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The Ford Maverick Is A Great Truck — It's Also Part Of The Problem. Ford's ability to sell pickups to people who need cheap cars isn't a cause for celebration.
https://jalopnik.com ^ | 17 March 2022 | By Adam Ismail

Posted on 03/18/2022 5:29:28 AM PDT by Red Badger

The Ford Maverick Is A Great Truck — It's Also Part Of The Problem. Image: Ford

Nobody can build vehicles quickly enough, but Ford’s especially feeling the pinch with the Maverick. The manufacturer paused new orders on its hot compact pickup until the summer because it needs to prioritize fulfilling reservations already placed. And listen — in spite of the headline up there that I’m well aware some of you are sharpening your axes over as you read this, let me just say that I get it. As a technical achievement, the Maverick deserves praise. A small truck that starts at $20,000 and returns 40 miles per gallon is something the world could use more of, especially given the present fuel catastrophe. I’m happy Ford made it.

The Maverick is special because it offers the low starting price and efficiency of a compact sedan, hatch or crossover in a pickup configuration. That’s very exciting for the folks who need a vehicle that satisfies those conflicting demands.

But how many Maverick buyers actually do? A thread on the Maverick subreddit asking prospective owners what vehicles they’ll be replacing with the entry-level truck comprises an assortment of interesting answers, with Civics, Fiestas, BMW 3 Series and Elantras chief among them. There are also full and midsize truck owners expressing a willingness to downsize and save at the pump, alongside folks with small crossovers that are looking for a little more utility.

Pickups are a funny thing, because they’re irreplaceable for the people that actually need them yet actively impractical for those that don’t. The vast majority of car buyers need a covered cargo area, not open-air beds that leave whatever they’re schlepping vulnerable to the elements and necessitate tie-downs so contents don’t slide about or fly away. The vast majority of people also prefer to save money.

Of course, there are cheap vehicles out there that excel at sipping fuel — even more so than the Maverick — are also inexpensive to buy and run and offer all the cargo space the average American requires. They’re called cars, and I have to imagine many Maverick buyers would find their needs met by them. Unfortunately, Ford stopped making them years ago.

Ford won’t admit that the Maverick is designed to fill the gap in its lineup vacated by the Focus or Fusion, but reading between the lines of comments made by Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer Hau Thai-Tang to Muscle Cars & Trucks, it’s hard to arrive at any other conclusion:

“No! It’s not (replacing the Ford Fusion),” said Hau Thai-Tang in an interview with MC&T. “We looked at it as passenger vehicles are getting very commoditized, it’s difficult for us to make money, how else can we use that capital and engineering capacity? We decided let’s play to our strengths.

“What are we good at? Trucks. What do we need? An affordable, entry vehicle to bring first time buyers into the showroom,” he said.

For almost the entire history of the automobile up until about 10 years ago, passenger cars were “affordable entry vehicles” that were great at bringing first-time buyers into showrooms. The most depressing thing about Thai-Tang’s comment here is that Ford was actually competent at building them, when it wanted to be. I leased the last Focus we got here in the States, and have dailied a Fiesta ST for four years. They’re delightful cars. Imperfect, sure, but what reasonably priced transportation isn’t? They were also both products of Ford’s European arm, which is why they were leagues better than the gloomy, tragically faced penalty box that was the 2008-11 Focus sold in North America.

Ford never figured out how to market those cars within their brand the way Japanese and Korean makes have, so it gave up trying. So too did GM and Chrysler, to an extent. It’s depressing yet completely understandable from a business perspective. The Maverick is an especially shrewd play by Ford, because while it’s hard to imagine the margins are any thicker on the low-end trims than they were on the typical Fiesta or Focus, the company stocks only the optional EcoBoost-equipped models on dealer lots. In this country it’s awfully hard to upsell an economy car, but you can upsell a truck without even trying.

And therein lies the undercurrent that I think partially explains the Maverick’s success and everyone’s adoration for it: shame. Specifically, small car shame. Shame that’s driving some buyers to purchase a pickup when they’d be fine with a car or reasonably sized crossover; shame that’s driving Ford to sell a pickup as a replacement for a car. Again, if you need a truck for work or actively use it for pleasure, if you tow (not that the Mav’s even great for that, mind) or you envision dumping dirt or coolers full of fish or a quad in the bed, then more power to you. I hope you love the little guy. He seems wonderful.

But if you don’t need a vehicle for such activities, I know you know that all of the qualities that make the Maverick special among pickups have been available in other, more sensible body styles forever — body styles that we have collectively deemed unworthy as a society. Maybe the optimistic way to read the hype is that at least it’s persuading people who desire pickups to reconsider the size of the pickup they actually need. The silver lining is that the Maverick is getting folks into relatively more economical vehicles all the same, and that’s a good thing. It’d just be better if it didn’t reinforce our deep-seated car-buying complexes while doing it.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; History; Sports; Travel
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To: Demiurge2

Bingo.


121 posted on 03/18/2022 7:42:56 AM PDT by MotorCityBuck ( Keep the change, you filthy animal! ,)
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To: Red Badger

Old fat people find it very difficult to get up and out of a Laz-E-Boy recliner............................

I know what you mean...... speaking for a friend of course...


122 posted on 03/18/2022 7:43:52 AM PDT by brooklin
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To: drSteve78

From Jalopnik, no less!...................


123 posted on 03/18/2022 7:48:20 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: V_TWIN
I get the whole horse theme thing but maverick was a bad marketing move IMO.....just my 2 cent

The truck is being marketed to people who have never seen a Maverick car, or even heard of one. Considering that Ford is sold out until next year, and has stopped taking orders, I don't think the name is a hinderance.

124 posted on 03/18/2022 7:49:32 AM PDT by AlaskaErik (In time of peace, prepare for war.)
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To: Red Badger

Driver situational awareness is a big deal. You need to not be low, and everyone else way high up blocking all your sight lines. Trucks are better for that since so many people drive taller vehicles.


125 posted on 03/18/2022 7:53:26 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Blueflag

I have owned four pickups, three Nissans and a Ford Ranger and my family put all of them to use. I traded a 2015 Nissan Frontier in 2019 because it was leaking in a weld and Nissan wouldn’t repair it and it had an electrical issue for a Ford Flex. The Flex was big, road great, tons of room and decent mileage, but we soon found we were borrowing friends and family pickups to move things constantly. And we live on a ridge top and the Flex was AWD but we just didn’t have confidence it would get us home in a snow storm so I traded the Flex for a 2019 Nissan Frontier and have used it continuously.

As for the Maverick, if you are in a suburb or urban area it’s probably going to fit the bill, but if you want a truck for rural area and off road I would consider other options.


126 posted on 03/18/2022 7:55:10 AM PDT by sarge83
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To: Secret Agent Man
Driver situational awareness is a big deal. You need to not be low, and everyone else way high up blocking all your sight lines. Trucks are better for that since so many people drive taller vehicles.

In a sea of full-size pickup trucks, the Maverick isn't going to have any better visibility than a sedan.

127 posted on 03/18/2022 7:57:59 AM PDT by AlaskaErik (In time of peace, prepare for war.)
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To: Red Badger

Have no idea in price of maverick truck, but I heard some friends talking about the “new” version of bronco selling for > $85k

Putin’s fault??


128 posted on 03/18/2022 8:04:38 AM PDT by thinden
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To: thinden

Joe Hill’s....................


129 posted on 03/18/2022 8:06:10 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Robert A Cook PE

But plywood? What am I? Donald Trump?


130 posted on 03/18/2022 8:08:29 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dogs are called man's best friend. Moslems hate dogs. Add it up..)
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To: Red Badger

Well, I will probably get flamed for this, but one advantage in owning a pickup in many states with a large rural population is that you can have your child car seat up front.

Some young mothers I know see being able to keep an eye on their little baby as an advantage, and see the risk/reward ratio as favoring that.

Mrs AV


131 posted on 03/18/2022 8:18:51 AM PDT by Atomic Vomit (http://www.cafepress.com/aroostookbeauty/358829)
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To: Romans Nine

Jalopnik is a very leftist, anti auto (except for EVs) auto blog.


132 posted on 03/18/2022 8:21:27 AM PDT by kaktuskid
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To: V_TWIN

auto mfrs recycle their old brand names”

Examples?

Chevy Blazer, Chevy Nova (the 80s rebadged Toyota), Dodge Dart, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Dodge Demon


133 posted on 03/18/2022 8:26:31 AM PDT by kaktuskid
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To: Lurker

We still have 2 s10 blazers, 4dr, 2wd. An 01 (304k mi.) and a 04 (228k, engine 131k). Nearly identical silver exteriors except for pinstripe. The 01 has the rare ‘trailblazer’ interior package (not to be confused with the Trailblazer suv). The 01 has been semi-retired to a ready spare, in case we or our son has a vehicle down.

I like how easy they are to work on. I can swap a distributer in 15-20 minutes, the injection spider in an hour, a front wheel bearing in less than 30.

We had a 94 4wd blazer. But after selling it, we decided we didn’t the 4wd, even though we lived in NW IL (we already had a 4wd pickup and two farm tractors).


134 posted on 03/18/2022 8:35:31 AM PDT by Zuriel (Acts 2:38,39....Do you believe it?)
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To: GreenLanternCorps

We had a pinto. Great little car!


135 posted on 03/18/2022 8:37:01 AM PDT by Zuriel (Acts 2:38,39....Do you believe it?)
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To: Blueflag

I’m one of them, especially a truck with 4 door cab. You get a car and a truck.

Does this truck really get 40mpg?


136 posted on 03/18/2022 8:42:13 AM PDT by aquila48 (Do not let them make you "care" ! Guilting you is how they control you. )
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To: Red Badger

I’ll never understand why so many car experts and enthusiast hate pick up trucks.


137 posted on 03/18/2022 8:45:19 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (I love my country. It's my government that I hate.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Jealousy......................


138 posted on 03/18/2022 8:46:16 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Responsibility2nd

The writers were sports car racing and gymkhana nuts. If you could get cornering forces above 0.85 G the it wasn’t worth sitting in, let alone driving anywhere. In the 60s and 70s that was my attitude. I had lots of trucks at work I could use if I needed one but driving one for racing around was not for me in those days.


139 posted on 03/18/2022 8:48:36 AM PDT by KC Burke (If all the world is a stage, I would like to request my lighting be adjusted.)
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To: Red Badger

Another Mr Magoo design not selling who knew.

Detroit and others needs to get off the ugly trend.


140 posted on 03/18/2022 8:53:33 AM PDT by Vaduz ( )
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