Ford Maverick debut

earlybroncoguy1 said:

Awww, it's so CUTE!

 

Truck? No.

 

Unibody, FWD, 4 doors, 4 cylinder, CVT....it's a really small minivan missing a chunk of roof. Having a "bed" does not make a vehicle a truck. (I'm looking at you, Ridgeline.)

 

First time somebody loads a pallet of anything in that, please take video. I love a good laugh. 

Why would the metric for truck be loading a pallet in the back?  How do you imagine that makes sense?  Why stop there?  Should we wait for a video of an F-150 trying to pull a 32,000 pound fifth wheel?

If you need to haul pallets of things around, then get a full-ton or bigger truck.  It's the right tool for the job.  But if you only need to occasionally haul things but frequently find yourself needing to do things like park in parking lots or commute to work without buying your own supertanker, this is a perfect truck for that job.

My daily driver is an Excursion that has a turning radius of about .25AU, sucks down gas like it's getting a commission from Saudi Arabia, rides and handles like a Chinook, and, yes, I have slid a pallet into the back of it with about a literal ton of ceramic tile.  If I didn't tow a 2,400 pound car on a 1,700 pound trailer several times a year for rallycross, this would be the perfect truck for the rest of my lifestyle.  Getting gas for the mower, making runs to the junkyard, getting some bags of mulch, taking an easy up, chairs, and a cooler to soccer games, and that kind of thing.

STM317 said:

RE: Bed loading height

This is Gabrielle Union. Google tells me that she's 5'7" tall. The tailgate/bed floor are well below her hips:

 

And the back wheel of her mountain bike sticks out. Just make that pickup bed a little bit longer and that truck will be a lot more useful.

I just realized Ford is also probably planning on this cannibalizing one of their own products.  The Transit Connect cargo model starts at $24655, so barring incentives, a low end Maverick will be a lot cheaper, as long as it still meets the buyer's needs.  Considering the chicken tax case they recently lost, this seems intentional, at least until they start building Transit Connects inside the NAFTA zone.

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Just make that ____ a little bit longer and that truck will be a lot more useful.

Just saying, this logic is exactly how we ended up with the behemoth cars and trucks available today. Yet we all pine for the small vehicles of yesteryear. 

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

There is a tailgate extender available for a pretty low price.  I think they did a great job sizing the bed to be useful and not giant.

A longer bed isn't remotely desirable to me.  I value garage space and parking ability.

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It sounds fussy as heck, but could they do some kind of upright-with-side-panels that folds out of the interior of the tailgate so it could effectively add a tailgate-height extension to the bed length?

So you open the tailgate out, then unfold its inner face, hinged at the top of the gate so it's now where the tailgate was but ~20" back, then fold sides out of that part (or out of the gate from under the prior piece) so it's enclosed enough that stuff chucked in the bed doesn't fall out?

On the one hand it sounds like a recipe for bent hinges and bits that stop lining up after a year and a half, but if you could make it resilient, you could have 85% of the functionality of a 6' bed with 1.5' less truck. Or nearly an 8' bed out of 6.5'... Or hell, just no more functionality than one of those "bed extenders" without having to carry it around separately...

^I've seen a lot of bed extenders that flip back in the other way when not in use rather than having to carry it around separately.

Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Just make that ____ a little bit longer and that truck will be a lot more useful.

Just saying, this logic is exactly how we ended up with the behemoth cars and trucks available today. Yet we all pine for the small vehicles of yesteryear. 

Datsun and Toyota mini pickups were available with longer beds, yet they had no problems fitting in garages and tight parking spaces. How is it that trucks keep getting bigger and more expensive yet the beds keep getting smaller? You would think that would be the reverse.

On those old Japanese mini beds it was like one inch from the inside sheetmetal to the outside. The tailgate was about an inch thick too. Now it's 4-6 inches in each direction especially once you include a bedliner.

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

Because more people are owning trucks as their only vehicle and need to haul people more often than cargo.  I'd think an expanded cab version with a 6' bed would also be nice, but I am guessing Ford figures that would not sell well enough to put effort into making.

EDIT:  I own a 92 S10 standard cab with a short bed, and understand how useful a small truck is.  I suspect between demographics and crash standards, nothing like it is ever coming back.

In reply to GCrites80s :

Those old pickups also didn't have 4 doors.

I would rather have the 4 doors than the extra bed length in a vehicle like this

ProDarwin said:

In reply to GCrites80s :

Those old pickups also didn't have 4 doors.

I would rather have the 4 doors than the extra bed length in a vehicle like this

I would rather have two doors and a long bed. It sounds like we are looking for two different versions of the truck. Too bad Ford will only make the one I am not looking for.

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

STM317 said:

RE: Bed loading height

This is Gabrielle Union. Google tells me that she's 5'7" tall. The tailgate/bed floor are well below her hips:

 

And the back wheel of her mountain bike sticks out. Just make that pickup bed a little bit longer and that truck will be a lot more useful.

Why is it a big deal that the back of the wheel sticks out? What are you hauling that having a 6ft bed with the tailgate closed is significantly better than having a 4.5ft bed that extends to 6ft when the tailgate is open? If you're hauling large things all the time then this truck clearly isn't for you. If you dump a bunch of gravel in the bed of your trucks, this isn't for you. The vast majority of car and truck owners aren't hauling large things in the bed all the time. The Maverick is marketed at people that think current trucks are too big and expensive, but also it's marketed towards people that used to buy things like a Focus but can't anymore. Those people seem to survive just fine with a small hatch or trunk, so a bed that can extend up to 6ft is more than adequate.

If this thing isn't right for your needs, guess what that's ok. If what you want is a no frills mini truck with  a regular or extended cab and a bed that's at least 6ft long you're in luck because they made millions of them between 1975 and 2010 and they can be found for a hell of a lot less than $20k. If you truly were willing to pay $20k for such a thing you could go buy the nicest 15-20 year old Ranger, Tacoma, Frontier, S10, etc that you could find, spend a bunch of money on upgrades and updating and have exactly what you want for less than a new Maverick.

tremm said:

I'm not excited about the thought of 40mpg large vehicles; I really don't want more idiots buying big E36 M3 and driving it obliviously.

Otherwise I assume that'll be the selling point & I can't see why people wouldn't want it. It's nice to see a smaller truck & one that gets good mileage.

I hope people driving rangers & 90's Tacoma's are the buyers. Not someone who would've bought a sedan/hybrid, but now that the pickup truck mpg tax has been removed, why not. I guess the modern equivalent of when people were buying giant ass suvs pre-recession. Wonder what the insecure types who call their vans & suvs 'trucks' think of it.

Regardless, no ford's for me, thank you. While I'm surprised they're the first out with a compact hybrid truck, I'm impressed with it. Can't see why they wouldn't sell like hot cakes other than getting shredded in future reviews, or overpriced for the class. I'm guessing people with a negative presumption of ford will think, 'oh, but their trucks are good, so this must be too'

*Also i think maverick is a stupid name. And reading this thread, i had forgotten that ford stopped selling cars and i chuckled

Lmao damn so basically: you don't like Ford and you don't like people driving big vehicles because you think they're idiots? 

STM317 said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

STM317 said:

RE: Bed loading height

This is Gabrielle Union. Google tells me that she's 5'7" tall. The tailgate/bed floor are well below her hips:

 

And the back wheel of her mountain bike sticks out. Just make that pickup bed a little bit longer and that truck will be a lot more useful.

Why is it a big deal that the back of the wheel sticks out? What are you hauling that having a 6ft bed with the tailgate closed is significantly better than having a 4.5ft bed that extends to 6ft when the tailgate is open? If you're hauling large things all the time then this truck clearly isn't for you. If you dump a bunch of gravel in the bed of your trucks, this isn't for you. The vast majority of car and truck owners aren't hauling large things in the bed all the time. The Maverick is marketed at people that think current trucks are too big and expensive, but also it's marketed towards people that used to buy things like a Focus but can't anymore. Those people seem to survive just fine with a small hatch or trunk, so a bed that can extend up to 6ft is more than adequate.

If this thing isn't right for your needs, guess what that's ok. If what you want is a no frills mini truck with  a regular or extended cab and a bed that's at least 6ft long you're in luck because they made millions of them between 1975 and 2010 and they can be found for a hell of a lot less than $20k. If you truly were willing to pay $20k for such a thing you could go buy the nicest 15-20 year old Ranger, Tacoma, Frontier, S10, etc that you could find, spend a bunch of money on upgrades and updating and have exactly what you want for less than a new Maverick.

There is a big difference between hauling gravel and hauling a mountain bike. What's wrong with an in between truck? What's wrong with a longbed option for those who want to order it?

I want a small pickup truck with a long bed. Why does that make people here so angry?

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

That's easy enough to do with a Body on Frame truck. That's a lot harder with a unibody. Especially if you're trying to keep the price super low. A big reason they can offer the base Maverick at $20k is because they're not spending money designing, testing, manufacturing and certifying a bunch of different cab/bed combos that this platform probably can't even support. Ford has options with the size and capability that you say you want, and they overlap the price of the mid trim Maverick. yupididit has been suggested it to you multiple times. If that's still not good the perfect fit, then you might have to go buy an old truck and make it what you want, or just keep complaining

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

There's nothing wrong with a longbed option, but it just likely won't sell well enough to justify.  I'd like to see one, too.  Maybe if the Maverick becomes a massive hit, they'll come up with an extended cab/ 6' bed version, but I definitely wouldn't hold my breath for anything single cab anymore.  Cars are more expensive to own in general (total cost of ownership) than they used to be, so multipurpose is more important than ever, especially on the bottom end of the market.  It's not easy to get a single cab full size truck anymore.  I think FCA and Ford make them (though Ford's single cab since the 2004 redesign has been a bit stretched), but I think GM doesn't sell a single cab pickup in the US, in any size anymore.

Edit - maybe you should look into one of those Charger-based utes

STM317 said:

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

That's easy enough to do with a Body on Frame truck. That's a lot harder with a unibody. Especially if you're trying to keep the price super low. A big reason they can offer the base Maverick at $20k is because they're not spending money designing, testing, manufacturing and certifying a bunch of different cab/bed combos that this platform probably can't even support. Ford has options with the size and capability that you say you want, and they overlap the price of the mid trim Maverick. yupididit has been suggested it to you multiple times. If that's still not good the perfect fit, then you might have to go buy an old truck and make it what you want.

I count two different configurations, not a "bunch" of them, and if you make the bed a foot longer you might not even need that. Most older trucks came it those two configurations. The Ford Ranger does and that is from the same manufacturer.

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

ProDarwin said:

In reply to GCrites80s :

Those old pickups also didn't have 4 doors.

I would rather have the 4 doors than the extra bed length in a vehicle like this

I would rather have two doors and a long bed. It sounds like we are looking for two different versions of the truck. Too bad Ford will only make the one I am not looking for.

Once we go full electric, the cab can be pushed forward into the engine bay area giving us...

Four door cab + 6' bed + short overall length = win.

It'll probably have a highly raked windshield / nose to keep the front seat occupants feet well behind the bumper for crash safety but still, you could easily gain 2' of space so now you've got a 6' bed and 1/2' less length overall.   

Need I say more?

A small longbed pickup might actually be exactly what some delivery companies are looking for. I could see a bunch of them parked out in front of any NAPA parts store. I could see Amazon buying a bunch of them. You might actually bring out buyers who have given up on pickup trucks as being too expensive. Has anybody actually done market research on this?

Consider the Maverick to be a market test...

ProDarwin said:

In reply to GCrites80s :

Those old pickups also didn't have 4 doors.

I would rather have the 4 doors than the extra bed length in a vehicle like this

Of course that too. And some of the "extended cabs" back then were literally 6-8 inches longer than standard. They're kind of silly-looking now. I don't know if you could get them with a longbed though.