Benchmarking is a common practice in the automotive world, as automakers routinely purchase vehicles made by their rivals to get a closer look at what makes them tick. Competition is and always has been fierce in this particular industry, particularly between two long-time rivals such as Ford and General Motors, which have been doing battle for over a century now. As such, Ford Authority has spotted GM benchmarking a host of Blue Oval vehicles in recent months, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E EV crossover, Ford F-150 Raptor pickup, and the all-electric Ford F-150 Lighting. Now, sources have told Ford Authority that GM is also benchmarking the Ford Maverick, too.
The fact that GM is taking a closer look at the Ford Maverick is notable for a number of reasons – chiefly, the fact that FoMoCo’s cross-town rival doesn’t currently have a compact pickup in its U.S. lineup, nor does it seem as if it will anytime soon. As of now, as far as we know, GM does not have plans to compete directly against the Ford Maverick with its own product, but it does offer something similar in other markets – the Chevy Montana.
Revealed just last month, the Chevy Montana is the first compact unibody pickup in the automaker’s long history, but like the Hyundai Santa Cruz, is more of a crossover/pickup hybrid than an actual pickup. The Montana rides on an extended variant of the GEM platform, combining a crew cab body with a Blazer-inspired front end and a small cargo bed out back.
The bed is what truly separates the Montana from the Maverick, however, as it’s rather short. Though GM hasn’t said how long the bed is, it did reveal that it offers up 30.87 cubic-feet of capacity, and it’s clearly shorter than the Maverick’s 54.4-inch long unit. Regardless, the Montana is scheduled to launch in Brazil next month, and will also be sold in Mexico in the second half of the year.
We’ll have more on everything Ford’s competition is up to soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
Kudos to Ford for this much needed and well priced truck.
My sister had a GMC Sonoma that she drove for what seemed like 20 years before it gave out.
She replaced it with a Honda Fit which she is happy with.
That said, she misses her pickup bed and said that she would have bought a Maverick over the Fit if it had been available.
The long and short of my story is I need a new car soon. Even though I love EV’s there is nothing more practical than the Maverick for a home owner. The base price makes it affordable and it has just the right amount of features to make it useful. Question I have is, which motor is more reliable in the long run? I am not a ford guy and even though I try to follow all this stuff it seems to be constantly changing. I drive my cars until the wheels come off, as in over 200k miles. So can this truck last that long without extreme maintenance?
My wife’s Honda Odyssey needs a timing belt change which is going to be $1500 at 130,000 miles as part of maintenance. Kind of ticks me off that it needs that costly of a maintenance item. Thanks for any input.
I purchased a new Maverick off the lot. 2.0 liter Ecoboost. I believe the EB has a timing chain. It is the first Ford I ever owned. It is ideal for my needs. Quite peppy. Comfortable ride. In general the longevity of internal engine parts is related to preventative maintenance. 130k miles on a belt is very good and probably past the recommended interval. $1500 sounds expensive for the belt maintenance. The Ford 2.0 EB engine is turbocharged and they have other maintenance needs. I find the Maverick trucklet to be everything I expected.
Since 2004 Chevrolet has sold the Chevrolet Tornado in Mexico so this one certainly isnt “the first compact unibody pickup in the automaker’s long history”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Montana
The Tornado is a subcompact pickup, not a compact pickup – it even says that in the Wikipedia link you provided.
GM has been saying that this year (“first compact unibody truck”) in reference to the new Montana. I found it ridiculous as well.
Looking for a true compact pickup is like looking for a unicorn. The Hyundai will fit in compact garages but it isn’t a Maverick and the Maverick won’t fit.
When will someone produce a NON-crew cab (two seat) compact pickup where the bed is the thing (not hauling the family to the movies in a pretend truck.). I’d buy a slightly smaller one front seat cab with a bed where the back seat would be in a crew cab is a minute, especially if it were a hybrid and preferably a plug-in.
Infrastructure isn’t capable of supporting full ev conversion nationally in any remotely reliable fashion.
It will be a great buy, if it ever gets here. ordered in September 2022.
It seems 2 of the big automakers feel everyone wants bigger trucks with a ton of features which jack up the prices; witness the increasing sizes of GM’s Colorado/Canyon line or the previous Dodge Dakota (not longer made). With pricing almost on par with full size trucks. While Ford’s Ranger has also grown, Ford has come up with something sought after with the Maverick; witness its popularity by its sales, and a no nonsense design. Profit margins per unit may be tighter but look at the total sales.
I would love to buy a hybrid maverick but what is the battery life? No one ever mentions these butt soar items. I also drive my cars until the wheels fall off. I don’t want to have to buy a 9000 battery in ten. Years or less. I might as well put a new engine and trans in my cobalt that still gets on average 28 MPG.
To Patrick
I would imagine in 10 years, that battery your talking about would not only be twice as powerful and half the price, but today it’s only about 3600.00. So figure maybe 1200 to 1800 dollars max.My hope would be that in 8 years, when the warranty runs out, we will be able to replace it with a battery that would run the truck for a much longer time then it does now.Considering the evolution of battery design recently, this is more likely than not.