I remember a year or two ago someone mentioning that they knew or knew the name of a man involved in the original designing of the Maverick. Does anyone know who posted this? I for one would be interested in talking to this man if possible---maybe invite him to the Roundup, or something. Anyone remember the post? Thanks, Doug
from my understanding Lee Iacocca was heavily involved in the design ... he might have pushed the car through fords corporate red tape..I don't remember
Lee Iacocca was the man behind the Pinto thats all I know, I doubt he was the one that initially designed the Maverick though. He ruined Ford's reputation with the Pinto fiasco, if he was behind the Maverick though I will commend him on that one as they were one of the most reliable cars made in the 70's. In a way I wish the Mav would have been continued into the 80's one has to wonder what would have became of it. 71 Grabber (Project Car) 85 Club Wagon 94 Taurus GL Sedan FFV
2nd generation maverick I was told by a Ford engineer in the 70,s that the maverick was being redesigned and was to continue with the same name. The second generation of the maverick was renamed the Fairmont by the marketing department to compliment the new fresher style and to go along with the new mustang II. The new names and styles were to seperate in the public's mind, problems with the pinto, the radical change in the mustang and the failing sales of the old maverick and show that Ford was a progressive company going into the 80's. The original marketing concept of the maverick being " the simple machine" and retailing for $1995, had wore out as it was no longer a true economy/entry level car especially with the influx of the Japanese imports. Ford saw the battle between the small fuel effiecient cars of Japan was not going to be won with its current models. The marketing plan was to start getting into more upscale cars. The fuel shortage of 1973 and the downturn of 1977 also was a stimulant to drop the maverick name, as the car reminded people of the recent past, and they wanted to portray their products in a more positive light. So in a sense, the maverick did continue on as the Fairmont. Tony
Yeah I do recall hearing something about that seems the Mav went the same route as the T-Bird, started out a muscle car, ended up a family car. The 80's unfortunatley weren't too kind to Ford either i'm not sayin they were all bad our Club Wagon is fairly reliable *knock on wood* had alot of problems when we first got it but thats only cause the previous owner botched everything up. I do think Ford outta consider bringing the Maverick back today (by name) and I don't mean that SUV in Europe which is basically the Ford Escape. I mean hey the T-Bird has gone back to it's roots why not. 71 Grabber (Project Car) 85 Club Wagon 94 Taurus GL Sedan FFV
Joe: Seems You don't take e-mail,(at least that's what it tells Me) Anyway I'll be in Sacto all next week for a Hazmat gig at the Radisson Hotel I thought I might get a peek at Your "project car"I'll bring one of My Mavs,I think the blue one (not sure)let Me know if You want to hook up for a cold one!
Hmm that is strange I do take e-mail I have an addy setup with this board cause it e-mails me everytime somebody replies to any of my posts. I'll try sending myself an e-mail through it to see what happens if not i'll e-mail you with one of my other one's (I have a few). As for the Mav that sounds great wish I could drive mine though , I still haven't completley worked out the fuel problem (been busy last couple weeks) but I do know it's either the Fuel Gauge itself or the Sending Unit cause it's outta gas more or less but it's not telling me that. #2 Needs brakes (bad) I got one that grabs, and the other three have like no padding, so it's kinda in bad shape. You can still see it though you'll just have to come by my house heh. Maybe one of these days i'll actually be able to post pic's of it on here. Anyhow i'll try and resolve that e-mail issue... late 71 Grabber (Project Car) 85 Club Wagon 94 Taurus GL Sedan FFV
I would more than love to have a new generation of Mav's come out. However, it will not happen. Although it sold really well initially, it was not for the same reasons that the mustang did. Unfortunetly, mention "maverick" to most people of that generation, and they tend to get that "just bit down on a lemon" look. In many peoples eyes, the mav was a stretched out pinto, and most never knew it came with a v8. It sucks, because the Mav was an awesome car, it just was introduced 7 years too late. The main reason I think it won't come back is because Ford sells over 50% trucks/suv/minivans. There is simply no drive for passenger cars anymore, not only that, but they don't make nearly the same profit from cars as they do trucks. The thunderbird is their Niche/yuppy/specialty vehicle, and the mustang is their 2 door sport/muscle car, with anything else remaining being an econo car. Unfortunetly, this is not the 60's, where car manufactures could have 4 different 2 door muscle cars and have them all sell well. But maybe one day....
Designer Lee Iaccoca was very good at seeing the Market needs and filling the gaps, as well as getting things pushed through the Executive Commitee's. Beyond that, I can't really say he was the designer of the Maverick anymore than he was the designer of the Mustang. He simply saw the sales potential, and got enthusiastic enough to push the projects through. The Maverick design was basically done by styling under Eugene Bordinat, and the mechanics were simply standard Ford parts bin stuff, hence all the interchangebility with other Fomoco vehicles. The chief Systems Engineer at Ford then was Thomas Feahany. The Maverick was being rumoured to be redesigned in 1975, but after the first fuel crunch boosted small car demand, Lee Iaccoca kept it as is and launched the re-design as the Granada. The Fairmont name was simply chosen by Commitee. It was never considered to be named Maverick. So in that sense, the Granada/Monarch, as well as the Versailles was the Maverick incarnate through 1980, since they were all built off the Maverick 109.9 inch 4-door platform, with a few structural improvements. But you are right that the Maverick basically died when it did because it was percieved as old tech with lots of wasted space, just like the bloated 73 thorugh 76 Torino's. Plus sales were falling pretty fast.
