1970-1977 Ford Maverick: Will the Real Pony Car Please Stand Up?

1970 Ford Maverick from sales brochure

Car marketing has long been an interest of mine, especially interesting was how the Big Three responded to early import competition during the 1970s. For American brands like Ford, it was not always clear who its competitors were in the small car arena. You can’t help but think the very concept of a small American car was still being tinkered with as Ford was trying to figure out how to sell a smaller car to Americans.

Take Ford’s Maverick for instance, a handsome coupe (and less handsome sedan) that replaced the equally handsome Falcon around 1970. The Maverick and it’s Mercury twin the Comet were actually classified as sub compact, leading to ads where Ford compared the Maverick to the pint sized Volkswagen Beetle!

1973 Ford Maverick side profile

As incredible as that might sound, the Maverick actually filled a lot of gaps for Ford and would settle into its marketing status as a compact early in it’s run. Initially designed as a low cost, simple to own and operate alternative to imports, it’s mission changed with new circumstances and opportunities. You could buy a new Maverick for just under $2,000 even in places as far away as Brazil as late as 1979. In fact, the Maverick was arguably more important to Ford of Brazil than the parent company judging from all the roles it had to fill. You could get it with a fancy center console and as a station wagon!

Despite spanning two continents, the Maverick never made it to Europe, where it was as a tad bigger than the German built Capri II. Interestingly the basic profile of the Maverick was popular in America where you could get a Chevy Nova with a similar form factor and mechanical layout. Elsewhere, the Maverick’s shape either started or heightened a trend as looks may have inspired Datsun’s second generation Laurel, a car sold mostly in Japan. Speaking of Japan, Consumer Reports rated the Maverick above its Japanese competition. This of course was a time when small import cars were janky little rust buckets – however they were making rapid progress that would come back to haunt the Big Three by decade’s end.

1978 Ford Maverick (Brazil)

For a car with limited global ambitions, the Maverick in many ways tried to be many things to many people with cheap non-radio strippers to luxury and quazi-muscle car variants. Forget about the Dodge Dart or Chevy Vega, the Maverick would eventually eat the Mustang’s lunch as the Mustang II struggled initially as a performance car.

From the beginning the Maverick buyer had a choice of two inline 6 cylinder engines to choose from. It’s simple (old) carbureted technology and live axle rear wheel drive was easy to maintain and featured predictable handling. As a competitor to the Chevy Nova, the Maverick offered slightly more room and could be had as a homely looking sedan.

Basic Maverick sedan

But most buyers bought the Maverick for it’s smart looks and practicality. Oddly the 2 door was called a 2-Door Sedan, despite it’s sleek fastback profile and long hood design with just a hint of a curvaceous slope. Being sandwiched between the upmarket Mustang and down-market Pinto, the Maverick would take design cues from both as well as inherit some of their sporty and practical attributes. With catchy names for colors like “Anti-establishment Mint” and “Freudian Gilt”, the Maverick was seen by Ford as a hip alternative to bigger less efficient domestic cars or imports made in places where America dropped bombs in WWII.

Meanwhile the market was moving against the big muscle car thanks to OPEC drama and new regulations. The flood of safety and EPA rules hit the Mustang especially hard. With Ford’s pony car suddenly finding itself power strangled and downsized, the Maverick in its sportier forms was looking like the better value at well over $1,000 less for a V8 powered Grabber. Until the Grabber came along, most sporty Mavericks were simple paint and stripe appearance packages like the Sprint package of 1972 that honored America’s Olympic team.

Sprint themes cars for 1972

From the beginning the Maverick buyer had a choice of either 2.8 (105hp) or 3.3 (120hp) inline 6 cylinder engines to choose from. It wouldn’t be long before Ford dropped in it’s 302 small block V8 into the Maverick late in 1970, creating a cut rate muscle car. With 220 hp, The Grabber would be the highest performing factory variant of the Maverick. In this form it’s stripes, spoiler and twin hood scoops would eventually look like the real pony car in Ford’s lineup. The Grabber only overlapped the Mustang II for a couple of model years, but that was enough to cut into sales of the newly downsized and emasculated pony car.

Ford would raise prices of the Grabber in 1975 in an attempt to level the playing field with the more profitable Mustang. The Maverick was still a great seller as the Stallion would replace the Grabber in 1976. Now with most Stallions sold with the 200 CID six cylinder engine and 3-speed manual transmission, the sportiest Maverick was no competition for the top Mustang.  The 302 was still on the options sheet, but it was no longer the attractive bargain it once was.

’76 or ’77 Maverick Stallion

Ford’s line of Stallion Cars for 1976

Personally, the post Grabber cars like the ’76-’77 Stallion are my favorites. The Stallion series with it’s special silver and black (or other colors with black) scheme with tasteful decals was great looking on the Pinto and Mustang too. Stallions were not particularly fast, even by ’70s standards and came with lower power ratings in the 78 to 120 hp range. The 14in Cragar styled aluminum wheels could be had with raised letter radial ply tires. Basic Mavericks had styled steel wheels with chrome trim rings. A three speed manual was standard, but most optioned cars were sold with a 3 speed SelectShift transmission. There were even luxury packages that gave the Maverick vinyl covered roofs, plush carpeting and other luxury touches like bucket seats.

Stallion themed dash

The basic design of the Maverick changed very little from the initial 1971 design. By it’s last year, it had gained things like solid state ignition switches and power disc front brakes, but was clearly dated next to newer designs like the Fiesta. The Maverick had served Ford well by giving it’s bragging rights for a brief period before the Mustang could get its performance reputation back on track. By 1978, the Maverick would be replaced by the new Fox platform Fairmont. Time will no likely be kind to the Maverick as a collector item as it’s pony car in waiting legacy will be realized as their number become few.

1971 Ford Maverick