Avoidable Contact #135: I drove the most important car in years, and it's great, but you can't buy one

[Hagerty]

WARNING: If you failed the marshmallow test, you're going to hate this column. Best to click "back" on the browser and check out the great work being done by the Hagerty digital staff. I don't want you to be miserable over something you can't have. What? You're still here?
https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/avoidable-contact/avoidable-contact-ford-maverick-most-importa...

[KenRhodes]

Ordering, then waiting a while for delivery, was SOP when I ordered my first new car--a fire-truck red '64 Corvair Monza convertible with 4-speed, manual white top, and white interior. I never regretted waiting for the exact vehicle I wanted. I guess what goes 'round comes 'round again.

[miata93]

The only way that anyone will see cars other than white, black or silver is if they are ordered by customers from the factory. Other colors are considered to be too risky for dealers to order for their inventory.

[Jack_Hagerty]

The dealers don't like this state of affairs.

In the long run, they stay open with service business.

Low new car sales numbers equal a knock-on cumulative decline in service and a further lengthening of vehicle age, which doesn't correlate well with dealer service use.

[ChevyDave]

I wouldn’t say Dealers don’t like the current market; I’d say there is concern for the long-term implications.
Franchise Dealers are - for the first time in decades - earning front-end gross on New Car sales. Customers that can’t wait the six months for a New vehicle are buying Used Cars - where again, Dealers are making record front-end grosses. Customers that can’t wait for delivery of a New vehicle, and don’t want to spend $5k over MSRP for a late model Used unit, are extending ownership of their existing car where the Dealer again is earning more revenue than ever because his Service Dept looks like a 1920s sweat shop.
The bigger concern for Dealers is the BEV Revolution…the lack of Parts and Service revenue BEVs generate, and the skepticism BEVs are met with by many Full-Size Pick-Up customers; the segment providing most Dealers with the majority of their profits.

[timb0]

Wanted one. Don't anymore.

[SilentBoy741]

I don't know the marshmallow test. I'm a veteran of the Nickel Test.

When I was a tyke my uncle would come over and offer me a choice between taking "this great big nickel or this itty-bitty dime" and grin because I chose the nickel every time. My Dad asked me, "Why do you always take the nickel, when you know it's worth less than the dime"? I told him, "Because then he'd stop bringing me the nickels".

[JDHilton]

now THAT is a precocious child!

[74firebird]

the electric car thing is not feasible in the long run. and the fix is we will have to build our own cars if we want anything decent. some of us will have no problem doing that.

[miata93]

This electric car thing will persist until the government declassifies the information on the 100mpg carburetor which has existed for decades.

[mbr2000]

Haven't heard that one in awhile!

[DowntimeDesigns]

2022 Hybrid orders have been closed since 2021. I've been searching for a dealer-ordered truck destined for the lot, but have yet to find one without at LEAST a $5,000 markup. Some dealerships are marking up $15k or more.

I'm not going to buy a $30k truck without cruise control... but I also can't order a 2023 Hybrid Maverick till next August.

[barteet]

I think the reason people are lining up to order the Maverick is quite simply the price. Who doesn't want a small, economical, practical, utility vehicle for $20k? Remember the mini-trucks of the 70s, 80s and 90s? Those magnificent little Japanese trucks were all those things, but above all, they were quite inexpensive. The market has moved so far upscale we hardly remember a time when everything didn't come with a leather interior, power locks, windows, seats, alloy wheels, deluxe metallic paint and custom fitted floor mats. That's probably why the F150 is the best selling vehicle for the last decade. It's the last thing you can get with manual windows and a rubber interior. I get it, all those luxuries equal more profit for the car companies, but the maverick shows that people are lining up for a stripped down, basic vehicle. Bring it, Ford!

[Truax]

I bet very few of these are ordered as stripped down versions. Most of us are to sift to go without AC or power widgets.

[Truax]

Soft

[catinthebathtub]

mine is an XL - the stripped model. all that means in the modern world is no cruise control.

[Doug42]

I purchased a 1987 Toyota pickup five speed no radio for $6666. If the body didn’t rust away it would still be on the road. Great engine and trans. Now I have a 2005 Canyon without rockers (rusted away). Great New England winter. My city brines the street before storms. I think they receive a kickback from body shops that do rust repairs. We all know rust is like cancer and almost impossible to stop. They make plastic rocker covers but not for my model.

[catinthebathtub]

i ordered my maverick in september and took delivery in november.
i have bought more than a dozen new cars in my life and this is the first one i ever "special ordered". (it's also the first one with an automatic!)
i am very pleased with the maverick.
the one i bought was actually the first (and only) one that i had seen with my own eye. my first thought was it was a lot bigger than i expected but now that i'm familiar with it i think the size is perfect. i never thought a year ago i would be buying a new truck for a daily driver but i think ford is onto something with this one.

[50s60s70s]

Maverick?  Not to be too harsh on your accolades but the very name demonstrates the lack of imagination both within the marketing team but equally within Ford management.  I’m also not convinced that every silly thing that resembles something of a utility vehicle needs four doors and a trunk without a cover.  Sorry folks but please don’t call them a truck….the El Comino and Ranchero were not “trucks”.   What is wrong with selling an actual truck which is affordable, can be actually used like a truck, repaired economically, and recycled.  In my humble (but accurate) opinion, An actual truck should have a base cost UNDER $30K have an ICE or hybrid powertrain no carpeting, no power door locks, no power windows, and the simplest of (or no) computer control systems with an optional manual transmission.  This would not be intended for the urban warrior looking to keep up with the Jones’s urban assault vehicle (UAV) status symbol but an economical usable vehicle for the masses, much like the pickups of the 50s and 60s or the small Ford Ranger that people still covet.
Just saying....

[Jack_Hagerty]

Chevrolet and GMC both sold that truck for a long time in the mid-size space, with $25k Colorados and Canyons. Sales were dismal.

I like "base" trucks myself, but most people will pay a little extra for comfort.

[miata93]

The Lincoln-badged version of the Maverick should have a name that embodies the "dawn" of a new era in trucks and boldly expresses the remarkable legacy of the 2002 Lincoln Blackwood.
That's right. The Lincoln Morningwood

[kenlichtig]

Purchase a Santa Cruz instead.

[TacoSueno]

The subaru baja was the best of this type

[kenlichtig]

Toyota will jump on the bandwagon most likely using the Corolla Cross as their template.

[Zephyr]

The lack of usually standard features calls to mind a recent episode of "American Auto," in which the company gets the price of their new model down to $10,000 by eliminating "unnecessary" features like airbags and seatbelts.

[TacoSueno]

who wants that hybrid nonsense- give me a real car any day

[Jack_Hagerty]

I do! I want that hybrid nonsense! Because this is a good use case for it.

I don't want a hybrid F-250, or a hybrid Corvette.

🙂

[JDHilton]

I'm on my third hybrid, after an interval with Honda Fits when my daughter's dog got old (the flip-up back seats, a step, and a dog bed spared his legs and my back). Even compared to the Fits my current-gen Prius is thrifty with gas (mid-forties at 75 in single-digit temperatures in a recent road trip), brakes (after the Civic and first Prius, I'd forgotten how often non-hybrids needed them), and carbon footprint. Feels real to me.

[EZrodder]

The reason Ford had to stop taking orders is it will be time for the 2023 models before they get the 2022 trucks built. I ordered my Maverick on June 10th, have I received it yet? ...NO! Have they built it yet? ...NO Look I know its a new model and all but come on Ford lets get rolling here. They told me it was set to be built Jan. 24th now its Feb. 7th. I'm sure I will like it when it gets to me ...soon...I hope.

[Rick2]

Please Ford dump the back seat that I do not need or want and give me a longer bed. I am not the only one.

[Jack_Hagerty]

You're not; I'd like a club cab with a 6 foot bed in this.

[xrotaryguy]

The world keeps moving forward but Jack Baruth is still stuck in 1991.
Jack, grunge is dead, Ross and Rachel broke up, and the Ford Explorer Sport Trac isn't the next big thing.
The future you're imagining where most people drive gas-powered cars no longer exists.

[Jack_Hagerty]

To the contrary, I'm stuck in 1977, the year "Aja" was released.

This is all I can tell you about the future: it's going to be bloody, for someone. Whether that "someone" is someone in the government, or someone in the population, or both, is anyone's guess.

But if you think you could Rip van Winkle your way to 2060 and wake up in a world where everybody is living normally, only with an EV in place of an actual car, you should send your crystal ball back to wish.com.

[limoguy]

I think I'll wait until we actually get there to say the ICE is history.

[JSievers]

Ford's commitment to future BEVs has no bearing on current Maverick production numbers, which are apparently limited by supply chain shortages and a lack of planning by Ford management.

[miata93]

Right on. If you don't have chips for it, you ain't building it.

[Jack_Hagerty]

It has everything to do with *future* Maverick production numbers, which is my point.

Historically, Ford has responded to unexpected demand for its vehicles with rapid production increases. This ALWAYS involves effort, extra cost, and unforeseen consequences. Nevertheless, that's how you get sales years like the 1965 Mustang, 1986 Taurus, and 1995 Explorer, none of which were projected to do as well as they did.

The Ford of the Iacocca era would be refitting another plant RIGHT NOW, rather than just making the shrug emoji and turning back to Wall Street for another round of ESG kabuki.

As far as supply chain shortages... the Maverick is built in Mexico. Perhaps you've noticed that there are two kinds of industrial operations that seem more resistant than others to supply chain shortages: all-American producers like American Giant, and zero-American producers like Lucky Goldstar. This notion of "supply chain" problems, while far from imaginary, does appear to fall hardest on China-addicted American companies after January of 2021.

[JDHilton]

"ESG kabuki" - a little esoteric, but still, brilliant. Thanks!

[SteelyDan]

Nothing seems to light up 'mericans more than using 'truck' to describe anything less than a full frame, V8, 3-foot-high floor, 5000#++ badass dino fuel burner.
Lighten up.
Ford sold out these with a whisper of advertising because the cheap compact truck space was wide open. Okay they could not blast these out like paper clips because of low production capacity and supply issues. So what were they supposed to do, hold back? (but I don't understand de-contenting below no cruise control either).
Lots of folks will see value here well beyond the 1st year pop. This is no PT cruiser folks.
I roll my '55 F-100 around regularly- and marvel what a perfect mid size it really is. Reaching right into the bed without hiking over a wall of usually dusty sheetmetal is damn convenient.

[Jack_Hagerty]

As someone who has frequently owned and operated trucks, and is about to take delivery of perhaps the truckiest truck to ever truck, I don't understand the animosity to right-sized vehicles either.

What's dumber: saying that nobody needs an F-250, or saying that everybody does?

Why can't we agree to live in a world where people get the truck that works for them, whether it's a Maverick or one of those Freightliners with a Chevy bed?

[psg]

Sorry, but to build a small truck (ICE or electric-hybrid) and make the bed even smaller, is a missed opportunity. Give me a little truck with an extended cab, with half doors, and then you have something to park at the side of the garage. Almost a homer, yet a solid standup double.

[profff]

Pretty good.

[LPalmer]

Clearly this vehicle is intended for the demographic to young to remember the last Ford product named Maverick.

[Tim2]

The article doesn't touch on why I'm buying a AWD maverick. The ability to tow 4,000 lbs in a brand new vehicle with a warranty for around 25 grand. That price gets you a 9 yr old Tahoe with 100,000 miles on it.

[Jack_Hagerty]

Wait a minute -- you know where to get a 9-year-old Tahoe with 100k miles for just twenty-five grand?????

I didn't discuss the Maverick's towing ability because the "test tow" I had planned for it went awry when the ATV trailer I was going to use broke, and my two car haulers were both too heavy to ethically attach to the thing. Please come back and tell us how yours does once you have it, people will want to know.

[brians356]

Why can't we sort comment by "Best" or "Most liked"?

Jack, do suppose people will buy BEVs, most of those produced even, if gasoline prices are forced by a Planet-Saving Cradle-to-Grave nanny state to, say, $20 per gallon, AND it's in short supply to boot? Because that's the plan.

[Jack_Hagerty]

We have a lot of work to do on the comment system; I'll make sure your request goes in the hopper.

I wish I could say you were wrong about the other thing. The good news is that in three years twenty bucks won't buy you a cheeseburger so if you could actually GET a gallon of gas for twenty bucks you'd feel grateful!

[GoFast]

Media alert!!! Your Trek doesn't fit the Maverick bed. If you actually owned one, you'd be perplexed by the front tire scuffing the tailgate paint even with that impractical blanket in place. And speaking of misery pods, Ford's Mustang Mach Es are in very short supply where I reside. The one we bought last year is quicker than a real Mustang leaving lights and a champion at driving past gas stations. I haven't detected the misery you allude to.

[brians356]

Quicker than a real Mustang, huh? I gather you never leave town with it. Try beating any ICE vehicle in a road trip between any two cities ~400 miles apart. You drive your Mach E as fast or as slow as you choose. I can beat you from Reno to Las Vegas by 1 hour, a 440 mile trip, driving my bone stock, tire-out 250k-mile 1992 Civic.

[Jack_Hagerty]

Media response! 🙂

That's the same pad I used on my Silverado for 76,000 miles. The front tire doesn't really cause any trouble against a bumper or tailgate, it's very soft rubber. And if I actually owned a Maverick, rather than a half-ton then and a 3/4-ton now, I'd buy the smaller-width pad that would fit and protect better.

I've driven the Mach-E. There's no normally aspirated Mustang in the past fifty years I wouldn't take over the Mach-E, including a Mustang II Ghia. But that's just my opinion. I think EVs are a great choice. As long as they are, in fact, a choice.

[FloridaMarty]

I am thoroughly confused. Why design, market, and advertise a truck we can't buy? If Ford is focused on electric, why did they bother designing the Maverick? God, I hate saying that name "Maverick". Yeah, I'm old enough to remember the Maverick car, what a POS! Ford could have named the new vehicle anything else, but they chose Maverick! Why not Edsel? I think that name isn't in use right now? What about Mustang II?, that's available. All I know is, I would rather drive a 20 or 30 or 50 year old real truck, other than these over optioned, over priced, **bleep** vehicles that are being built these days for the skinny jeans crowd.