Sydney Sweeney star of Euphoria, White Lotus, and…Ford?

'Syd's Garage' isn't just a gimmick, it's where actress Sydney Sweeney works on her beloved vintage Ford Bronco and inspires other women to be bold, too.

Liv Leigh   |  

Updated: Apr 4, 2024

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This Star’s Hobby is Demolishing Stereotypes and Rusty Bolts

If you happen to be in Los Angeles and see a perfectly restored candy apple red Ford Bronco cruising by, then you might want to wave and call out, “Hey, Syd!” as it passes. If the license plate matches that greeting, then you’ve just caught a sighting of actress Sydney Sweeney in her vintage Bronco.

Sydney has been gracing screens big and small since her first role in a zombie movie in her hometown of Spokane, Washington, but most recently, her acclaim is for the HBO drama Euphoria and the dark mystery series White Lotus. Oh, and Ford.

Related: Mastering the Manual Transmission: Conquering Fears and Shifting Gears in the Ford Bronco

Sydney Sweeney is a star of Ford’s YouTube channel. Photo: Ford via YouTube

While the last one may sound like an unlikely partnership, it’s actually completely organic and a super cool story.

Related: Can Driving the Ford Bronco Raptor Help You Understand Yourself Better?

Gratification from Car Repairs is Cool

Cars are in Sydney’s blood. She was born and raised around mechanics, learned to drive on her great-grandad’s F100, and was taught the ins and outs of basic car care at a young age. She has pretty much always known the pride of repairing something yourself.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she reminisced that “I was always watching my cousins or my uncles work on cars, and I wanted to be able to do it too.”

“I think that seeing them and seeing the gratification you get when your car breaks down, you can fix it yourself; that was what was so cool to me.” So perhaps it’s no surprise that she always had an appreciation for classic cars and a dream of fixing one up.

During quarantine, some of us took up baking bread, gardening, or (in my case) hula hooping. Sydney took to surfing car auction sites to hunt for her dream car. Finally, she tracked it down and, during a break from filming Euphoria at the start of 2021, she had the perfect candidate, an original 1969 Bronco, and the perfect space to work on it.

Related: The 2024 Ford Mustang GT Is More Fun than Ever

Actress Sydney Sweeney in her vintage Ford Bronco. Photo: Ford via YouTube

Her best friend’s dad, Rod Emory, has his own garage for restoring Porsches, and he cleared out some space for her to use for the duration of the project. Sydney moved her new ride in and immediately began work. Driven by the knowledge of the pride she would feel at her accomplishment, she was dedicated to completing as much of the restoration on her own as possible.

Sydney Sweeney and her Bronco, with her dog Tank. Photo: Ford via YouTube

Whenever she didn’t know how to do something, it was the perfect opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business. She ground down and torched bolts that were too rusted to be removed; she had to remove the front and rear axle, added power steering, disc brakes, and suspension. And, to her mother’s horror, switched it from manual to automatic, citing LA traffic as the understandable instigator for that change.

Over the next year and a half, Sydney poured blood, sweat, tears, and much of her spare time into her beloved Bronco and shared the entire process on TikTok, which is where Ford comes in. Sydney was sharing her passion authentically, and the response was truly awesome.

Ford noticed and realized that this was the perfect partnership waiting to happen. So partner they did, and now Syd’s Garage (Sydney’s TikTok) features Ford-sponsored, impeccably produced Car Maintenance 101 videos. Sydney also sports her custom apparel collaboration with Ford, which is so popular that it’s typically sold out.

Sydney isn’t stopping there. After perfecting her Bronco down to the last nut and bolt (seriously, she even made her own hood latch), she considered painting it her favorite color, baby blue, but blanched when she saw the cost. Instead of dropping $25,000 on a paint job, she snagged her dream car for the same price and “Britney,” her 1965 Baby Blue Mustang, joined her stable of classics.

Sydney may have the perfect vintage Bronco and Mustang but word is that she has set her sights on restoring a classic Porsche next!

The first thing she wanted to do in her Bronco was to go get ice cream with her dog, Tank

It’s cool to see this celebrity, who is the face of Miu Miu and of the new Armani fragrance, to also be a face of Ford. It gives her gravitas.

She seems equally at home sporting glam gear on the red carpet as she is donning her oil-stained coveralls, and that authenticity is both charming and endearing. I think we can probably all see a bit of ourselves in Sydney. That dichotomy of being passionate about things that may seem contradictory, if only because society told us so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney)

Sydney seems to love surprising people with her unexpected skills, like MMA

Syd’s parents told her to “fall in love with as many things as possible,” and she clearly has. She grew up doing everything she was told girls shouldn’t do. Sports, cars, and even mixed martial arts, which she dove into whole-heartedly from the age of 12. She speaks of those years with obvious pride. “I was the only girl in an all-guy Dojo.’ she grins. Her bravado is well-founded, as she literally won her first grappling competition against all men in a weight category above her. She has proven herself above and beyond in so many ways, and yet she still occasionally faces extra scrutiny.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney)

She hopes that other women want to follow their passion, too

Sydney’s social media is filled mostly with positivity and enthusiasm from so many women who are beyond thrilled to see someone like them, someone who loves cars AND fashion, or someone who loves sports and accomplishment. 

But occasionally, there are snide comments, often from men, doubting that she could have done the work on her Bronco herself or rejoicing when they see a man working on her Bronco, as though out-sourcing work that is beyond your scope is something that would ever be called into question if a man was doing it.

Sydney isn’t into cars to be performative or cool; she honestly loves them. And working on her cars is something she’s good at it. This judgment that she faces is all too familiar to many of us, just as is the expectation of needing to go above and beyond to prove yourself. It makes us identify with Syd (imagine that!) and makes her collaborations with Ford even cooler.

So, head on over to Syd’s TikTok to enjoy some quality car maintenance content and soak in the supportive environment. Sydney has shared that she hopes that other women see her passion for cars and want to follow their passion, too.

I know I feel inspired. So much so that I just might catch up on some education with Syd’s Garage on TikTok then steel myself to make it through some of the more uncomfortable scenes in Euphoria for her outstanding acting, too!

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By Liv Leigh

An enthusiastic supporter of everything she’s passionate about, Liv got her first Electric Car and immediately made a YouTube... More about Liv Leigh