Avoidable Contact #99: If loving the Maverick is wrong, I don't want to be right | Hagerty Media

[Hagerty]

Here's an ancient tribal parable I just stole and/or made up: A grizzled old mountain biker was sitting at a trailhead with a teenaged hotshot. This seemed like a good time for a lecture, so our venerable cyclist decided to give one. "Within me," he said to the young rider, "are two car-buying wolves.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/avoidable-contact/avoidable-contact-99-if-loving-the-maverick-...

[ATLpaul]

We own a Ridgeline. It is one of the best vehicles I have owned. Super engine. We got it in 2019 with the six speed transmission and normal shift lever. Its ride on highways is great, and truth be told we bought because Mrs likes its plush interior much better than the other mid rangers we looked at. Only two problems back then entertainment had no knobs (they added a volume knob since, and bed is not that deep). The Ridgeline is a perfect truck that so many pass on. And in over 2 years of ownership it has zero problem. ZERO. Meanwhile, my wolf own a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Mustang and a Vette, the wolves are all happy.

[joemair]

My wife fits perfectly into this category. She loves biking and gardening, but any vehicle of hers also has to carry around our dog and 8-year old. Loading bags of soil into the hatch of her Golf Sportwagen works fine, but the cargo area is a mess as a result and getting a load of it in a pickup bed would be better. Even though we are "rich" enough to go buy a $50K pickup truck, it seems like an utter waste of money. I'm really hoping this Maverick works out and that we can keep our new car spending to damn near $25K per vehicle.

[AG1962]

Amen, brother Sportwagen owner!

[CitationMan]

Ford should make the Maverick part of the Bronco family and use its option package names. The Maverick is going to appeal more to the Bronco’s demographics than the F-150’s or Ranger’s. But it would be funny to have a Maverick King Ranch edition.

[Sajeev]

As a (compact) Ford Ranger truck owner, I can't help but admit that I'd be interested in the Maverick as a replacement for my rig at some point in the future.  The only problem is they won't make a Stallion trim level, so I will have to emulate one for myself. 

[CitationMan]

Bring back the two-tone pickup!

[Rob1]

Citation Man near our summer home a couple hundred miles south of where we live there is a Ford dealer at one intersection that does just that I have seen a number of brand new F series units done two tone I thought what a smart dealer the trucks look sharp and are always sold and gone and they send more into their body shop and keep turning them out.R

[CitationMan]

Ram trucks has a few two-tones, but they’re boring. I’d love to see an orange pick up with a white cab like the 1970 Chevy C10’s. There was a dealer in Minnesota recreating the Chevy Big10 two-tone paint scheme, and it looked great on a Sierra.

[Rob1]

Sajeev when i hear Maverick that pic is what I think of they were a great little car to hot rod and when done up looked killer.R

[Vern]

LOL!! This is the Maverick I was thinking of!!

[hyperv6]

Here is the deal. The market for FWD based trucks has not had a large following. People want smaller trucks but there is just little to base it on. 

The S10 was similar to an A body and shared much of the same engineering and parts. Today the mfgs. are looking to the CUV to save cost. 

The problem is the mid size truck is nearly as expensive to build as a full size so the margins are low on profits. The CUV base would show higher profits. 

 But here is the sticking point These trucks are not going to be much cheaper. They will not get much more mpg. And as of now the Ridgeline is not dominating the small truck segment. 

Now if the Maverick has to share this segment with the Ridgeline and the Santa Cruz it could be tough fighting for those sales unless they can win over many buyers. With with less pay load and towing those buyers may have to come from the CUV segment vs the truck. 

This is the same issue the Elcomino and Ranchero faced. They both had a small following but both died when the small trucks arrived. 

Ford is trying to make this look like a truck but it is a small C2 CUV under the body. I am not a buyer for this segment but I hope it works. It might but I still expect it to be a tough go. 

Once more models go EV it may not be as much of an issue but for now I just see it fighting for market share. 

I have been watching with interest and would like to be surprised. 

Fords greatest nightmare is if it robs Ranger buyers. 

As of now I drive a Denali Canyon and could not be happier. I love this truck and found great service with it. It is the best riding, driving and stopping in class of the RWD trucks. Even with AWD and crew cab it gets a solid 21 mpg around town. 

I think a Chevy Blazer with a bed could be interesting. I know GM is watching but it will take sales to get them to commit. 

In today’s market it is not enough to just make money anymore. It is about the max return on investment that gets vehicles to market. 

[SJacobT]

Bravo! Maestro!

[chrisawyer]

Maybe that same thinking -- it doesn't cost much to make a pickup out of a CUV -- is what's behind the Mustang Mach E pickup. It exists.

[Genethemachine1]

I love the Saweetie and Quavo reference! It reminds me of the second Austin Powers movie when Dr. Evil tells everyone he’s hip and with it, then proceeds to do the Macarena-lol! Anyway, the Maverick definitely has huge potential to fill a market void of a small, very light duty pick. The potential customer list is endless, from tradesmen like painters, younger crowd, older crowd, a second vehicle, and so on. I know this would be asking for too much—but maybe with the Bronco’s manual take rate, would Ford consider offering a manual in the Maverick? That would just be the icing, and sprinkles on a really great cake!

[Jack_Hagerty]

I assure you, I am very connected the streets, or as I like to call them, "tha streetz".

A stick-shift Maverick would pry open my wallet even if I had to get a storage unit to park it.

[danio3834]

Low priced segments have been left behind mostly due to CAFE 2025 compliance costs. In 2010 when the rules were written, the EPA said that they would increase the cost of the average car by only $3,000 which would be fine because people would make up the difference in fuel savings over the life of the car. Never mind that there wasn't $3,000 worth of margin at the low end of the market to begin with. So those cars either disappear, are price-increased, or turned into Light Duty Trucks (read; crossovers). The SAE, whom I trust vastly more than the EPA to be knowledgeable about the cost of delivering vehicles to market, said that the rules would cause a cost increase of $8,000 per vehicle. Take a wild guess how much the average vehicle price has increased since 2010.

Before the current CAFE era of cars, cars were pretty inflation resistant. The real value obtained was pretty significant compared to times in the past.

[CitationMan]

danio3834 is correct. To see for yourself, enter the price of a car you bought in the past in the US Inflation Calculator. Amazing to see the difference.
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

[Sluicehotbox]

Ford really dropped the ball with making it a 4-door fwd platform. No way can it compete with the ride quality, interior fit and finish, driving characteristics and reliability of a Honda Ridgeline. It will probably just be another half baked attempt to break into a new market with a sub-par product and inadequate advertising only to not move as many units as expected until the execs axe the product and declare no Americans want small pick ups. Half the appeal of trucks to young enthusiast buyers is the ability to do amateur drifts in snowy parking lots or dirt roads. Take that away and this doesn't offer anything more than what a $270 4x8ft harbor freight trailer can do for the weekend warrior.

[Jack_Hagerty]

It won't compete with the Bentley Bentayga Mulliner either, and for the same reason: the base Maverick will be $21k while the base Ridgeline is $38k. 🙂

[hyperv6]

Well few will sell at $21k. Most will be in the $30’s and The Ridgeline is expensive as they don’t really have a real base model. 

I can get a Colorado extra cab for $19k in San Diego too. But they are often left over fleet vehicles at that price. Nothing many want. 

The harsh reality is $25k buys little vehicle anymore. 

Also add in many buyers went to trucks to escape no pun intended the FWD models. 

[Flashman]

It's such a treat to read your articles, even if you use "damming" when you mean "damning", and even if I'm not au courant enough to recognize the reference to Quavo and Saweetie. My connection to your article is my previous happy ownership of a VW pickup and my dismay that nobody's ever made a replacement.

[Jack_Hagerty]

For this one, I will blame my tablet rather than my senility. Clearly it is more comfortable with civil engineering than matters of theology.

[win59]

THAT'S not a Maverick....! Trucks (cars and everything else on the road ) have gotten so bloated and packed full of electronic nannies (and cell phones) due to Gov't edicts and over-reach. How about if we just teach the kids how to drive properly and responsively instead of strapping them into immense cushy isolation tanks and trusting technology to bring 'em back alive?
And are these modern monstrosities really more "green" than a 620 Datsun (Toyota/Ranger/Luv, etc.) pickup with a 1600, roll-up windows, and rubber mats??

Thanks Jack!

[SlowJoeCrow]

I think a bit of extra investment to make a 6' bed extended cab would be worth it for people who want to carry bikes with the tailgate closed and commercial users who want an open top Transit Connect. Personally I get a lot more use out of a longer bed than a full back seat. Then again my truck is almost 20 years old so gas mileage and age are offset by no payments and cheap insurance. On the plus side a reasonably priced 4 door 4x4 pickup with enough ground clearance might entice my 20 something son to go single vehicle in place of his beater Suburban and project car Corolla.

[js100]

As a satisfied Ridgeline owner (my 5th in a row), the utility of a well mannered, FWD 4-door vehicle with a bed (of any practical size) makes so much sense. This new entry from Ford adds to their broad portfolio of practical, affordable, possibly fun utility vehicles (oh yea, they also make Mustangs). I recall when the tiny (and tinny) import pick-ups first arrived in the 60's, and were laughed at by the big 4, until they sold in the millions to the same people who could now use another of the same (just not as tinny). I had a chance to talk with a long-time Ford engineer who told me they cancelled the original Ranger because it only cost about $1000 less to make than an F-150 (for thousands less in profit), was using up assembly line space and actually cannibalized sales from the F-150. Now that Ford doesn't make cars anymore, those extra assembly plants can crank out multiple versions of "trucks". I applaud Ford for their innovation and recognition that not everyone wants or needs a $70K monster truck. If only they could be as reliable as a Honda.

[Rider79]

As the former and current owner of two Plymouth Scamp "trucklets", i might be interested in one of these - but NOT with four doors. I don't want a full-size highway department truck, let alone a shrunken one with a cramped rear seat instead of a more-useful longer bed. Make a "club-cab" version of one of these, with space for storage behind the seats, and a 6-foot bed, and I might be interested. Despite what some nay-sayers might think, FWD works just fine in this class of pickup (and I know from experience); we are not talking about 2000-pound payloads or 8000-pound tow ratings here, after all.

Sadly, I don't think any of the other small trucks theorized will happen, because it will be too difficult to make and sell them at a profit. It remains to be seen if even this one makes it.

[Jack_Hagerty]

Wait a minute --- you have a SCAMP?

[Swamibob]

I thought all of those had long since realized their constituent dust particles. Cool to hear someone still has one!

[abd]

Gosh Jack, when I saw the headline I thought you were talking about the 1970 ish Ford Maverick. Long forgotten, unloved and deservedly of little interest to anyone here. Maybe an old auntie had one? Are there any left? It might be an amusing tale But just another truck story. I get why you like them for towing your racers and hauling the bikes, but I don't like them one bit and will never buy one, but g!ad for those who do

[Jack_Hagerty]

True story: the nuns at the church where I grew up all shared a light green, low-to-zero-option Maverick sedan.

[CitationMan]

abd

I just drove past some senior housing in NC, and apparently there’s an old auntie with a Maverick and a Comet! Wonders never cease.

[whata]

I too thought you were going to write about then old Ford Mavericks. A 1974 Maverick was my first car. It was my parents second car and they sold it to me when I was a senior in high school in 1977. I always liked the body styles on them. Mine was a green automatic with a straight 6, and a tendency to rust very quickly. I had it until 1980 when I bought a 1978 Y82 Trans Am. I still look to see what they go for. If you have a chance maybe do a retro story on them.

[Djarum]

This does nothing for me unless it is larger than an escape. The new Santa Cruz however might be my next vehicle.

[markvii1]

I truly enjoyed this article and your insight. Being of the "younger generation" (turning 30 this year) I more often than not hear that I should be OK with my wages and I ask for too much too fast. I realize that my presence on a collector-car only members magazine comments section means I am probably doing better than most of my generation, and am grateful in many ways for my achievements so far. Not trying to spark an existential or political debate, just wanted to say I always find your column an enjoyable read. Thank you!

[brb]

When I saw the title I thought "77 Maverick with a V8"! I am disappointed.