Ford Maverick Truck Unibody Fully Leaked

[Administrator]

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/ford-maverick-unibody-fully-revealed.13/

From affiliate site - Maverick Truck Club

 

[NickTheEnforcer]

Looks like a competitor to a ridgeline, its a 'car' with an open trunk space on a uni-Body. I laugh when guys look at it then as 'Gee ya think it will fit a motorcycle, be good for off-roading.." It's a niche utility vehicle like an el camino, ranchero, courier or sport-trac.

If its on the new 2020 escape architecture then it might be a good contender for the same/modified Atkinson Hybrid drivetrain system..

 

[r1ch999999]

Looks like a competitor to a ridgeline, its a 'car' with an open trunk space on a uni-Body. I laugh when guys look at it then as 'Gee ya think it will fit a motorcycle, be good for off-roading.." It's a niche utility vehicle like an el camino, ranchero, courier or sport-trac.

If its on the new 2020 escape architecture then it might be a good contender for the same/modified Atkinson Hybrid drivetrain system..

Don't knock the Sport Trac, the original ones were basically a 4-door Ranger. Other than a composite bed there wasn't much a Ranger could do that a Sport Trac couldn't. I'm not even sure the bed material mattered.

 

[ThtDrnGuy]

If it didn't have "Maverick" on the tailgate I would say this is the 6g Ranger.

 

[HenryMac]

Drop in a Coyote V-8, a 6 speed manual transmission and I'll be 1st in line for a SuperCab.

 

[VAMike]

If they'd do it as a 2 door I'd think hard about it next time around.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Don't knock the Sport Trac, the original ones were basically a 4-door Ranger. Other than a composite bed there wasn't much a Ranger could do that a Sport Trac couldn't. I'm not even sure the bed material mattered.

HI Rich,

Back Story, we had a program called UPN105. It was a common chassis program for Ranger and Explorer when we switched from Twin I Beam to Short/Long Arm (SLA) front suspension. Then the Explorer SUV diverged and not a lot of comonality. So the Sport Trac was body on frame SUV with a pickup box. Sales were below expectations, but the folks that bough them were some of the most ardent supporters of the brand. Alas...the CUV scuttled the Sport Trac. I still have two friends with them and both are above 300,000 miles and the owners are going to keep them going regardless of cost.... I just smile.

At the time I had chassis FEA, and we were trying to get a grip on the steering knuckle...aka spindle. I hooked up with a fellow from Ford Scientific Research that has developed a optimization program to guide to an optimized design. It was poopoo's by engineering, but I saw the value and my analysis engineer and I worked with him (RenJay Z.) Our first analysis gave really weird results of a new design but when we realized what it was telling us with respect to thickness and ribbing of the casting, we were able to make the spindle 5 times more robust and took three pounds per spindle out of the design for a 6 lb reduction in unsprung weight. Absolutely unheard of ever before in suspension design. Testing of prototypes validated this and Renjay, Amar O and I won a Henry Ford Technical Achievement award for this (Ford's version of the Nobel Prize.) My satisfaction was that the customer got better handling, fuel economy and durability. Take away...sometimes you have to gamble on doing something in a new way, accept the arrows in the back from disbelivers and forge ahead. The accolades were secondary but nice...bigger pay check...promotion and satisfaction of a job well done... Take prudent risks. Think out of the box... Do not be afraid to fail.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Kevin Franklin]

I like it! There is a market for this truck as not everyone needs a monster truck nor wants one and besides, it could spawn some very cool modified versions!

 

[RedlandRanger]

I'm unable to load that link.

We can’t connect to the server at www.mavericktruckclub.com.

Anyone else have trouble?

Edit: I got it loaded, but I had to change my DNS server to Google (8.8.8.8). Not sure what that is about. @Administrator, I use opendns.com and I've not seen this with other sites. Just an FYI.

 

[Abjectwoe]

Hopefully it isn't just a two-door.

 

[Ericrcif]

Ouch, a Sport Trac dig. I owned both models, first and second gen and got them because I came from a Ranger and don't need a full size. I honestly thought the fiberglass/composite bed was the way Ford was going to go in the future but guess wrong. It was the only midsize pickup in Fords line at the time. Now back to the Ranger for the same reason.

 

[AutobotXJ]

I think it looks great and will have a niche- people who think that the current midsized trucks are too big, unrefined, and “trucky” but still want an open bed for dirty gear or the odd furniture or appliance. Most people I see with trucks never take it off road and I never see them use the bed.
i do worry about ford saturating their own market and Ranger (again) getting the short end of the stick. I love my Ranger but Ford didn’t seem to take much care in getting it to consumers- we don’t have cool doodads like the bronco or the bronco sport has (easter eggs on the windshield, integrated molle panels, snazzy tie-downs (infact many of us lost two in the bed!), and in comparison to the refinements of the F150- we don’t even get their leftovers from 5 years ago. It’s crazy how we didn’t even get an ignition trim on our trucks!
Anyway, what I am trying to say is that while the Ranger is an excellent truck, ford will likely see a decline in sales of the ranger because of these new offerings and I hope ford doesn’t think it’s because people no longer want rangers, but because ford neglected the ranger for its new siblings.

 

[r1ch999999]

HI Rich,

Back Story, we had a program called UPN105. It was a common chassis program for Ranger and Explorer when we switched from Twin I Beam to Short/Long Arm (SLA) front suspension. Then the Explorer SUV diverged and not a lot of comonality. So the Sport Trac was body on frame SUV with a pickup box. Sales were below expectations, but the folks that bough them were some of the most ardent supporters of the brand. Alas...the CUV scuttled the Sport Trac. I still have two friends with them and both are above 300,000 miles and the owners are going to keep them going regardless of cost.... I just smile.

At the time I had chassis FEA, and we were trying to get a grip on the steering knuckle...aka spindle. I hooked up with a fellow from Ford Scientific Research that has developed a optimization program to guide to an optimized design. It was poopoo's by engineering, but I saw the value and my analysis engineer and I worked with him (RenJay Z.) Our first analysis gave really weird results of a new design but when we realized what it was telling us with respect to thickness and ribbing of the casting, we were able to make the spindle 5 times more robust and took three pounds per spindle out of the design for a 6 lb reduction in unsprung weight. Absolutely unheard of ever before in suspension design. Testing of prototypes validated this and Renjay, Amar O and I won a Henry Ford Technical Achievement award for this (Ford's version of the Nobel Prize.) My satisfaction was that the customer got better handling, fuel economy and durability. Take away...sometimes you have to gamble on doing something in a new way, accept the arrows in the back from disbelivers and forge ahead. The accolades were secondary but nice...bigger pay check...promotion and satisfaction of a job well done... Take prudent risks. Think out of the box... Do not be afraid to fail.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Thanks for the story Phil. Interesting tidbit, I first saw a Sport Trac at my cousins wedding, she was marrying a guy who worked for Ford and had done work on it. Dave M., was a huge fan of the truck and bought one as soon as he could. I got on a few years later when I still wanted a truck and needed more seating. Mine was a stripped down XLS with a manual transmission and 2WD. If I had more room I wouldn't have sold it, I treated the undercarriage yearly and it still looked new with 100k on the clock.

 

[r1ch999999]

FEA and those optimization programs have done wonders for engineering and design. As someone who works with FEA almost daily it has changed the way I see parts and load paths and stiffness ribs and what not.

As far as the Sport Trac... I'm quite a bit younger than most of you guys on here, so I had a 1:24th scale Sport Trac (in orange no less) that cherished and always wanted to get one when I got older. In the end, I'm almost kind of did with the new Ranger. Same color and everything. haha

All the Ranger needs is a fold flat rear seat and power rear window and it’ll be the same!

 

[RANGER_MARC]

Looks like a competitor to a ridgeline, its a 'car' with an open trunk space on a uni-Body. I laugh when guys look at it then as 'Gee ya think it will fit a motorcycle, be good for off-roading.." It's a niche utility vehicle like an el camino, ranchero, courier or sport-trac.

If its on the new 2020 escape architecture then it might be a good contender for the same/modified Atkinson Hybrid drivetrain system..

If it has some of the guys on this forum thinking seriously about getting one, then it will find its market more generally. For me, the Ranger is just the right size right now. I would consider going a little bigger and heavier in future but would not want to go in the other direction. To each his own....