Ford Maverick (North America)

Ford Maverick
1973 Ford Maverick Grabber
Overview
Manufacturer	Ford
Also called	Ford Falcon Maverick (Mexico)
Production	1970–1977 (North America) 1973–1979 (Brazil)
Assembly	Claycomo, Missouri, U.S. Milpitas, California, U.S. Wayne, Michigan, U.S. Talbotville, Ontario, Canada Oakville, Ontario, Canada São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
Body and chassis
Class	Compact
Body style	2-door sedan 4-door sedan
Layout	FR layout
Related	Ford Granada Mercury Comet Mercury Monarch
Powertrain
Engine	170 cu in (2.8 L) Thriftpower Six I6 200 cu in (3.3 L) Thriftpower Six I6 250 cu in (4.1 L) Thriftpower Six I6 302 cu in (5.0L) V8
Transmission	Ford C4 transmission in automatic models
Dimensions
Wheelbase	103 in (2.616 m) (2-Door) 109.9 in (2.791 m) (4-Door)
Length	179.4 in (4.557 m) (2-Door) (1970-1972) 187 in (4.750 m) (2-Door) (1974-1977) 193.9 in (4.925 m) (4-Door)
Width	70.5 in (1.791 m)
Height	53.5 in (1.359 m) (2-Door) 53.4 in (1.356 m) (4-Door)
Curb weight	2,909 lb (1,320 kg) (2-Door) 3,011 lb (1,366 kg) (sedan)
Chronology
Predecessor	Ford Falcon (North American)
Successor	Ford Fairmont

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.

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.