Flashback - Instant classics?

[bryankazmer]

I'll hesitantly join the fray.

Styling is about proportion.  Trucks have a basic box shape.  Truck styling is frosting on a bad cake.

Performance is about physics.  Bulk and mass are the enemies of changing velocity in any direction - handling, braking, acceleration.  A high and well forward center of gravity compounds this.

There are heavy hauling and towing jobs that require a truck to accomplish. 

Compare today's vehicles among themselves - what vehicles used to be made and what they used to cost is not very relevant.

 

Out of curiousity, I checked out a Maverick - $22k if you stay off the options list and wait for delivery.  This price seems to me a major reason for the vehicle's success.

 

 

[1912Staver]

I agree with all your points. My point in comparing a basic light truck and basic car in 1966 was the pricing difference between them , about a 10% upcharge for the truck. 

The current Maverick would probably follow that sort of an upcharge percentage over Fords basic car, if they had not exited the car business.  But a Maverick doesn't seem to be even a fraction as useful as a basic truck as the RWD 1/2 tons of yore.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

It's interesting how marketing, demand, maybe write ups impact sales of any particular make, model.  I think for some buyers (Ford is aiming at non traditional truck folks) the Maverick is a fit.  They have done a great job hyping it for sure.  But like it's namesake, it would be better as an affordable small truck, as very few are making that variant. 

 

Bear in mind this is a unibody, light duty vehicle.  Truck bodied light car actually.  But, gussied up Mavericks are selling for mid 40s with a waiting list.  I think it would be really hard to source a basic unit at $22k despite what they have published price wise.  I looked at one and some other mid sized alternatives last fall.  The look at the Maverick was 5 minutes, bed not muck bigger than a larger car trunk - not for me.  We ended up with a 2019 4wd F150 with 7,000 miles for significantly less. 

 

I just added a bedliner last weekend.  Prior owner appears to have carried groceries and not much more.  The tow wiring kit was unopened in glove box, etc...  Pretty happy so far!! 😊👍

 

On the Maverick, I think when rush is over these won't be nearly as hot, but if your in a congested area and want some utility they could make sense, just don't expect a matching compact price!

Edited March 28, 2022 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[bryankazmer]

22 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

 Prior owner appears to have carried groceries and not much more.  The tow wiring kit was unopened in glove box,

and so had all the disadvantages of the design, but never used the advantages. 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

36 minutes ago, bryankazmer said:

and so had all the disadvantages of the design, but never used the advantages. 

True for him, but ideal for me as the buyer.  It was an extra vehicle at a second home, likely replaced on a regular schedule...  Between our place and my son's place we will give it some truck tasks, Bryan.

[bryankazmer]

1 minute ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

True for him, but ideal for me as the buyer.  It was an extra vehicle at a second home, likely replaced on a regular schedule...  Between our place and my son's place we will give it some truck tasks, Bryan.

Exactly my point on the difference between you truck users and a large proportion of truck owners.

[Buffalowed Bill]

I'll preface by saying I'm not a truck guy and I should probably have my head examined for getting involved but... In North America the shift away from the car, towards the truck/SUV, has left me mystified. A truck has most always just been a tool for me. Certainly not something that I enjoyed driving on a daily basis. While I understand the value of saving, restoring, or maintaining an older truck the process is not for me. I find myself in a new order in which I don't belong. It's also surprising how many of my generation have just followed the crowd.

 

I appreciate the direction that Ford has been headed towards the ev, but again it's a tool, that at my age I will never experience first hand. The last truck that attracted me, when new, was this combination of performance, comfort, and handling of a car, and the towing capacity of a truck. It's a truck that I had the opportunity to experience first hand and loved it. It seems strange that it's been almost thirty years since it first appeared.

[JACK M]

If one maintains a yard and does occasional home improvements (including dump runs) he needs at least one pick up in the family.

Similar to the soccer mom needing an SUV.

And dad needs whatever floats his boat.  (See most every post on these forums)

We are not a one car family society anymore.

 

[8E45E]

1 hour ago, JACK M said:

If one maintains a yard and does occasional home improvements (including dump runs) he needs at least one pick up in the family.

Similar to the soccer mom needing an SUV.

And dad needs whatever floats his boat.  

We are not a one car family society anymore.

 

The law has also changed considerably when it comes to open cargo.

 

Exceeding GVW (note the rear tires on that '36 Cadillac Fleetwood with the overly large trunk hanging past the rear bumper and precariously loaded luggage rack on the roof in the other thread), and oversized loads.

 

I can't begin to tell one how my dad may have broken the law by overloading a '69 Chevelle station wagon with old building material while renovating the house, and old tree limbs and other yard waste to the dump.

 

Craig