Could Maverick be the next Pinto?

[Platinum2]

Preface: This is meant to be a "fun, thought-provoking" thread to pass time while we all wait for our trucks.

There are some eerily similar details between the development of the new Maverick and the Ford Pinto produced through 1980.

For those of us who have been around a while, recall that the Pinto (codenamed Lee's Car) went from sketch pad to showroom in a remarkable 24 months. It also set the standard for lightweight cars among domestic manufacturers at the time. It was first to market ahead of AMC's Gremlin and Chevrolet's Vega. Lastly, it carried a shockingly low price. Sound familiar?

It did not take long for the Pinto's shortcomings to become apparent. The explosive fuel tanks were the main problem which has been well documented over the years.

This might beg the question: Could the Maverick be the next Pinto? Having been developed in just 22 months, relatively lightweight in its construction, and sold at a low price, this could put hundreds of thousands of these vehicles on roadways in a very short period of time. Could a major design error could match or exceed the 500+ lives lost to the Pinto?

While manufacturing processes have no doubt gotten much better and modern safety systems are nothing short of amazing in most cases, it all starts with the engineering and requires strict quality control at all levels.

What do you think about these stark similarities?

Sponsored

 

[Stimpy433]

Just picture it, Mavericks blowing up all over the United States..... Hahaha!!!

 

[Platinum2]

Just picture it, Mavericks blowing up all over the United States..... Hahaha!!!

Hard to believe Ford was able to survive during the Pinto era. In today's litigious world, 500 fiery deaths would certainly spell ruin.

 

[JASmith]

The Maverick is based on the Escape and Bronco Sport that they did spend a lot of time on, so really they are just making modifications to a certain design, so its not like they created it from scratch.

That said, I am worried about the much shorter warranty on Ford products compared to Hyundai 10yr/100K miles, and fact that at least Consumer Reports has not put either the Escape nor the Bronco Sport on its "recommended" list despite very good road test scores, due to both being relegated to its worst predicted reliability score rating:

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/consumer-reports-cant-recommend-the-2021-ford-bronco-sport/

The Bronco Sport despite experience with the Escape already got three recalls in such a short period of time, and over on Edmunds there are also a lot of alarming reviews of people with powertrain errors on their new vehicles:

https://www.edmunds.com/ford/bronco-sport/2021/consumer-reviews/?rating=1

Many manufacturers including Volkswagen have also seen reliability issues out of vehicles built in Mexican plants, and the preview video we watched said that because this is a new line of vehicles being produced they are hiring a new crew and training them, rather than just retraining existing employees with years experience from one vehicle to a new vehicle. Makes you wonder if many of these people have ever even built a car before, or if this will be their first attempt.

Even though people were mocking them, I was also really interested in a Jeep Renegade back when they still made then in 4WD with the Abarth engine and 6-speed manual, but I was worried about reliability, and sure enough the forum ended up littered with reliability complaints where it would spend weeks in the shop. So the only real fear I have with the Maverick is not hard plastics or anything, but just if I'm going to have headaches or not. But then again I drove a 500 Abarth for damn near 100K miles and its been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned, and it too had warnings about Fiat reliability.

 

[Stimpy433]

I wouldn't take too much into what Consumer Reports has to say anymore, as they have lost their non bias take on a lot of things......

 

[kingranchero]

I think it has far more in common with the 1964 Mustang. Take an existing successful platform (Falcon vs C2); aim for a segment that doesn't exist in the market (pony car vs small unibody trucks); let the Studio draft a clean, unique design; utilize a modular catalog of parts to design the platform and allow engineering timeline to be shortened; introduce an appealing product at a very attractive price.

 

[Platinum2]

I think it has far more in common with the 1964 Mustang. Take an existing successful platform (Falcon vs C2); aim for a segment that doesn't exist in the market (pony car vs small unibody trucks); let the Studio draft a clean, unique design; utilize a modular catalog of parts to design the platform and allow engineering timeline to be shortened; introduce an appealing product at a very attractive price.

This is a good point. Thanks for sharing!

 

[hsinking1932]

So far, it is impossible. There are not enough Mavs to explode 500 times.

BTW, seriously, 500 death in explosions? I read some articles on internet, and they says only 27 death. I could be wrong. The internet may not be as credible as Pinto.

 

[NewBernWolf]

Preface: This is meant to be a "fun, thought-provoking" thread to pass time while we all wait for our trucks.

There are some eerily similar details between the development of the new Maverick and the Ford Pinto produced through 1980.

For those of us who have been around a while, recall that the Pinto (codenamed Lee's Car) went from sketch pad to showroom in a remarkable 24 months. It also set the standard for lightweight cars among domestic manufacturers at the time. It was first to market ahead of AMC's Gremlin and Chevrolet's Vega. Lastly, it carried a shockingly low price. Sound familiar?

It did not take long for the Pinto's shortcomings to become apparent. The explosive fuel tanks were the main problem which has been well documented over the years.

This might beg the question: Could the Maverick be the next Pinto? Having been developed in just 22 months, relatively lightweight in its construction, and sold at a low price, this could put hundreds of thousands of these vehicles on roadways in a very short period of time. Could a major design error could match or exceed the 500+ lives lost to the Pinto?

While manufacturing processes have no doubt gotten much better and modern safety systems are nothing short of amazing in most cases, it all starts with the engineering and requires strict quality control at all levels.

What do you think about these stark similarities?

No.

 

[MDRN]

I wouldn't take too much into what Consumer Reports has to say anymore, as they have lost their non bias take on a lot of things......

Agree on this. It's hard to take "predicted reliability" seriously. What is it predicated on? The escape hybrid hadn't been around for nearly a decade before the current one. This is opinion which is always a bias.

 

[Rkbrumbelow]

So far, it is impossible. There are not enough Mavs to explode 500 times.

BTW, seriously, 500 death in explosions? I read some articles on internet, and they says only 27 death. I could be wrong. The internet may not be as credible as Pinto.

https://philosophia.uncg.edu/phi361...oes-business-need-ethics/case-the-ford-pinto/

 

[KWVargas]

27 deaths

Deaths and Injuries Lead to Litigation
Before long, the Pinto's defective design began causing serious injuries — and fatalities. An official total of 27 deaths was tied to the vehicle, though some estimates are far higher. Google fact check.

I owned one that I shared with my brother never had any problems and later a Maverick as we got bigger.

 

[The Weatherman]

So what would a fully restored or well conditioned Pinto be worth today? Might be all bad.

 

[Shay]

No. Pinto was all new from the ground up. Maverick is a parts bin project based off of well developed and proven platform bits.

 

[STARCOMMTREY1]

The Maverick is based on the Escape and Bronco Sport that they did spend a lot of time on, so really they are just making modifications to a certain design, so its not like they created it from scratch.

That said, I am worried about the much shorter warranty on Ford products compared to Hyundai 10yr/100K miles, and fact that at least Consumer Reports has not put either the Escape nor the Bronco Sport on its "recommended" list despite very good road test scores, due to both being relegated to its worst predicted reliability score rating:

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/consumer-reports-cant-recommend-the-2021-ford-bronco-sport/

The Bronco Sport despite experience with the Escape already got three recalls in such a short period of time, and over on Edmunds there are also a lot of alarming reviews of people with powertrain errors on their new vehicles:

https://www.edmunds.com/ford/bronco-sport/2021/consumer-reviews/?rating=1

Many manufacturers including Volkswagen have also seen reliability issues out of vehicles built in Mexican plants, and the preview video we watched said that because this is a new line of vehicles being produced they are hiring a new crew and training them, rather than just retraining existing employees with years experience from one vehicle to a new vehicle. Makes you wonder if many of these people have ever even built a car before, or if this will be their first attempt.

Even though people were mocking them, I was also really interested in a Jeep Renegade back when they still made then in 4WD with the Abarth engine and 6-speed manual, but I was worried about reliability, and sure enough the forum ended up littered with reliability complaints where it would spend weeks in the shop. So the only real fear I have with the Maverick is not hard plastics or anything, but just if I'm going to have headaches or not. But then again I drove a 500 Abarth for damn near 100K miles and its been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned, and it too had warnings about Fiat reliability.

Years ago Chevys got a high initial reliability rating. Today, a lot of them make the never buy list. Just food for thought.

Sponsored