Ford says it saw a 'stampede of reservations' for the new Bronco SUV that crashed its website

Reservation books for the 2021 Ford Bronco opened on Monday evening.
The "stampede of reservations" crashed the reservation website.
The Bronco's cult-like following and off-road capabilities make it a highly anticipated vehicle for a great many people.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

Nearly 25 years have passed since we've gotten a new Ford Bronco. On Monday evening, Ford changed that with the 2021 Bronco .

But this time around, buyers will get three body styles to choose from a two-door, four-door , or the smallish SUV Sport model plus a myriad of trims and options. And the biggest kicker of all? The base-model Bronco two-door will have a sub-$30,000 starting price .

Ford opened its reservation books on Monday evening, and predictably, the site was immediately flooded by interested buyers, effectively crashing it.

"We were blown away by the stampede of reservations last night," the official Ford Twitter account tweeted on Tuesday morning , acknowledging the site difficulties, "but rest assured the site is fully up and running now."

The enthusiasm makes sense.

The very last Bronco came off the Michigan Truck Plant assembly line on June 12, 1996, according to Ford . But long before production ended, Broncos were beloved for their off-road capabilities and classic design. There were collector's items , fashion icons , and everything in between.

For the next quarter of a century, the Ford lineup remained Bronco-less. As the automaker tells it, the market shifted more favorably toward the four-door Expedition and it had to answer.

But with the current surge in popularity of SUVs and pickup trucks basically, the big vehicles there really wasn't a better time to bring back the Bronco. It really seems like there can never be too many SUV offerings today.

Love for off-roading and go-anywhereness never went away, as evidenced by fans and buyers of the off-roading Ford F-150 Raptor pickup truck. Matching that enthusiasm with the return of a body-on-frame , cartoonishly boxy 4x4 off-roader with a famed nameplate and a cultish following to challenge the Jeep Wrangler with? No wonder customer say the site crashed.

Now it's just a matter of seeing how many Broncos Ford manages to sell and if Jeep has anything to worry about.

NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence