Bronco Just Sold for $500k, and With Good Reason
Read on to learn about how one Ford Bronco made a big difference to a Detroit nonprofit.
Written by Alex Reale
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
The year 2020 was a grim one, but there was at least one bright spot.
Two years later, you can spot them on the street with some regularity, but many people are still awaiting their
chunky off-road baby
. One man bypassed the waitlist for an exceptional reason: he won it with a huge bid at a charity auction. Read on to learn about how one Ford Bronco made a big difference to a Detroit nonprofit.
Customized for good
In a late January 2022 auction in Scottsdale, a customized 2021 Ford Bronco took the stage, reports the
Detroit Free Press
. A first edition, it sparkled in Wimbledon White, a color offered for the 1966 version, and subtle red accents adorned the hood and body. Above the windshield was a strip of jewel-like bright lights. A little red and black logo was painted below the passenger side rear view mirror, festooned with the words “FIRST EDITION” and “Pope Francis Center,” plus the signature bucking bronco.
After five minutes of bidding, the vehicle—which was originally $63,275 minus the cost of the custom features—had increased its worth by almost eight times.
The winner, a Georgia resident named Tony Townley, nabbed the vehicle for $500,000.
Working to end homelessness
Townley’s expensive Bronco is more than just a fun new addition to his garage: the money from this sale went entirely to a nonprofit called the Pope Francis Center, referenced in the customized logo on the car. This Detroit organization has provided services to the homeless community for over 30 years, and is working to end chronic homelessness by 2030.
The Julia Burke Foundation, based in Northern California, matched Townley’s expenditure, so the Pope Francis Center received $1 million in funds for a project called Bridge Housing Campus. This initiative will provide studio apartments as well as recreational, health, and educational brick-and-mortar services to those experiencing homelessness.
The Bronco was donated by Detroit natives David Fischer Sr. and David Fischer Jr. of The Suburban Collection, after discussions with the Ford company and family about ways they could best support the Pope Francis Center.
Initially, the father and son duo had planned to just make a check out to the charity, but it is perhaps fitting that, in the heartland of American carmaking, a community’s revival was jump started by none other than an American car.
A Bronco worth its buck
The Reverend Tim McCabe, who is the executive director of the nonprofit, expressed his gratitude for the whole situation to the Detroit Free Press. This beautiful Wimbledon White 4x4 is not just another eye-catching off-roader. Its sale is an investment in the eradication of Detroit homelessness. It will “literally…save lives,” he said.
For Mr. Tony Townley of Georgia, buying a car came with moral purchase.
Don’t forget to insure your own Bronco.
Jerry
is a personal insurance broker that lives in your pocket. But don’t worry about buying tiny office furniture, Jerry is an app. Once you download Jerry, just answer a handful of questions that will take you roughly 45 seconds to complete and you’ll immediately get car insurance quotes for coverage similar to your current plan. Jerry customers save an average of $887 a year.
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