The Original Ford Maverick Had Some Great Colors, How Does The New Truck Stack Up?

It's not exactly a bold to point out that the original 1970-1977 Ford Maverick and the 2022-current Ford Maverick don't have a whole lot in common. In the '70s, the Ford Maverick was a fun little coupe (a four-door version followed soon after) built on the outgoing Falcon's chassis with the same crummy suspension as the Mustang. Today's Ford Maverick is a small affordable pickup that, while about as far as you can get from its namesake, is refreshing in a world of huge trucks. I suppose the through line here is both Mavericks being affordable vehicles because when it comes to paint color options, the two Mavericks hardly compare.

The Ford Maverick didn't morph from coupe to truck overnight. It took years of the name being fit to multiple body styles across the globe before it became the utilitarian vehicle the U.S. knows today. Ford initially reused the Maverick name on a rebadged Nissan Patrol Y60 in Australia, a rebadged Nissan Terrano II in Spain, and then as the Chinese and European version of the Escape in the 1990s. The Maverick pickup that we know and love today debuted in the U.S. in 2022. 

Scrolling through the Ford Maverick's buyer catalogues via the happiest place on the internet, the Ford Heritage Vault, it's clear that they just don't make colors like they used to. And the names! It makes me want to apply to work as Ford's head of nomenclature just to bring some of these back. In 1970, the Maverick was available in Anti-Establish Mint, Hulla Blue, Original Cinnamon, Freudian Gilt, Thanks Vermillion, Candyapple Red, Black Jade, Champagne Gold, Gulfstream Aqua, Meadowlark Yellow, Brittany Blue, Lime Gold, Dresden Blue, Raven Black, Wimbledon White. 

Jeez! 15 colors, and not just variations on gray either. In 1970 you got two different shades of gold and three blues. Incredible. More colors and paint effects were added as the line grew, with premium shades like Metallic Glow Paint on offer. Maverick buyers could pick from Gold Glow, Ivy Glow or Blue Glow starting in 1972.

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You can probably tell just from being in the world that we do not have a similar spread of color options these days. Combing through the brochures shows that color options sometimes could grow to 20 different shades on offer. In comparison, Ford as of this writing offers just nine colors on the new Maverick, six of which are somewhere on the gray scale and none of which have punny names. If you want a fun Maverick color, you can either go with Eruption Green Metallic or Velocity Blue Metallic. 

Sure, via wraps we have the ability to pretty easily change our car's colors, but it just ain't the same as having a beautifully produced factory paint finish. White, gray, black and silver have dominated America's automotive landscape for over a decade now, with far too few fun colors. Ford should have leapt at the chance to offer a wide array of fun colors on a car with the name Maverick, but alas, we'll likely have to be happy with a single green and blue for a while yet.

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