If you were under the impression that the days of delayed vehicle launches and production hiccups caused by the novel coronavirus were over, you would be wrong. GM, for instance, has had to pause production of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette a couple of times in recent memory due to interruptions within the supply chain.

Worse than that, news has just broken that Ford will have to delay the launch of the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco, from spring to summer of next year, owing to "Covid-related challenges our suppliers are experiencing," according to Ford spokesperson Jiyan Cadiz. "We are committed to building Broncos with the quality our customers expect and deserve."

Consider it lessons learned from Ford's botched simultaneous launch of the 2020 Ford Explorer and related Lincoln Aviator. Both of those vehicles were rushed to market with insufficient time to work out all the kinks during preproduction, resulting in a host of problems that Ford had to scramble to solve for early buyers - things like missing parking brake parts, air-conditioners that blew hot air, and mysterious chassis quality issues.

After living out that scenario, Ford recognizes that it's better for the Bronco to arrive a bit late and fully baked than on-time and undercooked.

One silver lining for Ford Bronco reservation holders is that they now have more time to figure out how they want to option their new SUVs; the start date for ordering has been moved back from December 7 to mid-January, and those with orders will now have until March 19 to finalize the details, The Detroit News reports. On the other hand, the Ford Bronco 7-speed with Sasquatch Package has been shifted from 2021 to 2022.

The Ford Bronco is one of Ford's most hotly-anticipated vehicles ever, representing the company's first new generation of the model since the 1990s. For the first time, it will have some company in the Ford North America lineup, in the form of the smaller, less-hardcore Bronco Sport, which has already started shipping out to customers.