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Car Of The Day: March 28, 2016; Hot Wheels '70 Ford Maverick (Mighty Maverick)
Topic Started: Mar 28 2016, 01:40 AM (687 Views)
Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
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Today's car of the day is Hot Wheels' 1970 Ford Maverick (Mighty Maverick).

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Wikipedia
 
The Ford Maverick is a compact car that was manufactured by Ford from April 1969 to 1977 in the United States, Venezuela (first country outside the States to produce them), Canada, Mexico, and, from 1973 to 1979, in Brazil — employing a rear-wheel drive platform dating to the original 1960 Falcon. Originally marketed as a two-door sedan at a price of $1,995, the Maverick was designed to be inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.

The name "maverick" was derived from the word for unbranded range animals, and the car's nameplate was stylized to resemble a longhorned cow head.


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For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Ford Maverick

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One of the highlights of my collection, this original Redline Mighty Maverick retains its original rear spoiler. Obviously inspired by the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Road Runner Superbird, it's a mystery as to why Hot Wheels opted to put the mighty wing on the mundane Maverick instead of tooling up one of the real Wing Cars. Later this casting would lose the wing and be released as Street Snorter.

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Wikipedia
 
The Maverick was originally conceived and marketed as a subcompact "import fighter", intended to do battle with the Volkswagen Beetle and newer Japanese rivals for North America from Honda, Datsun, and Toyota. The Falcon, Ford's compact offering since 1960 and main rival to the Chevrolet Nova and Dodge Dart, had seen its sales decimated by the introduction of the Mustang in 1964, and despite a redesign in 1966, was unable to meet the then forthcoming U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration motor vehicle standards that would come into effect on January 1, 1970. Consequently, the Falcon was discontinued midway through the 1970 model year, and the Maverick repositioned as Ford's compact entry, giving the Nova and Dart a new rival. A bigger Falcon was a rebranded low-trim version of the Fairlane for the second half of the model year, then went away. Ford chose not to sell the European Escort in North America due to slow demand for the Cortina. However, the Escort name was introduced to North America in 1980, replacing the Pinto and stop-gap European Fiesta.

The Maverick's styling featured the long hood, fastback roof, and short deck popularized by the Mustang, on a 103-inch (2.616 m) wheelbase — and featured simple and inexpensive to manufacture pop-out rear side windows rather than roll-downs.

Nearly 579,000 Mavericks were produced in its first year. This rivaled the record-setting first year of Mustang sales (nearly 619,000), and easily outpaced the Mustang's sales of fewer than 200,000 in 1970.


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Wikipedia
 
Initially available only as a "2-Door Sedan", early models lacked a glove compartment, which was added during the 1973 production run. A 4-Door Sedan on a 109.9-inch (2.791 m) wheelbase was introduced in 1971 with more rear room and roll-down rear door windows. A station wagon version of the Maverick was created in Brazil in 1978 by a local dealer who customized the four-door sedan.

At introduction, exterior paint carried distinctive names including Anti-Establish Mint, Hulla Blue, Original Cinnamon, Freudian Gilt, Thanks Vermillion — along with more pedestrian names, including Black Jade, Champagne Gold, Gulfstream Aqua, Meadowlark Yellow, Brittany Blue, Lime Gold, Dresden Blue, Raven Black, Wimbledon White, and Candyapple Red.

In the first half of production for the 1970 model, two engine options were available, a 170 CID I6 and a 200 CID I6. A 250 CID I6 was added mid-year.

Commercials compared the Maverick to the smaller Volkswagen Beetle for $1,995, although the Pinto was later Ford's primary competitor in the subcompact class (while also competing in that segment with the Chevrolet Vega that came out at the same time).

Early 1970 models built from the introduction in April until August 1969 had a few interior features that the later 1970 models built from September 1969 onward did not. The earliest Mavericks featured a two-spoke steering wheel with horn ring that was also found on other 1969 Fords, while the cars built in the 1970 model year had a revised steering wheel with no horn ring. Also, the early models featured the ignition switch in the instrument panel while the cars built after September 1, 1969 had the ignition switch mounted on a locking steering column, as did all other 1970 Fords in compliance with a new federal safety mandate that took effect with the 1970 model year.

The four-door model was introduced in 1971. Also available was a vinyl roof. Mercury also revived the Mercury Comet as a mechanical clone of the Maverick. A 210 hp (160 kW) 302 CID V8 was also introduced for both the Comet and the Maverick. The Comet featured a new grille, taillights borrowed from the Mercury Montego, trim, and hood.

The muscle car-themed Maverick Grabber trim package was introduced in mid-1970. The package included special graphics and trim, including a spoiler. It was offered from 1970 to 1975. In 1971 and 1972, the Grabber came with a special "Dual Dome" hood. A similar package for the Mercury Comet, the Comet GT, was also offered from 1971 to 1975, and had "muscle car" trim akin to the Maverick Grabber, plus its own distinctive hood scoop.

A Sprint package offered in 1972 featured a special red, white, and blue paint with matching interior. With similar packages offered on the Pinto and the Mustang, the trim package patriotically acknowledged the 1972 Olympics and was available for only one year. U.S. versions were given a stylized U.S. flag made into a rear quarter panel decal. The badge was very much in the vein of Olympic symbols, but without being too close, to avoid copyright infringement. Sprints sold in Canada were also red, white, and blue, but had a quarter badge styled from the Canadian flag.

A "Luxury Decor Option" (LDO) trim level introduced late in the 1972 model year included reclining bucket seats in a soft vinyl material, plush carpeting, woodgrained instrument panel trim, radial tires with body-color deluxe wheel covers, and a vinyl roof. The Maverick LDO option (also offered on the Mercury Comet) was one of the first American compacts to be marketed as a lower-priced (and domestic) alternative to the more expensive European luxury/touring sedans from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and other makes.

Minor changes were made from 1973 to 1975. In 1973, the 170 CID engine was dropped, making the 200 CID I6 the standard engine. Additionally, improved brakes and a previously optional chrome grille became standard. An AM/FM stereo, aluminum wheels, and a new front bumper were added (the latter to comply with new federal regulations). In 1974, the Maverick was unchanged except for rear federal bumpers and larger trunk with a higher deck. Jumping gas prices and increasing demand for smaller cars resulting from the Arab oil embargo did cause the Maverick to grow in popularity, selling 10,000 more units than the year before. Production of the Maverick and Comet dropped in 1975 with the release of the Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch as true Euro-style luxury compacts. The Maverick received minor trim changes for 1975 that included new grilles and the replacement of Maverick nameplates on the hood and trunklid with FORD nameplates spelled out in block letters.

In 1976, the Grabber was dropped, and a Stallion package was introduced. The Stallion option came with special paint and trim. Like the Sprint package four years earlier, Ford offered the Stallion option on several models, this time including the Pinto and the new Mustang II. The Comet GT was also discontinued. Standard Mavericks received another new grille and gained front disc brakes as standard equipment along with a new foot-operated parking brake that replaced the old under-dash T-handle unit. Production continued to drop.

The final year for both the Maverick and Comet was 1977. Both cars remained unchanged except for a police package on the Maverick which was not sufficiently upgraded for police work and sold less than 400 units. The Maverick was produced in Brazil until 1979. Maverick's place in the North American Ford lineup was essentially taken by the 1978 Fairmont.

The Maverick and Comet had no significant changes towards the end of their lifespans since they were originally meant to be replaced in 1975 by the Granada and Monarch. However, Ford decided to keep selling both sets of cars until the 1978 model year introduction of the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr, which were built on an all-new "Fox" platform that would serve as the basic platform for many Ford/Mercury/Lincoln designs through the early 1990s.


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While I prefer the stock look of the Maverick Grabber casting Hot Wheels has now, there is no doubt that's a nice piece and a jewel in any collection.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Call it whatever you want, the question is does it work? Will it really mighty my Maverick?

I agree about the newer casting being a much better representation of a Ford Maverick, and even the RLC recast Mighty Maverick is a better casting than this one. Still, I love this car. I love the color, I love the towering spoiler that makes no sense whatsoever on this car, and well, I just plain like the Maverick. The Maverick is one of those cars that was ubiquitous in my youth (my next door neighbors had a blue '77 sedan) that just plain disappeared overnight. I don't understand why they don't have a bigger following now - they have all the right hallmarks of a collector car: popular when new, nice styling (especially on the coupes), V8 availability, Grabber option made it into a fairly decent performer, etc. Yet somehow the Maverick is lumped in with the Pinto, Mustang II, Vega, and anything made by AMC in the 'loser' ('nerd cars') category. By the time the Maverick debuted the Mustang had become a bloated mess, and the Maverick coupe was truer to the Mustang's original concept than the Mustang was at that point. But no engine larger than the 302 ever made its way under the hood and perhaps that's the reason for the lack of interest now. Not that larger engines can't be swapped in. ;)

On a side note, this is the only one of the pics that shows the true color. The rest have been edited in Paint.NET trying to tweak it as close to the pink shade it really is (again, really not happy with these pictures):

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I've always liked the Maverick too. I've always associated it more with cars like the Mercury Capri, Ford Escort, Merkur, Holden's etc. that were made for other markets as it seemed closer to those cars in my mind than the muscle cars and pony cars of the era.
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JBH6666
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There's just something about the solid castings and character of the early Hot Wheels cars. While I also prefer realism in my diecast- it is undeniably cool. I've always found the Mighty Maverick to be challenging to find in the wild. I have a few of the later issues without the rear spoiler- but haven't been able to come across one of the ones pictured here. Great choice for the post- thanks!
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pjedsel
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:wave: And for a while it was the only small scale Maverick out there. I have a green one (also with the wing) from those early Hot Wheels days. They took design liberties with all of those early cars and we enjoyed them all the same. If I recall, at least with mine, that oversize wing would sometimes get caught in the finish line flag on the old orange track sets and stop abruptly.
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Guntownal
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Long time favorite of mine although I like the Street Snorter better.


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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Now those are some drool-worthy shots! :drool:
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Hobie-wan
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SUV
So many lovelies. Keep em safe!

:crying:
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Edited by Hobie-wan, Mar 29 2016, 01:41 AM.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
What lake did you pull that one out of? ;)
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Dean-o-mite
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My only Mighty Maverick is a spectrflame green one, missing the rear wing. Sadly, it was one of the melting casualties, with the windows melting, as well as the axle supports, so it can't support its own weight anymore, and won't roll. Back before the Maverick had its surge in small scale popularity, this was an important model, since so few Mavericks existed. The original Johnny Lightning (Mad Maverick, I think) was so overly modified that it shouldn't even be considered, and the Lindberg (Mini-Lindy) plastic model was not common. Back in the late 90's, I *needed* a Maverick for my collection, and didn't know about the Lindberg yet, so the Hot Wheels was my only game in town, and at that time, Redline collecting seemed to be more feverish than today, so finding a redline Maverick I could afford was an exercise in patience, but it finally happened. Now, I just need the patience for it to happen again....
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Hobie-wan
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Swifty
Mar 29 2016, 07:30 PM
What lake did you pull that one out of? ;)
It came to me that way in a lot of other vehicles that were fine. I pulled a couple of wheel caps off for other vehicles. I have a few crusties that have come to me that I play to eventually experiment on a bit, all in their own box far from other cars. This one is the worst though, and unfortunately would have been the nicest sans corrosion. It certainly does look like it spent time with the fish.
Edited by Hobie-wan, Mar 30 2016, 01:18 AM.
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