New Ford Maverick mini truck

[George Bokros]

I have 2021 Ford Ranger super cab, must larger than the 2011 Ranger super cab I sold before purchasing this one. It is true the 4 door pickup is the new family car along side the SUV. A truck with a 5 foot bed like the 4 door super crew Ranger is not a truck, it is SUV with no roof over the cargo area. There were no super cab Rangers configured like I wanted in any dealer's inventory for my dealer to have transferred, had to order it. This was only the second vehicle in my 60 yrs of vehicle ownership I had to order.

I chose the super cab for two reasons.....I wanted the 6 foot bed and and did not need to haul people in my truck, I have a four door sedan for hauling people.

[Brian Elfert]

My understanding is that Ford has changed it's focus: they no longer make cars to serve markets and are prepared to loose money. Instead, the "new" CEO convince the Ford family to forego breadth of markets, and instead look at profits.
The Maverick was not a good car, but aside from the name would you think its a return to the same vehicle? "Everything old is new again".
I'd also like to take a real close look at the Maverick if for no reason even my 2004 Mazda B3000 is larger than I need.

Companies have a fiduciary duty to shareholders to make money for them. Ford can't really just lose money making cars as a community service. Some of the cars were killed off to free up assembly plant space for more profitable SUVs and trucks. Sedans were 22.1% of all vehicle sales in 2019.

The Ford family owns less than 2% of Ford shares these days.

[Jim Becker]

Ford made the decision to focus on what sells the best and in great quantities...pick-em-up trucks and SUVs/Crossovers are what the majority of the market wants these days. Other manufacturers have also scaled back on sedans/coupes, too, although not totally like Ford. The automobile business is market driven. Dodge is down to one sedan, one coupe, and an SUV that may be going in a different direction in next gen. Chrysler has one sedan and a mini-van. Chevy has one sedan, a bunch of SUVs/CUVs and trucks. Buick is pretty much SUVs and a wagon. GM...SUVs/Trucks. Caddy...the "sedan" is nearly dead in favor of multiple SUVs/CUVs and an SUV EV. Lincoln...SUVs/CUVs. Toyta/Nissan/Hyundai/Kia/Honda, etc., big focus on SUVs/CUVs/Trucks, although some sedans still available. Subaru...Legacy sedan is low volume and anything else other than the BRZ which is a joint project with Toyota is SUV/CUV/Wagon.

Even in the growing EV world, a big percentage of what's being produced currently or intended to be produced is in the SUV/CUV and pickup truck space. Yes, Tesla has a couple of sedans, but Model Y and Model X are both in the SUV/CUV space.

[Lee DeRaud]

Chevy has one sedan, a bunch of SUVs/CUVs and trucks.

(cough)(cough)Corvette(cough)(cough)
Hopefully they won't do to that name what Ford did to "Mustang".

And then there's Porsche: the vast majority of their sales is SUV(-adjacent), but the company's image is still firmly planted in the 911 and its siblings.

(Re "SUV-adjacent": I rode in a Cayenne Turbo recently. You forget very very quickly that it's supposed to be an "SUV". )

[Bill Dufour]

Anyone remember the Subrau Brat pickup truck? For some reason it had a rear facing seat in the pickup bed out in the rain. I think there were limits on trucks imported from Japan.

[Tom M King]

Two seats back there.

[Jim Koepke]

(cough)(cough)Corvette(cough)(cough)

Don't forget the family man's Corvette, the Camaro.

Anyone remember the Subrau Brat pickup truck? For some reason it had a rear facing seat in the pickup bed out in the rain. I think there were limits on trucks imported from Japan.

It seemed the owners of the Subaru Brat felt the name applied to them. The way they drove, it is no wonder there aren't any on the road today.

I chose the super cab for two reasons.....I wanted the 6 foot bed and and did not need to haul people in my truck, I have a four door sedan for hauling people.

My vehicle does have to carry people. Another desired item is an 8 foot bed. 4WD is needed around here at times. Being able to carry a full ton load also saves me some trips.

Someone suggested renting instead of buying. Besides the hassle and not being able to rent anything around here with the above specs, it just seems worth it to me to not have to drive to pick up a truck when the mood hits me to pick up a load of something. Beside that, many of the rental places around here are closed on weekends.

U-Haul has trucks for 19.95 a day plus $0.99 per mile, OUCH!

jtk

[Jim Becker]

Anyone remember the Subrau Brat pickup truck? For some reason it had a rear facing seat in the pickup bed out in the rain. I think there were limits on trucks imported from Japan.

The Brat. Cult favorite. Enthusiasts are really hoping for a repeat and there have beens some interesting renderings supporting that wish, like a current one based on the Ascent. We even have a thread in the Ascent Forum that I participate in for folks to come up with odd-ball/bad names for such a vehicle.

[Rick Potter]

It is pretty obvious we all have different needs at different points in our lives, as well as geographical differences.

I have owned, in order (pickup wise), a '65 El Camino '68 Chevy C10, '71 Ford F250, '82 Mazda B2000, '87 F150 Short Bed, '98 F250, '2004 F250 Diesel..a lemon they took back, and the replacement '05 F250 Diesel that I still own. I have hauled, carried, pulled just about anything you can think of, but at this point in my life (78) the 5th wheel travel trailer is four years gone, and the old Mazda is what would fit my current needs.

My ideal new truck would be an extended cab Maverick with a six foot bed, but since the only one they will be building in the near future is the crew cab shorty, I will be buying that. My only needs are the usual shopping, occasional plywood, and this truck will take the place of my little car, and my F250. I will enjoy having my hound dog in the folded up back seat. The one thing I will miss is the large slider window on the back, which I use to haul 16' 2x4's in the current short bed F250.

About the Geographical reference...I am in SoCal, have solar, and will wait for the Plug in Hybrid version in a year or so. I also like to stay away from teething problems of brand new models.


PS: I have no doubt I could haul home the previously mentioned washer and dryer in this little truck. Nor would I have any trouble carrying a UniSaw back there.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

Companies have a fiduciary duty to shareholders to make money for them. Ford can't really just lose money making cars as a community service. Some of the cars were killed off to free up assembly plant space for more profitable SUVs and trucks. Sedans were 22.1% of all vehicle sales in 2019.

The Ford family owns less than 2% of Ford shares these days.

Ford family still has a huge say in the running of the company.
Ford has abandoned markets where the profits were slim: fewer sedans and, and more F-150s. Much higher profits on the trucks.
They are abandoning 3rd world and marginal countries because the profits aren’t there.

[Jack Frederick]

I had a 3/4 ton 76 454 Chevy. Fabulous vehicle, but the gas gauge and speedo, going up a hill, worked absolutely in inverse proportion to each other. Chevy had just introduced the S10 and I bought one. Very much less truck, but much more economical. I planned things so my distributors could deliver at job sites and if I needed a big truck I rented. I miss the big truck still, but just couldn’t afford it.
As to the Maverick, the very name gives me the willies. In ‘74 while road tripping I was in Boulder as a front seat passenger, asleep at the time, tow others in the back seat, when the lady I was with drove her Maverick straight off a hair-pin at substantial speed. Airborne across the canyon into the Mtn. I went through the windshield and was stopped by the hood. Half in and half out we fell 35.’ Quite a ride. I made three trips up the Mtn with each person, flagged down a ride to the hospital. Dr said if I wasn’t in such good shape at the time it would have killed me. No Mavericks for me, but seatbelts? I like seatbelts.

[Jerome Stanek]

I had a 3/4 ton 76 454 Chevy. Fabulous vehicle, but the gas gauge and speedo, going up a hill, worked absolutely in inverse proportion to each other. Chevy had just introduced the S10 and I bought one. Very much less truck, but much more economical. I planned things so my distributors could deliver at job sites and if I needed a big truck I rented. I miss the big truck still, but just couldn’t afford it.
As to the Maverick, the very name gives me the willies. In ‘74 while road tripping I was in Boulder as a front seat passenger, asleep at the time, tow others in the back seat, when the lady I was with drove her Maverick straight off a hair-pin at substantial speed. Airborne across the canyon into the Mtn. I went through the windshield and was stopped by the hood. Half in and half out we fell 35.’ Quite a ride. I made three trips up the Mtn with each person, flagged down a ride to the hospital. Dr said if I wasn’t in such good shape at the time it would have killed me. No Mavericks for me, but seatbelts? I like seatbelts.

So your saying the Maverick saved your life.

[Warren Lake]

I think he is saying he was in very good shape and it saved his life and not the first time ive heard that before. So used to seat belts not sure I could drive without one. Truck is old so only has a lap belt.

Someone above said they put 16 footers in their pick up. How do you do that. Ive put 14-16 foot mahogany in the wally wagon and it works well just take the passenger seat out. The pickup would not be legal as the only way you could do it that I see is putting it in the sliding window which ive done once and told it was illegal, more so even if it was done it would extend way past the top of the tailgate.

[Stan Calow]

One of the Ford plants that makes F 150s is about four miles from my house. So we see tons of them on the streets. I remember an article in a business magazine that said the majority of pickups sold to consumers (not fleets) were sold to suburban cowboys who didn't use them for work or regular hauling. They like having a big ol' pickup with lots of room, just in case. Ford makes most of their profit overseas now, and plan for the world market. There is a market for the little trucks. Clunkers like the Pinto, Maverick and Vega, showed what happened the last time US makers tried to play catch up.

[Alex Zeller]

When I was much younger I would buy the late 80's Toyota pickups that had sheet metal damage, partially fix them up, play in the mud with them, and then finish fixing them to sell so I could repeat the process. I got quite good at it and usually turned a profit. A couple of years ago a friend picked me up in his Tacoma at an airport and I was amazed how small it felt. I get that the doors are thicker now because of the requirements to have crash protection but there's almost no room inside one and neither he nor I are big guys. That was on an 80 degree day, I can only imagine what a sub zero day with thick jackets on would feel like. The only way I would buy a Maverick is if I was going to drive it alone.

The mileage does look nice for the hybrid (but I suspect that the non-hybrid will get not much better than the F150). But the towing isn't that great and with the short bed it's going to compete with the Rav4 type of vehicle. The few things the Maverick's bed can do better can be offset with a small trailer if you don't need to do them very often. I'm sure those who want that size vehicle will drive demand at first but I'm not sure if sales in the US will be enough for Ford to continue to make it for very long.