Ford Maverick

[Thumbcocker]

When we were truck shopping in 2020 we made the rounds of all the big name brand dealers. I made a point of asking them why there were no small 4 cylinder 5 speed basic trucks around. All of them said they would be able to sell all of that type of vehicle they could get.

 

[300BLK]

thread drift, but....the Falcon and Comet date back to '60 or '61, so same time frame as the rear engine, air coolled Corvair. The Chevy II and its similar GM siblings couldn't have been far behind. The Pinto, Maverick, and Vega all pre-date the oil embargo by several years. Ford sold the Mazda truck rebadged as Courier, Chevy sold the Isuzu rebadged as the Luv, Dodge sold the Mistubishi rebadged as (?)......most all entry level, if not disposable.

 

[Thumbcocker]

thread drift, but....the Falcon and Comet date back to '60 or '61, so same time frame as the rear engine, air coolled Corvair. The Chevy II and its similar GM siblings couldn't have been far behind. The Pinto, Maverick, and Vega all pre-date the oil embargo by several years. Ford sold the Mazda truck rebadged as Courier, Chevy sold the Isuzu rebadged as the Luv, Dodge sold the Mistubishi rebadged as (?)......most all entry level, if not disposable.

Don't forget Rambler.

 

[Winelover]

Simple marketing economics............ the larger the vehicle, the more profit for the manufacture. Highest profit is in the options, so they load them up. Gone are the days you could simple order one option at a time. They went to option packages with the same strategy..........higher profit, less choice for the customer.

 

[JonB]

I have been a fan of the little Nissan trucks since I git my first one after I got back from Desert Storm. I've had five of them over the years, all used when I got them and all have been (for me) good trucks.

I hate whistles and bells on a vehicle, simpler, smaller, more efficient is what I'm after. All of mine have had manual transmissions and all but one the little 2.4 Liter inline four.

The problem; getting another one, or even remotely similar truck is nigh on impossible now. Everybody wants bigger, more powerful, more whistles and bells. Manufacturers don't realize many of us who do enough "truck" stuff would kinda like something less than an $80K, 3/4 ton, 4x4. I just don't need that and don't want it.

So, this offering of the Maverick seems to indicate that Ford is listening to me. They also re-introduced the Ranger. Those Mavericks have been few and far between, but I am beginning to see them now and thenNobody I know has one or has even driven one. Tempted to go to the dealer in town and test drive one, but I hate car sales places, high pressure sales of anything for that matter.

I was hoping this concept would motivate Nissan or Toyota to start making small trusks again, hasn't happenned. I'd rather have one of theirs than a Ford, but so be it. The current Nissan is definitely long in the tooth and showing it. ANyone have first hand knowlege of the Ford Maverick?

This talk of the new Maverick and the 'offerings' of other manufacturers make me think you are looking to buy a new or near new vehicle? I ask this, Because there are plenty of vintage simple small trucks with low miles and in good condition being offered. While I rarely look for them, I spend 5 minutes searching locally, and seen a real nice '93 toyota reg cab short bed 4 cyl 5sp with 56Kmi for under $10K...fresh listing [yesterday] on FB marketplace.

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[300BLK]

Don't forget Rambler.

Why would anyone WANT to remember them? Oh.....I know, it was the vacuum operated windshield wipers!

 

[Jeff H]

I bought a brand new '85 Nissan short bed - "base model" and refused to pay for all the non-tangible add-ons for $6k in '85.

2.4L NAPZ4 engine, five-speed and that thing would SCOOT! It was an excellent vehicle, tough reliable, easy to work on and FAST.

Tune-ups were expensive because the 8-plug distributor caps were $30, even back then. The ones with aluminum terminals only lasted a year before getting really corroded, but for exctra money, the brass terminal caps were far better. It was an amazing truck though.


I'm looking at the new Maverick and thinking it looks more like the Honda sorta-truck/sorta-wagon thing. What's the difference?

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Why would anyone WANT to remember them? Oh.....I know, it was the vacuum operated windshield wipers!

Once AMC dropped the flat head and went to the OHV six, the Rambler American was an excellent value. It wasn't fancy but it was a solid car for the money.
The unibody was light and strong. The little straight six was easy on fuel. They lacked the comforts of a big car but they were good economy cars.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

This talk of the new Maverick and the 'offerings' of other manufacturers make me think you are looking to buy a new or near new vehicle? I ask this, Because there are plenty of vintage simple small trucks with low miles and in good condition being offered. While I rarely look for them, I spend 5 minutes searching locally, and seen a real nice '93 toyota reg cab short bed 4 cyl 5sp with 56Kmi for under $10K...fresh listing [yesterday] on FB marketplace.

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I would have to get rid of those aftermarket wheels and maybe put a rear bumper on it, but that's a solid little 2WD truck in that ad.
The 22R engine was indestructable if you changed the oil once every few years.....

 

[todd]

I still think of the Ford Maverick as an ugly little car from the 70's.

my dad's (RIP) werk car was not ugly, it was ... ah....let me think for a minute....ah, "well used", literally. he got around 300,000 miles till the Mavrick went. i was about 4 or 5 years old when he had it.

 

[popper]

Post #4 is a little misleading. Most of the small trucks were imported or at least used import engines. Congress made rules where imports were penalized to ELIMINATE them. US tried to copy the 'small designs but failed miserably. Look at the 3clyl. Ford motor? Pinto/chevette/ K cars, etc. In the good yrs, we decided we wanted larger vehicles and the big 3 make more $. Even the Euro roller skate cars haven't gone over well.

 

[JonB]

I would have to get rid of those aftermarket wheels and maybe put a rear bumper on it, but that's a solid little 2WD truck in that ad.
The 22R engine was indestructable if you changed the oil once every few years.....

Funny you say that.
This 2WD toyota is one I'd never buy, just searched it for Rich. BUT, if I were to own it, I too would sell those wheels/tires first chance I had.
.
I've owned a few 2WD trucks and living in MN, I'll never buy another one, unless it was front wheel drive, I think the Ridgeline offers a front wheel drive? ...anyway, I've been stuck too many times, I've even been stuck with 4WD trucks without trying too hard, LOL. Currently, I bought my '08 Toyota RAV4 with high miles for my 'truck use' purposes, and honestly, for me, it works better than any truck I've ever owned...except for maybe the Jeep Commanche 4x4 that I owned back in the early 90s.

 

[JonB]

Post #4 is a little misleading. Most of the small trucks were imported or at least used import engines. Congress made rules where imports were penalized to ELIMINATE them. US tried to copy the 'small designs but failed miserably. Look at the 3clyl. Ford motor? Pinto/chevette/ K cars, etc. In the good yrs, we decided we wanted larger vehicles and the big 3 make more $. Even the Euro roller skate cars haven't gone over well.

Yep, it was 92 or 93 when Toyota started assembling them in California.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Funny you say that.
This 2WD toyota is one I'd never buy, just searched it for Rich. BUT, if I were to own it, I too would sell those wheels/tires first chance I had.
.
I've owned a few 2WD trucks and living in MN, I'll never buy another one, unless it was front wheel drive, I think the Ridgeline offers a front wheel drive? ...anyway, I've been stuck too many times, I've even been stuck with 4WD trucks without trying too hard, LOL. Currently, I bought my '08 Toyota RAV4 with high miles for my 'truck use' purposes, and honestly, for me, it works better than any truck I've ever owned...except for maybe the Jeep Commanche 4x4 that I owned back in the early 90s.

I wouldn't buy a 2WD truck either BUT I know people that do and totally understand thier logic.

 

[JonB]

I wouldn't buy a 2WD truck either BUT I know people that do and totally understand thier logic.

Yeah, I understand too. I suppose if I lived on a ranch with animals and such, a small 2WD pickup is probably better than a ATV...for my purposes an ATV works better.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Yeah, I understand too. I suppose if I lived on a ranch with animals and such, a small 2WD pickup is probably better than a ATV...for my purposes an ATV works better.

Or you needed to run to the parts store, machine shop, junkyard for your business.
You needed to pick up paint, carpet, tile.
Take trash to the dump. etc.

There are countless uses of a small truck that don't require 4WD and there are some real benefits not having 4WD (particularly in an urban and southern environment). Lighter truck, better fuel mileage, far cheaper to acquire, simpler to maintain, not as tall to get in and out of.
I knew a guy that installed DirecTV dishes in Tampa, Florida. He never needed to go off-road, it doesn't snow in Tampa. It's generally flat land. He would buy a well used Toyota or Nissan 2WD truck and put 100K on it with minimal expense.

I knew another guy that lived in Richmond, Virginia and had a beach house on the Carolina Outer Banks. He never went to the beach in the winter and it was flat ground between those two places. He had a little 2WD Nissan that served him well.

NOW, if the truck is your ONLY vehicle, then 4WD starts to look more like a necessity.
It depends on your situation. A 2WD truck would NOT work for me.

 

[Jeff H]

Yeah, I understand too. I suppose if I lived on a ranch with animals and such, a small 2WD pickup is probably better than a ATV...for my purposes an ATV works better.

THAT is the ONE thing about those little trucks that SUCKED.

They are very lightweight (especially over the drive wheels), have low ground clearance and if you add weight to the bed, the bottom of the vehicle is slopped up toward the front and it wants to ride up on top of crusty snow, leaving your wheels hanging in snow - not on the ground. Doesn't matter how good the tires are if they aren't in contact with the ground.

The early-eighties Toyota 4WD trucks were a source of great desire for me.

Drove a Chevy Luv (Isuzu) for a while when working on a landscape crew in the late seventies - neat little truck. Owned an 85 Isuzu Trooper with t he 1.9L and 4 Speed, old-fashioned, double-lever 4WD. It was never going to win in a quarter-mile contest, but that steel garden shed on wheels would get down and chug when in 4L. Talk about "base-model," it had all the comfort and amenities of, well, a steel garden shed, but it was a cool vehicle.

Went to buy another Trooper in the early nineties and everything had gone posh, with carpet, cloth seats, curvier fenders, V6,... Ruined a perfectly good utility vehicle.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Those early Isuzu Troopers were popular with young cops that didn't have a take-home car.
They were inexpensive to purchase. Incredibly reliable. Would go in any weather. Had room for the family and all the gear.

Officers that were single and lived in the sticks, purchased Jeep Wranglers. Young married cops purchased Isuzu Troopers !

 

[KeithB]

I would bet that 99% of the pickup truck driving population has very little need for 4WD. Certainly some folks do but most don't. And the added weight and expense is a negative.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Im gonna need a new vehicle sooner then later. My PU has been ravaged by the salt on the roads. My wifes Liberty isnt much better. Both run like tops and preform as new.

Costs if way way too high on a pickup. My thoughts are one lash hurah repairing my PU. Then a car hoping AWD but at least FWD as winters require extra traction. I see a number of less desirable models for realistic costs. Still looking @ 8-10 year old models.

CW