Photo: Ford
Following in the footsteps of the Hyundai Santa Cruz, the Ford Motor Company presented the Maverick on June 8th to much critical acclaim. The Blue Oval received no fewer than 36,000 reservations in a single week, a very encouraging result despite the ongoing chip crunch.
Based on the compact-sized Escape and Bronco Sport, the Maverick comes in three flavors with either a front-driven hybrid powertrain or the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost from the range-topping Bronco Sport Badlands. Only the latter engine is available with the FX4 Off-Road Package as long as you opt for all-wheel drive in the XLT or Lariat, and it’s pretty good value at $800 for the likes of a heavy-duty radiator, cooling fan, Hill Descent Control, skid plates, A/T rubber, and off-road driving modes.
Going forward, the Ford Motor Company could replicate the Tremor formula in the Maverick under a different nameplate. The Dearborn-based automaker has recently filed a trademark for Rattler, a venomous serpent family that comprises 36 known species and just around 70 subspecies.
The cold-blooded predator lives in a wide array of habitats, including deserts and marshes. This indicates overlanding capability for whatever the Ford Motor Company will use the Rattler nameplate, but not as much capability as the Tremor as well as the almighty Raptor. In the case of the Maverick, the Rattler would sit one level above FX4-equipped models.
Of course, there are more possible outcomes for the all-new trademark because the goods and services listed on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office include motor vehicles in the guise of “automobiles, pickup trucks, electric vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and off-road vehicles.” In this respect, Ford may also prepare a go-anywhere F-150 Lightning.
Looking at the bigger picture, Maverick would be the best application because the Hyundai Santa Cruz doesn’t have an off-road option. Oh, and by the way, it’s worth remembering that FoMoCo also manufactures the unibody pickup truck at the same facility where the Bronco Sport is made.
Going forward, the Ford Motor Company could replicate the Tremor formula in the Maverick under a different nameplate. The Dearborn-based automaker has recently filed a trademark for Rattler, a venomous serpent family that comprises 36 known species and just around 70 subspecies.
The cold-blooded predator lives in a wide array of habitats, including deserts and marshes. This indicates overlanding capability for whatever the Ford Motor Company will use the Rattler nameplate, but not as much capability as the Tremor as well as the almighty Raptor. In the case of the Maverick, the Rattler would sit one level above FX4-equipped models.
Of course, there are more possible outcomes for the all-new trademark because the goods and services listed on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office include motor vehicles in the guise of “automobiles, pickup trucks, electric vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and off-road vehicles.” In this respect, Ford may also prepare a go-anywhere F-150 Lightning.
Looking at the bigger picture, Maverick would be the best application because the Hyundai Santa Cruz doesn’t have an off-road option. Oh, and by the way, it’s worth remembering that FoMoCo also manufactures the unibody pickup truck at the same facility where the Bronco Sport is made.
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