Behind the wheel and under the hood
The Kindred Difference
If you’re reading this, you probably know what makes a Kindred vehicle, a Kindred — vintage models brought back to life, infused with modern reliability and performance. It’s a passion we share with our customers, which is why we invite each of them to visit our facility on Mare Island to meet the team, tour the facility, and most importantly, work on their Kindred vehicle.
“We bring the customer in very early. They're viewed as a partner in the company and in building their vehicle."
- John McGinn / Production Director at Kindred Motorworks
From the day a customer confirms their build slot, we work hand-in-hand with them —and even shoulder-to-shoulder on Customer Work Day — to realize their dream cars. Recently, our first two customers and soon-to-be Kindred Bronco owners, Jeff and Frederic (along with his son), joined us at our facility on Mare Island for their Customer Work Day.
For Jeff and Frederic, this was a chance to meet their Broncos and the team building them. For our team, this was a chance to share our passion and show off our hard work.
Your Classic Bronco Made Better
The First Generation Ford Bronco was the first automotive icon to get the Kindred treatment. After over 10,000 hours of prototyping, testing, and design, our team of engineers and experts produced a new take on the classic Bronco that features the same clean lines and rugged stance as the original, but with updated leather interior, power windows, hi-fi sound system with subwoofer, and a 460hp V8 engine.
“It's not a new car that is pretending to be an old car. It's an old, vintage, authentic car that has a lot of new components, new life to it...and so I love the fact that it has all of this new technology, but it keeps true to the original story."
- Jeff T. / Customer 001
In short, the Kindred Bronco preserves everything you remember fondly about the beloved classic while delivering everything you’ve come to expect of a modern automobile.
Jeff and Frederic had both dreamt of one day owning a vintage Bronco. For Jeff, he wanted something rugged to take up to Tahoe, and Frederic wanted a daily driver for running errands and trips to the beach in Marin. But thoughts of executing a full restoration and managing the typical upkeep for a vintage Bronco had long stood in the way.
Since Jeff and Frederic found us, we’ve worked tirelessly to deliver each of them their dream Bronco while forging that connection between vehicle and driver, all before they drive it home. From custom paint selection, to photo updates from our engineers, and phone conversations about final design details, we’ve kept Jeff and Frederic close to their Bronco builds each step of the way.
When thinking about the Customer Work Day, our Production Director, John, said, “I don't know of anybody else who's giving you an opportunity to come and get your hands on the car and be able to say, you know, I installed that or I helped with that, which I think is a really unique opportunity."
From the day a customer places a pre-order, they’re a part of Kindred and their vehicle build. A Customer Work Day is a chance for our customers to get to know our team and their vehicle. During their visits, Jeff, and Frederic (along with his son, who skipped school for the occasion) had front row seats to see the work that we’re doing in our facility and on their Broncos mid-build. They also got to step in and actually install components on their Broncos — handiwork each customer will get to admire on every Kindred vehicle in their future.
“This is really a very personalized experience. You get to have a personal relationship, not only with the team that's building the automobile, but also the automobile itself as it's being developed, which I think is particularly unique"
- Frederic K. / Customer 002
What’s in Store on Mare Island
Upon arriving at our facility, our customers are greeted by members of the Kindred team and taken on a tour of the building. During the tour, customers have access to see everything that goes on at Kindred. This is their chance to stop in at each department: fabrication, EV, paint, upholstery, and assembly, to meet more members of our team and ask any questions about our work or their vehicle. They even get to poke around "The Boneyard": the area where we store, break down, and prepare the “donor organs” that will eventually become Kindred Vehicles.
From there, it’s time to get to work. Customers arrive at their personal vehicle to see it in progress and join the team, pop on some safety goggles and pick up a wrench or screwdriver.
“Having the opportunity to come and see how the cars are being developed, see the production line and actually do work on my vehicle, is something that I've never experienced before,” said Frederic, who got to work on his Bronco alongside his son. “And, you know, probably outside of Kindred never will.”
We assign different installations depending on when a customer comes in during the build process. During Jeff’s visit, he installed bezels on the dashboard, while Frederic worked on his power windows and his son worked with Nicole on our team to install some wood flooring.
What's Next?
Each Customer Work Day wraps up with a test drive around Mare Island in one of our Kindred models before we say our ‘goodbyes’, for now.
From there, we get back to work putting each customer’s vehicle through final production and testing to ensure it’s more than ready to hit the road. Finally, it’s time to hand over the keys — we give our customers the option to either drop off the finished vehicle directly to their home, or we host them for their delivery day (and a celebration with the team).
Everything we do is designed to help our customers, and our team members feel like we're all a part of the Kindred community — building and enjoying vintage vehicles, together.