I'm Out of the Maverick Club

[Jalopy Technology]

35 years ago that damage would have been repaired in two days.

someone will buy that Maverick at the salvage auction and repair it.

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[22XLThybrid]

I have been in journalism for over 4 decades. When I started pretty much everything was a serious accident with injuries. Now seriously injury is the exception..

There's a lot of selective memory being exhibited by some of the nostalgia posts above about vehicles from mid last century. I drove those cars too, from the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc. They were death traps.

They were built like garbage and typically lasted two or three years. In the snow belt, your foot would go through the rusted out floorboards in year three. Crashes turned humans into ground meat. They often exploded on impact. They rode on garbage bias ply tires without steel belts. They wouldn't start in the cold, so you carried spray for the carburetor. They had no ABS, no seat belts, no airbags. They got 8 to 12 mpg, maybe 15 on a good day.

If you think older cars were some kind of golden age, you have a really shitty memory.

 

[Dad]

My father was forced off the road and into a telephone in a '64 bug.

Little brother saw it in impound. He said that you could have put the bumper back on around the pole! (well, if you straighten it first, I suppose).

He shattered the windshield with his forehead and face. I dont' know if he ever got feeling back on his chin.

He broke ribs, but also shattered the steering wheel with them in the process.

Sorry to hear about your dad's accident. Definitely the catalyst for seat belts and airbags.

 

[dochawk]

Definitely the catalyst for seat belts and airbags.

Actually, just the high back seat and inertial shoulder belt in the '74s my brother and I had would have at least minimized the damage, possibly eliminated it. That and my '74 was a super beetle, so you're not driving with the windshield a couple of inches from your face to start with . . .

Also, somewhere between those years they added the collapsible segment of the steering column.

airbags would have been icing on the cake.

Oh, and the really scary part: just the month before, we'd had to take the driver's lapbelt out so we could work on something (I forget what); we'd been driving around without it installed!).

And within a month or two of that, a gal that I had basically bullied into wearing her seatbelt had an accident. She wasn't much more than 5', driving a 70s Mercury Monarch. She would have sailed through the front window without the belt!

Yeah, I'm a serious believer in safety systems at this point. That was a factor in ordering the Lariat for my wife's Maverick.

 

[Dad]

Actually, just the high back seat and inertial shoulder belt in the '74s my brother and I had would have at least minimized the damage, possibly eliminated it. That and my '74 was a super beetle, so you're not driving with the windshield a couple of inches from your face to start with . . .

Also, somewhere between those years they added the collapsible segment of the steering column.

airbags would have been icing on the cake.

Oh, and the really scary part: just the month before, we'd had to take the driver's lapbelt out so we could work on something (I forget what); we'd been driving around without it installed!).

And within a month or two of that, a gal that I had basically bullied into wearing her seatbelt had an accident. She wasn't much more than 5', driving a 70s Mercury Monarch. She would have sailed through the front window without the belt!

Yeah, I'm a serious believer in safety systems at this point. That was a factor in ordering the Lariat for my wife's Maverick.

Looking back on the early days (1930 - 1970) or so, driving was a bit of a daredevil activity. Of course, there were a lot less cars on the road and the car door probably weighed more than the entire car in today's vehicles. No doubt in my mind people are driving more recklessly and the safety features offered are a must have.

 

[dochawk]

Of course, there were a lot less cars on the road and the car door probably weighed more than the entire car in today's vehicles.

Oh, if you go to the early period, the doors are *light*!

Disturbingly so; in some case, not much more than sheetmetal and a hinge. Often without a retractable window!

 

[Dad]

Oh, if you go to the early period, the doors are *light*!

Disturbingly so; in some case, not much more than sheetmetal and a hinge. Often without a retractable window!

Hahaha. Not going back THAT early!

 

[AL-Tess]

Glad you are safe and in a new ride, Enjoy the new ride, Happy Trails, see you when you get your other Maverick later on.

 

[dochawk]

Hahaha. Not going back THAT early!

but, I really, really, want a '26 Cadillac!
(although I'll settle for two years in either direction. But prior to 24, there are harmonic vibrations, as the dual-plane crankshaft wasn't present yet, while starting in '29, they synchronized the transmission).

(but to be clear, on cadillac at least at that point, there were at least two panels of sheet metal, and the side windows could slide down between them).

 

[MakinDoForNow]

We drove Volkswagens. They would crumple up pretty good in a accident absorbing a lot of the impact. Not sure what gauge of steel they used but it was fairly thin. German engineering at it's best.

German engineering? WWII vehicles had to be shipped to the rear to be repaired though mainly because they were engineered to be perfect. The US troops had grown up having to patch their crap back together their whole life so when their tank or whatever broke they just figured out how to modify it. Etc...

 

[Dr. No]

Nice looking Ranger, I have to admit the new styling peeks my interest.

 

[GmanGM]

That new Ranger won car of the year, and has been receiving a lot of great reviews. Please stop back after you've owned it for a while and let us know what you think of it.

If it were the phev they are releasing in AU I would be down w that. Otherwise I will stick w the Mav Hybrid until then. (But it foes look nice!)

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