Ford Maverick Mini-Truck

https://fordauthority.com/2021/07/ford-maverick-raptor-rendered-as-beefy-off-road-pickup/



I could see the Maverick Raptor replacing America's most popular 2nd vehicle the Toyota Tacoma. Who couldn't use a few extra feet in their driveway?

 

I would love to pick up a 81 - 82 Ford Fairmont Durango. It was a Ranchero and they only made 450. They put the tail lights in the tail gate and you could not drive it with the gate down. It sure looked cool though. I had a blue 70 Maverick Grabber with white stripes and a Brown 76 Maverick at one time. Unfortunately rust killed them pretty quick but they were good running cars and easy to fix.
I just read consumer reports on several of Fords cars and trucks and it is dismal. That Maverick they are coming out with is the right truck for me but the wrong manufacturer. Santa Cruz has the same problem. I like it too. Why doesn't Toyota, Honda or Mazda come out with something like that? There is the Ridgeline but they need something smaller.

 

We had a '73 Dodge Dart - that slant blew up 3 times in 6 months. In early '74 Dodge finally gave my dad the money that a 4th one would cost, so he put a Chevy 230 inline 6 and 4-speed transmission that he got out a 6 month old totaled Pontiac. That car lasted another 8 years without issue, and even towed our pop-up trailer all over the country.

It would also haul ass faster than a spotted ape.

 

...and it was dark brown! I had a Dodge Caravan as well, the 3rd gen, a '92. I'm a purveyor of plebeian, mediocre cars, with a few exceptions (74 Datsun 260Z and a 77 Celica GT Fastback)
I owned a 1978 Corolla Canadian as well, with a 1200 cc motor and a 4 spd. Probably my favourite of the bunch. The Fairmont was a fine car, my Grandpa had the Zephyr wagon, which was a pretty skookum car.
The fairmont was available with the 2.3 litre turbo and 4 spd stick.
As a Fox body car, it is essentially a 4 dr Mustang.
The real issue with them was that they had zero traction in the snow or on slippery pavement. And they were ugly...
As far as cars go, they were pretty well engineered ( ie. lightweight, unibody )

 

True but it beat my other friends cars - Datsun 510, vw bug, Honda Civic. This was in 1975.

 

I hope the Maverick refresh in a few years changes the headlight design.

 

Burn outs in a slant 6 ? No wonder you blew out the rear end. I can only imagine how high you were reeving it when you slammed it into gear.
Those were good times though. I had a 68 Fury with a 318 I used to put in neutral on a hill. Id let it roll backwards and then slam it into low. Id still be rolling backwards and the tires were lit up trying to go forward. Tire smoke everywhere. Im not sure what happened to the tranny after doing that a half dozen times. It was dumb but it was fun at the time.

 

But it's still just AWD, right?

 

Probably, I'd go with a Ranger over the Maverick.

 

Ordered one today. XL, 2.0, tow package. Keeping it cheap. Hope it's not garbage.

 

How about a Zephyr instead?

 

I would like to find a smaller version of the Tacoma ... ie 1970's size.

I think the Maverick could be a big hit if Ford does not make any big Q/C mistakes.

Personally, I like the aluminium bodies on the 150's too ... Ford takes chances for market shares.

 

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...^^^... I like the size of the new Maverick ... and like you ... think that is was a very bad choice for a name ... brings back bad memories.

 

I don't get why they didn't just bring back the Ranchero name. The first ones were pretty small. rancherette. rancherino. ranchalina. If toyota makes a unibody version it should be Taquito.

 

Interesting idle sound for the 2.0L turbo:



Design of the OEM accessory soft trifold tonneau looks to be from Extang.

 

Man those injectors are LOUD! Hopefully they put in some sound deadening devices in the firewall and windscreen.

 

The firewall likely has a lot of insulation already as a side effect of shielding the heat from the turbo. Not sure if there's any hood insulation though.

 

We’ll know in 18 months when we see a bunch of Mavericks with identical bubbling clear coat spots on their hoods.

 

Hood insulation is for sound deadening not heat shielding AFAIK. The paint is baked on the hood in the factory at higher temps than achieveable by engine heat.

 

Guy at work has a new Escape loaner from Ford with the same 2.0 Ecoboost. Sounded nothing like that racket.