Former Ford Group Vice President introduces the Ford Bronco Concept in Detroit, Michigan. (Photographer: Daniel Lipptt/Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Dan Schaffer, a four-wheel-drive engineer at Ford Motor Co., gets into an SUV, points it up a steep and slippery dirt hill, and hits the gas. It lurches into action, but halfway up the 45-degree climb it bogs down. Schaffer pounds the pedal, and it continues its ascent, as if it had just been catching its breath.