Original subtitles

[warm country music]

♪♪ ♪♪

SINGER: ♪♪ Aah ♪♪

♪♪ He was cut from stone ♪♪

♪♪ With unbreakable bones ♪♪

♪♪ Diamonds for eyes ♪♪

♪♪ And titanium thighs ♪♪

♪♪ He had the world by the mane ♪♪

♪♪ So he couldn't complain ♪♪

♪♪ And they call him ♪♪

♪♪ John Bronco ♪♪

‐ Ooh.

[investigative music]

NARRATOR: Who was John Bronco?

ANNOUNCER: I'm told his name is John Bronco.

NARRATOR: How did he have such a major impact on the world?

‐ Would you welcome John Bronco.

NARRATOR: How does a man who enthralled audiences

over American airwaves for over 30 years

just disappear?

REPORTER: John Bronco has disappeared.

‐ When I tell people that I'm a John Bronco expert,

a lot of times they're like,

"Oh, John Bronco.

"Was he the guy in the old Ford commercials?

The spokesperson?"

And, uh, I'm like, "Well... [chuckles]

Not just a spokesperson."

That'd being like saying I Can't Believe It's Not Butter

is just margarine.

Which, I guess it is,

but it's the most iconic margarine,

uh, and that's the reason why I brought up the margarine.

‐ [sighs]

I'd have to say a couple of dozen at least.

'Cause that's all you have out there.

Just you and your shoes.

Oh, man. What a move.

But nothing compared to the stuff John Bronco did.

‐ [quickly] Everyone in the spokesperson world looked up to John Bronco.

And he set the model for how you represent a brand.

This is the Micro Machine man

presenting the midget miniature motorcade of Micro Machine.

I mean, let's face it, I especially admired his cool laid‐back demeanor

which is a real influence on me and my style as a pitch man.

‐ Ah, nope, that would be like asking George Clooney to do

something ten times less attractive.

I got one speed here, pal.

‐ Now the Ford archives are huge.

We've got records going back to Model A, Model T,

The Mustang,

drawings of the F‐150,

everything that you could think of,

but most of it is John Bronco stuff.

So this is all‐‐ all John Bronco stuff.

All John Bronco stuff.

Got a bunch of his hats in here.

Bunch of boots that he wore down here.

This is the John Bronco stuff that can't be touched by light.

Kinda spooky.

Here we go.

This is the first known photo of John.

1962.

Look at that.

Yeah, that's a real man right there.

[country music] [cheering]

♪♪ ♪♪

‐ I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on John.

He was... ah, just a rodeo rider

without a penny to his name,

but I knew we were destined to be together.

KAREEM: From the time he started out in rodeo,

John Bronco was considered a sort of a Renaissance man.

You knew he was destined for something special,

it was just a matter of being in the right place

at the right time.

NARRATOR: The place was Baja, California.

PERSON: Baja!

NARRATOR: The time, 1965.

ANNOUNCER: Modern day gladiators prepare to battle

against the rugged obstacles

of the lower Californian peninsula.

It is a race, but the course resembles a labyrinth

designed by the Devil himself.

NARRATOR: Ford was bringing

an as yet unnamed vehicle to the race in Baja,

and they wanted to win.

‐ After World War II,

both Jeep and International Harvester

introduced a utility vehicle,

but it was kinda like riding around in a tumble dryer.

Ford had the idea

to design a sport utility vehicle,

one that could go to the grocery store one minute

and off‐road the next,

and they figured that Baja would be the perfect place

for them to test it out.

Now apparently, Lee Iacocca goes to his people and says,

[gruff voice] "Just get me the toughest son of a bitch in town,"

and it turns out the toughest son of a bitch in Baja that day

was in fact‐‐ CAMERAMAN: [gasps]

‐ Yeah, I‐‐yeah, I was gonna say John Bronco.

ANNOUNCER: And out of the gate,

he's the number one rodeo rider,

John Bronco!

‐ Well, uh, we were in Mexico for an event,

and, uh, this guy from the Ford Motor Company

comes up to me, and he goes,

uh, "Do you know any race car drivers?"

And I figured if anyone could do it,

John could do it.

♪♪ ♪♪

John didn't even have a driver's license.

I told him, "Ride it like it's a horse."

And that clicked for him.

ANNOUNCER: And gaining is the newcomer in the Ford.

I'm told his name is John Bronco.

‐ I don't know if he even knew who he was racing

or where he was going.

ANNOUNCER: And the Ford is now passing

the favored Ken Stills for the lead.

John Bronco is in the lead, and he ain't giving it up!

Ford, Bronco at the wheel.

‐ He drove nonstop,

36 hours.

‐ And he won.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, your winner,

John Bronco!

NARRATOR: A new racing champion had been crowned,

and the world was about to be introduced

to John Bronco. [cheers and applause]

‐ Tell me, how does it feel to win

the most important off‐road rally race

in the world?

‐ Are you shitting me, right?

‐ I am not. You have just won the race!

‐ No, like hell I did.

‐ No, no, you really won. So tell me,

how's it feel to go from a nobody

to a racing hero?

‐ Well, I‐‐I ain't no hero,

but uh,

but I ain't no nobody neither now.

I'm just a‐a country boy

in dirty boots

who's out there every day busting his ass

trying to make a living.

‐ Well, you must be exhausted after that grueling drive.

‐ Well, you ever tried to tame a wild buck?

I work five day shifts,

14 hours a day on a factory floor.

‐ Never done that. ‐ Well, driving through the

desert with no food or water don't scare you that much.

It ain't shit compared to what the average working man does

day in and day out.

So if you about to give me a trophy or something,

why don't you keep it?

Take it back to that fancy‐ass country club you belong to.

Let honest hardworking Americans like me

go eat some fudge. How 'bout that?

[cheers and applause] Huh? How 'bout that?

DONOVAN: That all struck a chord with the average Johnny,

present company included.

Except for the part where he said, "Eat some fudge."

I think that was a heatstroke thing.

‐ Eat some fudge!

ALL: Eat some fudge, eat some fudge...

BEBE: The country went nuts for John's speech.

I mean, it really hit a nerve.

‐ Yeah, it's one of the greatest underdog stories

of all time.

‐ 'Scuse me, I didn't give you my sunglasses, did I?

‐ I‐I don't think so. ‐ And to top it off,

he did the whole race in reverse.

‐ I got to go back and get 'em! [crowd cheers]

DONOVAN: Actually beat his own time.

Somehow he did it even faster.

NARRATOR: People wanted to know,

who was this mystery man,

and what was this mystery car he was driving?

DONOVAN: Ford knew they had a big star on their hands.

You know what they did?

They told John that they were gonna name the car after him.

Seemed pretty obvious to me.

Bronco is a great name for a truck,

and come to think of it,

it was the perfect name for a rodeo rider,

but that was his given name: John Bronco.

It's called an aptronym.

Like, uh, Cecil Fielder the baseball player,

or Jude Law the judge.

‐ Is there an actor named Jude Law?

‐ Oh, I guess I should've said, uh,

Orlando Bloom the florist.

‐ Really?

What about Brad Pitt, the peach pie maker?

‐ Absolutely not. You never saw that commercial?

‐ Oh, hi! I'm Bradley Pitt,

the peach pie guy.

Come on down to The Peach Pit and get yourself some pie.

‐ Yeah. Why?

The point is, Ford found its pitchman,

and it was John Bronco.

[fanfare music]

ANNOUNCER: Bronco.

Bronco. Bronco.

First four‐wheel drive sportscar.

Blazing a new trail of excitement,

the new Ford Bronco

for 1966.

‐ Hi, I'm John Bronco.

I know good horse when I see one.

Now this may not be a horse,

but it sure does buck like one.

So if you're looking for a horse that's a truck,

this is it.

The new Ford Bronco.

I know it's not a real horse. [chuckles]

I'm a Bronco! Are you?

DONOVAN: On the surface, it wasn't anything special.

Then all of a sudden, the calls started coming in.

"Who is this country boy in dirty boots?"

[laughing]

"Where'd he come from?

Why is his boot so dirty?"

[laughs] [mumbles] I don't know.

‐ This chart right here is Bronco sales.

This is right after the first commercial aired,

and in this chart, up is good.

‐ And so Lee Iacocca said,

[squeaky voice] "I want John Bronco in every commercial,

"on every billboard,

in every radio spot I got."

And when Lee Iacocca speaks, people listen.

‐ Steak and potatoes may feed my body,

but a Bronco feeds my soul.

Hee‐ya!

DONOVAN: Bronco the man and Bronco the car

both became a sensation.

‐ Be an American. Be a Bronco.

KAREEM: John Bronco?

He was all over my TV set back then.

‐ John was on TV, like, ten times day.

We had to fly all over the world to do press.

[chuckles] We spent a lot of time in Iceland

where the Bronco sold like hotcakes.

Even today, they say Iceland

is the place where the Bronco never died.

I still get Icelandic underwear

in the mail for John.

[laughs] Mostly women's.

‐ The new Ford Bronco,

'cause daddy wants a pony too.

BEBE: Oh, he came up with so much stuff for them.

They would just roll cameras and let him talk.

KAREEM: John starred in them,

but I heard he directed them too.

‐ This thing's tough. [grunts]

John Bronco tough.

‐ He made me want to buy a Bronco.

‐ What's the fun of being a Bronco

if you can't share it?

NARRATOR: John Bronco was a hit for Ford,

but they soon learned that his talents

didn't just stop at commercial acting.

He even wrote a jingle for the car.

[upbeat country music]

JOHN: ♪♪ Mama, she named me Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ 'Cause I'm tough as nails ♪♪

♪♪ There's no place I can't go ♪♪

DONOVAN: I mean, everybody's jaw just hit the floor.

Nobody knew he could sing.

‐ And the track was so good, they released it as a single.

DONOVAN: They were playing it everywhere.

JOHN: ♪♪ I'm Bronco, John Bronco ♪♪

‐ People were doing the Bronco all over the world.

It was the number one on the Billboard chart

for three weeks.

‐ Normally, you get a celebrity to be your spokesperson.

This was the first time a spokesperson

became a celebrity.

I mean, that just doesn't happen.

It'd be like Colonel Sanders going on Jay Leno.

You see what I'm saying?

Do you [bleep] get it?

‐ Would you welcome, John Bronco.

[applause]

DANIEL: He did "Carson,"

he did "Laugh‐In,"

he did "Dick Cavett." He was everywhere.

‐ I booked him three TV guest spots

in one week.

He's the first guy to ever do that.

‐ To be honest, I don't think they would wear this

on the range, would they?

‐ Only you could pull that off, Johnny.

[laughter]

[applause]

‐ We were living the American dream.

We got married,

moved into our dream house,

we talked about having kids.

Then...

[music winds down]

He met Bo.

[dramatic music]

DONOVAN: John and Bo met on the set

of a movie she was doing.

John had a small role

as a lifeguard.

Uh, the moment their eyes locked,

it was instant chemistry.

♪♪ ♪♪

‐ He was married?

No, that definitely never came up.

You know, I was young and just having fun

and I didn't think too much back then,

so when I met a guy

who also didn't think too much, sparks flew.

‐ And then he started dating Bo Derek.

To me, it just seemed like

John Bronco had the world by the plums,

and this is after I had won three championships.

I have to say, he's the only guy that I ever asked for an autograph.

‐ John sent me a message from New York.

It said,

"The disco floor

is calling these old boots to boogie."

♪♪ ♪♪

That was John's way of saying it's over.

NARRATOR: The country boy in dirty boots

had become a city slicker in a shiny jacket.

Even worse, John started to focus on his own brand.

He had a cologne, exercise tape,

breakfast cereal, coloring book,

Bronco‐Vision,

an early video format competitor

to VHS and Betamax,

and a video game, "Baja John Bronco."

[chiptune music]

‐ It was sold very much as a racing game,

but it was in fact, a taco assembly game.

The goal and rules

were both very confusing.

‐ I only won once.

I just made a pretty standard fish taco

with mango salsa.

The weird thing is, I'd made that same taco once before,

and lost.

DIGITIZED JOHN: Messy taco. Messy taco.

[failure music]

‐ I thought it was great doing all those products.

I mean, the cash was rolling in,

but John was‐‐

his whole life was on the film set, you know?

He couldn't take it.

DIRECTOR: Action!

‐ What better way to spend your day off

than having fun in a Ford Bronco?

I don't catch Frisbees, man.

I don't‐‐I don't like Frisbees

because, uh, I don't like things coming at my face.

And I saw a man once

who got his head chopped off with a Frisbee.

Yeah, cut it right off, just like that.

DIRECTOR: Action.

‐ What better way to spend your day off

than having fun in the Ford Bronco.

I told you I don't catch Frisbees, man!

[grunts]

I don't catch Frisbees, all right!?

[heavy breathing]

Take this [bleep] beer.

NARRATOR: To alleviate some of the pressure

of being the lead pitchman,

Ford decided to have John costar

in a Ford Ranger commercial

with college quarterback sensation, Doug Flutie,

and the results would haunt him forever.

‐ You know, when it comes to being a champion,

size isn't everything.

Who knows better than Doug Flutie?

The main thing is, you gotta be tough

like this small‐sized Ford Ranger.

Okay, go long.

And the Ranger's cab is high and wide.

[whistle blowing]

‐ Hey, Doug, can you do it again?

‐ What do you want, another miracle?

‐ Yes, I do‐‐ [grunts]

SINGERS: Ford trucks!

♪♪ The best never rest ♪♪

KAREEM: Doug Flutie had one of the best arms in football.

That football was basically coming out of a shotgun.

[shotgun loading]

‐ Aah!

BO: Not only did the impact knock John unconscious,

his face was messed up beyond recognition.

John was put into a medical coma.

That was rough.

DONOVAN: He had to have plastic surgery,

and by plastic, I mean, an experimental surgery

where they literally gave him a plastic face.

He never aged past that day.

Actually, now, it's a pretty common surgery.

Paul Rudd, Tom Cruise, Macaulay Culkin,

they've all had their faces locked in.

And me.

I actually just celebrated my 91st birthday last week.

NARRATOR: John's accident also delayed production

of a new commercial

for the recently announced Bronco II.

So against doctors' orders,

he checked himself out of the hospital early

to resume the campaign.

‐ He was still out of it.

I think he had a lot of drugs still left in his system

from the hospital.

‐ John pitched Ford a bunch of ideas

for the Bronco II commercial,

even though he clearly had a little brain damage.

‐ Aah!

‐ And they rejected 'em all,

so John rented a warehouse

in San Pedro

and shot it himself.

[beeping]

[new wave music]

‐ Push Rod.

♪♪ ♪♪

Crankshaft.

♪♪ ♪♪

Sparkplug.

Bronco. ‐ Deux.

‐ Seatbelts. ‐ Bucket seat.

‐ Bronco. ‐ II!

‐ Do it.

‐ [gasps]

‐ Um...

S‐stop that.

Bronco II.

SINGERS: Ford trucks!

♪♪ The best never rest ♪♪

‐ Oh, the Bronco II commercial? What was that shit?

‐ He didn't even show the [bleep] car.

‐ It was brilliant.

A battle between light and dark.

Angels and demons.

Kind of like my Nestlé's Crunch commercial.

♪♪ S‐Crunch‐ous ♪♪

♪♪ When it crunches ♪♪

ALL: ♪♪ That's why I love ♪♪

♪♪ Nestlé Crunch ♪♪

‐ Well, the Bronco II didn't take off like the original.

It sold well in Iceland, though.

Ideal for the rough terrain,

and they like things that are a little off, you know?

‐ Anyway, the rest of the world...

[sighs]

They didn't really get behind the Bronco II, and...

[somber music]

A lot of people blamed John for that.

NARRATOR: John Bronco began to question everything:

his sense of self, his place in the world,

and his decision

to spend $475,000

of his own money on that commercial.

He retreated from the public eye

until 1995.

[dramatic music]

‐ When you're in a slump,

you gotta go back to the basics.

For John, that was Baja.

‐ I had a bad feeling

about him going back to Baja.

He wasn't in the right frame of mind to race that course.

‐ John, it must be rather emotional to be here.

‐ [laughs]

‐ I mean, after all, yesterday's big announcement.

‐ Yeah, it, uh...

It‐‐it‐‐it is, uh...

What announcement are you talking about?

‐ From Ford.

That they'll be discontinuing the Bronco.

REPORTER: After 30 years and over a million Broncos sold,

the iconic SUV

will drive off

into the sunset.

[somber flute music]

‐ I'm...

‐ I'm sorry, am I just telling you this for the first time?

‐ Uh...

No.

No, no, no, no, no. I knew that.

I knew that, and it's, uh, it's good.

‐ John didn't know.

‐ Did you think for a second that I didn't know?

[laughs] Yeah, I knew!

‐ He definitely didn't know.

‐ Everything there is to know about a Bronco, I know it.

‐ [laughs] Yeah.

‐ I get it all first. Everything first.

‐ At least I'm not the first to tell you

about Bo Derek dating Doug Flutie then, right?

[laughs]

♪♪ ♪♪

‐ Uh...

Yeah.

I knew that too.

‐ Bo had been seeing Doug Flutie.

John had no idea.

‐ We'd been dating for a long time by then,

and John was such a sweet guy,

I just didn't know how to tell him,

and um... [sighs]

That's why I got Doug

to try and kill him with that football.

[shotgun cocks] ‐ Aah!

‐ I mean, what was I supposed to do?

It was Doug Flutie, man.

We were in love.

DANIEL: I think people thought that he already knew

about the news. ‐ Why, why, why?

DANIEL: But to tell him like that, live on air...

‐ Why?

‐ That's a Chevy move.

That's some GM shit.

DONOVAN: Someone should've stopped him

from getting in that car and running that race.

‐ What's your point?

ANNOUNCER: And it's John Bronco

approaching mile marker 635,

now falling back into 15th position.

Bronco's got his work cut out for him

if he wants to get back into this thing.

Whoop, where'd he go?

Let's go to a different angle here.

Uh, this is odd.

We seem to have completely lost view of the truck.

I'm sure we'll track him down.

For now, let's cut back to Jeff.

NARRATOR: But they never did track him down.

‐ John Bronco has disappeared.

At the Baja 1,000,

somehow he seemed to vanish into thin air.

Now you see it, now you don't.

‐ Sources say he was quite distraught

when he took off in the race,

something that has absolutely nothing to do with me

or our interview right beforehand.

‐ Where did Bronco go?

A nation waits with bated breath

for the return of a folk hero.

‐ When the Ford Bronco died,

part of John Bronco died.

‐ Yeah.

Well, t‐they did make one more commercial

before that with John,

but they never aired it.

ANNOUNCER: Hit the road in the new Ford Bronco.

Its spacious cab has plenty of room

for when you and your passengers

just need to get away.

With best‐in‐class MPG,

this baby can run for miles and miles.

Plus, with pricing so low,

it should be against the law.

‐ When people think of the Ford Bronco,

like the one beside me right here,

they will always think of one guy in particular:

Me. John Bronco!

‐ Yeah, that never aired... [sighs]

Because he disappeared.

So timing wasn't right.

[chuckles]

NARRATOR: How is it possible

to disappear in the modern world

in front of thousands of spectators

and hundreds of cameras?

‐ It's like losing Santa Claus, you know?

Or Chef Boyardee.

CROWD: Find John Bronco. Find John Bronco.

INTERVIEWEE: He was the last person on TV

that you could actually believe.

‐ Yeah, we were competitors, but we respected each other.

I mean, I certainly didn't want to see him disappear.

‐ If I'd known he was gonna disappear,

I never would've tried to kill him.

[mysterious music]

‐ Never found his body.

NARRATOR: Over the years,

there were numerous accounts of John Bronco sightings,

but none were ever confirmed.

If he was still out there,

why he couldn't he be tracked down?

‐ Sure, sightings of John Bronco pop up here and there.

You know, people claiming that they saw him breaking horses

or driving by him on the highway.

‐ I wish I knew where he was.

I mean, Ford's called me every week looking for the guy.

‐ I got this in the mail the other day.

It says, "John Bronco is alive in Iceland."

They don't mean that literally of course.

NARRATOR: Or did they?

‐ "John Bronco is alive in Iceland."

‐ John Bronco died.

‐ Iceland is the place where the Bronco never died.

‐ "Alive in Iceland."

‐ He still lives here. ‐ Ooh.

[investigative music]

♪♪ ♪♪

‐ Are you serious?

Is she pointing at his [bleep] house?

[laughs] That's‐‐

How the [bleep] did people not know about this?

What the [bleep]?

He's been there for years.

Oh, my God. That's...

Can I keep this?

Can I keep the iPad?

[exciting country music]

♪♪ ♪♪

‐ Hello?

‐ No. No.

No, no. No speak‐a the English.

Does he live around here?

‐ [southern accent] No, no, no, he doesn't‐‐no. No, go away.

‐ Aw, damn.

All right, you got me. Hi.

[laughs] It's me. It's John Bronco.

‐ Yeah, yeah. It's me.

[both laughing]

Ow, damn, this house is small.

Uh, y'all come on in.

[melancholy piano music]

‐ [sighs]

Should I sit right here?

♪♪ ♪♪

[sighs] ‐ So, um...

‐ Well, that's always a good place to start.

‐ Well, a magician never reveals his secrets.

‐ God, you guys are good! God!

Yeah, that's what I did. Ha, you got me.

I dug a big hole, and I drove right into it.

Next.

‐ Well, I just got tired of the roller coaster, man.

The whole fame game,

I just had to‐‐ had to step off that train.

‐ What?

‐ Take me.

I just have to get my go bag.

Now, do they have a pitchman yet, huh?

'Cause I've been coming up with all kinds of ideas out here.

All kinds of ideas.

I mean, I've been thinking of some gems, you know?

Kinda like how fjord and Ford sound alike.

Like‐‐like‐‐like, hop off the fjord

and into a Ford. You know, something like that.

I ain't got it all worked out, but that's what I'm thinking, you know?

Here we go.

Tell me on the way to the airport. Let's go.

FEMALE REPORTER: John Bronco is back.

He was found in Iceland.

MALE REPORTER: The beloved pitchman is slated

to return to the States sometime tomorrow.

A homecoming is planned at Ford Headquarters

in Dearborn, Michigan

to celebrate the icon's return.

[exciting country music]

♪♪ ♪♪

NARRATOR: With a new Bronco in the works,

the people at Ford were eagerly awaiting John's return.

‐ There he is. [cheers and applause]

‐ Bronco!

‐ [laughs]

‐ Whoo!

‐ Yeah!

‐ [inaudible]

This changed.

[nostalgic music]

I can't believe anybody'd keep all this stuff.

♪♪ ♪♪

Wow.

Lookie there.

Yeah, it don't look anything like me.

[chuckles]

Wait a minute.

‐ [laughs] Look familiar?

‐ That's my girl. I know her.

I know this old girl right here.

This is really something, y'all.

This is something else, ain't it?

‐ How would you like to take a look at the new Bronco?

‐ Uh, well,

sure.

‐ All right, it's right through here.

‐ [sighs]

[beeping]

[sighs]

‐ [chuckles]

Oh, yeah, sorry, guys.

No camera crews allowed in here.

This is for John's eyes only.

So,

here it is, John,

the brand‐new Bronco.

[sheet falls]

JOHN: Holy [bleep] shit!

God damn, that is a bona fide ass kicker right there.

Look at that.

EMPLOYEE: Sure is. JOHN: Holy, [bleep] balls.

You really went with the classic design?

EMPLOYEE: Yep.

JOHN: Like a [bleep] moon vehicle meets a goddamn horse is what it is.

Now there's a 2‐door and a 4‐door.

EMPLOYEE: That's right. JOHN: Shut your butts!

And who's this little guy right here?

Look at you, you sporty little [bleep].

That's almost like‐‐ like this Bronco

gave birth to that Bronco.

I thought for sure you would [bleep] this up,

but god damn, man.

Oh, y'all, this just brings back so many memories.

Can I‐‐can I touch it?

EMPLOYEE: No, no, actually, John, you can't.

This is just a clay model. So I really wouldn't‐‐

‐ Just let me‐‐ just let me have this moment.

Mmm, mmm, mmm! EMPLOYEE: No, no, no,

no, John, no, no, no, John, please, no!

‐ [sighs]

[sighs]

‐ Uh, not bad.

Classic but modern.

Well done.

It was, uh... It was good to see.

‐ Uh, yeah, I kissed it a little bit.

In the front and the back, on the side.

‐ Regretting leaving?

No, no, no, I don't regret leaving,

I just, uh,

maybe I regret

being gone for so long, you know?

I mean,

maybe I could've been gone for a‐‐

a couple weeks maybe?

You know, like a‐‐ like a month maybe.

I don't know, maybe, like, five‐‐five weeks.

Something like that.

But coulda, shoulda, woulda, ya know?

That's just the way that, uh,

the cookie crumbles sometimes.

It just, uh...

I made some mistakes.

That's for sure.

And I might have some regrets

of being gone

for 25 years, you know?

Living in the middle of nowhere.

[somber music]

I mean, I love the Ford Bronco.

Man, it changed my life.

And being back here's like...

It's like coming home.

And I let a lot of good people down.

A lot of people,

but one person in particular...

There was one that was always there for me.

♪♪ ♪♪

I sure would like to see her again.

♪♪ ♪♪

[sighs]

‐ I mean, I miss him.

I've...

I wish I'd gotten to see him

one more time.

NARRATOR: What John didn't know

is that the crew had already arranged

for a special someone from his past...

‐ Everybody get in. everybody get in.

NARRATOR: To be in Dearborn that very day.

‐ What about this,

you hop off a fjord and into a Ford.

Maybe instead of seat warmers,

you do seat coolers, you know?

Something to keep your ass c‐‐ ‐ John?

[romantic piano music]

♪♪ ♪♪

‐ What's she doing here?

‐ They told me you were alive.

[sighs]

Well, come here, John.

♪♪ ♪♪

‐ [mumbles] No.

‐ Just a hug for old time's sake?

‐ You've got to get this woman away from me.

‐ I love you!

‐ She's got a fork!

‐ I wanna wear your skin!

‐ Get away from me! ‐ John!

‐ Get her, security, get her! ‐ I just wanna wear you!

‐ Get out! ‐ Aah!

‐ Did you get the blood I sent you?

It was big vial.

‐ Get away from me!

‐ We belong together, John!

‐ We don't belong nowhere!

BEBE: I love you!

‐ I don't love you! Keep going!

BEBE: No! [screams]

‐ Why'd you bring my stalker here?

‐ No, that wasn't my wife.

That woman's crazy now.

I've had restraining order against her for years!

[off‐key banjo music]

♪♪ ♪♪

‐ Bo, man!

Obviously I was talking about Bo Derek.

Who you think?

Bo. [bleep] Bo, man.

Bo! Is Bo coming?

‐ Hey, John, why don't I walk you through

what we're thinking for the new campaign.

[warm music]

‐ They offered him the whole kit and caboodle.

Face of the campaign. [chuckles]

Everything he always wanted.

‐ I just need to go outside.

[grunts]

‐ Take your time. ‐ [sighs]

‐ Maybe it's like they say,

you can't go home again.

You can't put together all the pieces

exactly like they used to be,

but maybe

you can make something new

from the memories of the past,

and maybe that's enough

just to know that

you haven't been forgotten.

‐ Truth is, I've always been a‐a wild horse,

and I'm always gonna be a wild horse,

but I'll always be John.

Bronco.

‐ I don't know where John went again.

Ford called and said that the original Bronco

was missing from the museum.

[rock music]

JOHN: ♪♪ Hoo, ha ♪♪

♪♪ Wha ♪♪

♪♪ Hoo, watch this move right here ♪♪

♪♪ Watch it, watch it ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ Mama, she named me Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ 'Cause I'm tough as nails ♪♪

♪♪ There's no place I can't go ♪♪

♪♪ Yeah, I'm tougher ♪♪

♪♪ Than a head honcho ♪♪

♪♪ 'Cause I stick it to the man ♪♪

♪♪ 'Cause I'm Bronco ♪♪

It's coming right at you,

it's as thin as piece of paper,

and it could hit you in the face.

I like to see things when they're coming.

I can't see a Frisbee.

‐ Okay, let's see, there's John Hamm the butcher.

There's Nicolas Cage the zookeeper.

There's Sean Penn the calligrapher.

Yeah, he invented that F

with the little thing on the end of it.

‐ This one didn't sell well,

'cause, um, the fudge there looked like, uh,

two kind of weird pieces of shit.

JOHN: ♪♪ Seats so soft ♪♪

♪♪ You'll get a thank you from yo' ass ♪♪

♪♪ My mama ♪♪

‐ I even remember the first thing he said to me

that day when I met him.

He said,

"What's my line?"

JOHN: ♪♪ When I do something ♪♪

♪♪ I do with a gusto ♪♪

♪♪ Well, I bring all I got ♪♪

♪♪ Because I'm Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ I'm Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ John Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ I'm blagga, blagga, blagga, blagga, blow ♪♪

♪♪ I'm Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ John Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ Yeah, I stick it to the man ♪♪

♪♪ 'Cause I'm Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ Well, I bring all I got, ha! ♪♪

♪♪ And that's a lot ♪♪

♪♪ My name ♪♪

♪♪ Is John Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ Ha, heh, ha! ♪♪

SINGER: ♪♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪♪

JOHN: ♪♪ JB, JB, JB, JB! ♪♪

SINGER: ♪♪ Shi‐bi‐dee‐doo‐doo‐doo ♪♪

JOHN: ♪♪ Ha, just stick it to the man! ♪♪

♪♪ Nah ♪♪

SINGER: ♪♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪♪

♪♪ Mama named him Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪♪

♪♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪♪

♪♪ Mama named him Bronco ♪♪

♪♪ Mama named him‐‐ ♪♪

JOHN: ♪♪ Shoo‐doo‐bee‐doop bee‐doopy‐doopy‐doo ♪♪

♪♪ Go Bronco ♪♪