You can say it all you want, but that doesn’t make it so.
If it was such a great car, why aren’t there more survivors?
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At least Rick is consistant. His defense of the Vega and drum brakes mak equal sense. Why didn’t anyone mention the biggest failing of drum brakes, they almost comp;etely lost their friction in a heavy rain or a flooded street. It was bad enough when all cars suffered the same fare but can you imagine the carnage if half of the cars still had front drums and the other half could stop.
A big problem for trucker was when cars got anti -locj brakes and trucks didn’t.
On the thruwat that meant that the car driver that got scared and hit the brakes at a curtain of blowing snow, at an overpass, who used to slide off the side of the road now stopped on the road where you could not see him because of the blowing snow.
I feel that they were the warriors of the 70s and 80s. They went into battle of the everyday drudge and most of them died. I honestly dont know the last time ive seen a Maverick on the road, even a grabber, so i wonder how many still exist.
They dutifully went into battle and gave all they had. They carried some of the 1950s America heck yeah unstoppable powerhouse from the Falcon (before some smart alex says anything, i know Falcon was 1960s, but it was developed in 1950s, quite well i might add) into the swanky 1970s with optional LDO package, it was a car that was based off a utilitarian vehicle that developed into so many things.
Mary and Johnny could feel proud of their Maverick with its vinyl top and color keyed hubcaps, special door trim, radial tires, cut pile carpeting and map light. They were moving up in the world, moving into position to take on the go go 80s.
Bobby got all the attention in his Grabber, with its tire shredding powerhouse engine with the style to match. The Maverick was the real Mustang of the 1970s if we are to be honest.
And Paul, ever the miser, he optioned his Maverick with a thrifty engine, sensible 3 speed column shift yet still had one of the best looking cars of 1973. His thriftiness made possible by the 1973 Maverick put him in a good position, he turned into a millionaire in the 1980s thanks to no small part of his money saving Maverick.
Oh lets not forget Sally, no not Mustang Sally, were talking Maverick Sally. She has a sporty looking Maverick with the Big 6, enough punch to scoot around town swiftly but thrifty enough to get thru the gas shortages of 74. All while driving a sharp looking car!
Sally went on to be mayor of her town, her economic prowess and quick thinking the voter’s love were formed in part by the smart buy of a Maverick in 1972.
See Maverick was more than a car, it was a lifestyle. Ford really had everyone covered, and thats kind of how they have positioned the new Maverick, theres a Maverick for everyone so long as everyone wants a pickup, and this is America in the 2000s, if you don’t have a pickup how can you live life?
He can’t stop because he has drum brakes, and they got wet from driving through a puddle.
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HUH??? What does having good disc brakes have anything to do with Engine, Tranny or rust issues. Drumm brakes?..Oh please.
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+1
Thinking that decent brakes outweighed the Vega’s defects in so many other vital areas is reminiscent of that old (sick) joke:
Other than that incident, did you enjoy your evening at Ford’s Theater, Mrs. Lincoln?
How was the Maverick any different than the Nova or the Valiant/Duster/Dart/Scamp/etc?
Except all of those cars were better, with better performance options, and are much more loved today. I’ll put your ‘tire shredding’ Grabber with its weak 2 bbl 302 up against a Duster 360 anytime, anywhere:
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Well a guy could tool around in a dog tracking Nova I suppose, now you must be a youngin, see back in the 1970s people conserved fuel because in late 1973 there was a deal called OPEC and they shorted us fuel. So you could rip around in your 360 Duster and ill see you on the side of the road after you run out of gasoline while I cruise by in me thrifty yet powerful Maverick with the 302.
Dodge Dart? Those were cars that Duds drove as my father used to say. Good cars but why wants a boring car like that? No luxury Dart, yeah you could get a swinger but let’s face it, Chryslers were junk even back in the 70s.
And another thing, Mavericks had a great ashtray, big and easy to reach right up on the dash. Now I don’t smoke but back in the 70s everyone who was anyone smoked and the fact you could have a decent ashtray was an important deal. You will not tell me that any of the others offered a better ashtray than the Maverick.
Very true, I’d MUCH rather have a thrilling Maverick! As for the interior, they left out the glove box to begin with, it was so cheap.
If fuel economy was the goal, the 318 2bbl would do just as well as the 302.
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Now, I’m thoroughly convinced that all of this is an exercise in satire on your part.
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The Maverick was a cheap, entry level car, and hardly legendary. My father had a '74 and it rode like a buckboard, an the cheap plastic interior finishes had more cracks than humpty Dumpty.
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Sounds like you are describing mopars of the era, the Maveric was the Mustang of the 1970s, another Lee Iacocca Jewel. Maverick saved Ford in the 70s.
You’ve managed to pick two of the least-liked cars of the '70s as your all-time favorites. Which car is next on your list?
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Probably the AMC Gremlin!
If I was engaged in an ongoing exercise in satire (such as the perpetual praise of–first–the Vega, and–now–the Maverick), that is what I would do.
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Can we at least agree the Gremlin was legendary? The thing about the Gremlin is it didn’t save AMC like the Maverick saved Ford, and the Gremlin didn’t sell well compared to Maverick
Please let us know which cars aren’t legendary. Seems the bar is pretty low.
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Cars of the 1970s that are not legendary
- Ford Fiesta
2.Vw Type 3 and 4
3.Opel Kadet - Ford LTD
- Chevy LUV
Many more, care to add to the list?
Is the Model T not Legendary merely because it was a cheap simple everyman’s car?
The Maverick was no different than the Nova or Mopar compacts in that respect.
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I consider the Dogtracking Nova a legendary vehicle, as well as the Dart ect…
Ich widerspreche meinem Freund!
The Opel Kadett was endowed with TWO coat hooks, as was boasted about in one of their TV commercials in The US. Surely I can’t be the only forum member who recalls Joe E. Ross exclaiming…
Oooo… oooo… it’s got two coat hooks!
I think that the Kadett’s superior level of standard equipment qualifies that automotive masterpiece for the Automotive Hall of Fame and makes it a truly legendary car.
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