FORD MAVERICK NAME LEAKS FOR SMALL PICKUP TRUCK

The past month has been a whirlwind of speculation surrounding a new, small Ford pickup. We have been apprehensively referring to the vehicle as the Ford Courier, but a leak from The Fast Lane Car now indicates the vehicle will be called the Ford Maverick. And you know what? That makes perfect sense.

Back in January, before we had seen the Bronco and Bronco Sport leak, we reported on a Ford trademark filed for the “Maverick” name. We believed it would be applied to the so-called “baby Bronco,” but that fizzled out, as it’s now confirmed to be called the Bronco Sport. Still, the Maverick name was in Ford’s pocket.

According to an anonymous inside tipster who sent images to TFLcar, we now have images of a supposed tailgate for a Ford pickup that has the Maverick name stamped on it. Since the trademark for was filed as a standalone name (not attached to Ranger or F-150), there’s a very good chance that Maverick will be this rumored small pickup.

Ford Maverick is expected to share a platform, and possibly design cues, with the upcoming Bronco Sport. This means Ford’s smallest truck will be unibody, unlike the larger Ranger and F-150.

Further validating the rumors and leaks of a small Ford Maverick pickup are spy shots of this model. Under the heavy camouflage, it almost looks like the grille is similar to that of the Bronco Sport, indicating the similarities between these two models.

As of now, it’s safe to say a new, small Ford pickup is imminent. Ford will seek to be first to the U.S. market with this vehicle, but competition is still on the way. FCA recently revealed the Fiat Strada small unibody pickup for the South American market. There is a strong chance this vehicle will come to Mexico as the Ram 700. With the Ford Maverick on the way, Ram has an easy way to bring competition to this emerging segment. Hyundai is also said to be working on a small pickup based on the Santa Cruz Concept from a few years ago. We’ll have to wait and see if U.S. buyers have the taste for small, unibody trucks.