Subtropolis is Ideal for long term car storage.

[Lakota]

In the early 1970s, Ford Motor Company was producing the Maverick, a compact car marketed as an affordable and efficient vehicle. However, the demand for the Maverick was not as high as Ford had anticipated, and they found themselves with a surplus of unsold cars.
To deal with this surplus, Ford decided to store thousands of unsold Mavericks in the Subtropolis caves located in Kansas City, Missouri. Subtropolis is a man-made underground complex of limestone mines, covering over 55 million square feet, and is home to many businesses that use the caves for storage and other purposes.
Ford leased about 25 acres of the cave complex, which was ideal for storing the cars as the caves are naturally climate-controlled with temperatures ranging between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. The cars were kept in the caves until they could be sold, which reportedly took several years.
The storage of the Mavericks in the Subtropolis caves became somewhat of a legend in the automotive world, with many car enthusiasts and historians fascinated by the idea of thousands of unsold cars sitting underground for years. Today, the Subtropolis complex is still in use, and while the Mavericks are no longer stored there, the story of their time underground remains a unique piece of automotive history.

[dvarapala]

WTF bought a several-year-old Maverick?

[Lakota]

Ford did some strange things. Two of my cousins were apprentice Ford mechanics in the 60's. Ford had a tech center in the area where the apprentices would work on brand new Fords. When the model year was over my cousins told me that Ford claimed they BURIED the cars. I asked where? They didn't know. I do remember seeing the tech center driving on an expressway.

[GTOguy]

When introduced in 1969-70, the Maverick was Fords first really cheap, 'disposable' car, accompanied by the Pinto. I worked on a ton of both, and they were sturdy, well built, solid cars that were an excellent value at the time and tended to last a long time. Ford didn't actually build REAL disposable cars until the Grenada and Monarch came along around 1975. Those cars were vastly inferior to the Maverick and even the Pinto, which made a great road-racer/auto=crosser due to it's rear drive, wide track, and decent power.

[Frankie the Fink]

Originally Posted by dvarapala

WTF bought a several-year-old Maverick?

The wife and I saw a Maverick, totally restored and sounding bad assed, two weeks ago, I had not seen one in years and didn't know they had become a "thing". I had to drive one decades ago when I delivered prescriptions for a small family drugstore and they never really caught on, you could almost hear them rust at night.

The Pinto - oh my god, IIRC you were supposed to be able to use the ignition key to gap the spark plugs or some such marketing ploy. The first versions had soft crankshafts and the local Ford dealer had a fit fixing them under warranty - that got better later on. I never dug into the whole "catching fire" phenomenon but they were supposedly bad for that if you got rear-ended.

[Vette40th]

You have a link to this? Interesting.

[Aerovette]

Ford, in their infinite wisdom, took the name of a poorly selling car that had its surplus inventory stashed in a cave...and applied that name to a hideous truck, thinking the outcome might be different.

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by GTOguy

When introduced in 1969-70, the Maverick was Fords first really cheap, 'disposable' car, accompanied by the Pinto. I worked on a ton of both, and they were sturdy, well built, solid cars that were an excellent value at the time and tended to last a long time. Ford didn't actually build REAL disposable cars until the Grenada and Monarch came along around 1975. Those cars were vastly inferior to the Maverick and even the Pinto, which made a great road-racer/auto=crosser due to it's rear drive, wide track, and decent power.

GT Pinto was one of the optional SCCA classes in the WDC Region when I was racing back there. They actually handled pretty well. They also required a fuel cell

[Tikiman]

Originally Posted by GTOguy

When introduced in 1969-70, the Maverick was Fords first really cheap, 'disposable' car, accompanied by the Pinto. I worked on a ton of both, and they were sturdy, well built, solid cars that were an excellent value at the time and tended to last a long time. Ford didn't actually build REAL disposable cars until the Grenada and Monarch came along around 1975. Those cars were vastly inferior to the Maverick and even the Pinto, which made a great road-racer/auto=crosser due to it's rear drive, wide track, and decent power.

Wide track? Was Ford using wheel spacers on them back then? smh lol Did they drill holes in the exhaust pipe to make them sound cool as well? lol


On a related note, this thread brings back some good memories. I got many a blowjob in a Maverick back in the 70's. Some blonde girl who lived in the next town over from mine.

[bsmith]

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

The wife and I saw a Maverick, totally restored and sounding bad assed, two weeks ago, I had not seen one in years and didn't know they had become a "thing". I had to drive one decades ago when I delivered prescriptions for a small family drugstore and they never really caught on, you could almost hear them rust at night.

My grandpa delivered prescriptions in retirement, and I rode along and ran to the door.
It was a hideous yellow Maverick. :loL

[LATB]

My older sister had an ugly green on green 1970 Maverick. She wanted to hand it down to me but I wanted a Chevy and was on track to get my dads 1963 Biscayne 2 door red on red. But it was stolen and wrecked. I ended up with a Vega.

[Frankie the Fink]

Originally Posted by bsmith

My grandpa delivered prescriptions in retirement, and I rode along and ran to the door.
It was a hideous yellow Maverick. :loL

Prescription delivery was a cool job back in the late 60s, early 70s for a kid with a spanking new driver's license; I got to cruse all over on someone else's gas and got paid for it....the Maverick had a big "light up" mortar and pestle on top so everybody in town knew the car - cops left me alone because the lunch counter at the drug store gave them free food. Met my partner of 55 years working at the lunch counter.

Lots of school buddies ate at the drugstore, I'd see pal's '68 Shelby GT-500KR and another's Dodge Daytona with the big wing we all laughed at and a ton of other muscle cars of the era. in the parking lot. Good times....and $1.25/hour

[Tikiman]

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

Prescription delivery was a cool job back in the late 60s, early 70s for a kid with a spanking new driver's license; I got to cruse all over on someone else's gas and got paid for it....the Maverick had a big "light up" mortar and pestle on top so everybody in town knew the car - cops left me alone because the lunch counter at the drug store gave them free food. Met my partner of 55 years working at the lunch counter.

Lots of school buddies ate at the drugstore, I'd see pal's '68 Shelby GT-500KR and another's Dodge Daytona with the big wing we all laughed at and a ton of other muscle cars of the era. in the parking lot. Good times....and $1.25/hour

Baller!

[bsmith]

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

Prescription delivery was a cool job back in the late 60s, early 70s for a kid with a spanking new driver's license; I got to cruse all over on someone else's gas and got paid for it....the Maverick had a big "light up" mortar and pestle on top so everybody in town knew the car - cops left me alone because the lunch counter at the drug store gave them free food. Met my partner of 55 years working at the lunch counter.

Lots of school buddies ate at the drugstore, I'd see pal's '68 Shelby GT-500KR and another's Dodge Daytona with the big wing we all laughed at and a ton of other muscle cars of the era. in the parking lot. Good times....and $1.25/hour

It would have been late 80s when I did it.
So glad I got to spend that time with him.

[Onebadcad]

Originally Posted by GTOguy

When introduced in 1969-70, the Maverick was Fords first really cheap, 'disposable' car, accompanied by the Pinto. I worked on a ton of both, and they were sturdy, well built, solid cars that were an excellent value at the time and tended to last a long time. Ford didn't actually build REAL disposable cars until the Grenada and Monarch came along around 1975. Those cars were vastly inferior to the Maverick and even the Pinto, which made a great road-racer/auto=crosser due to it's rear drive, wide track, and decent power.

The DOOD always steps up with his vast car knowledge!!
yaddie could not carry his torque wrench!!

[RMVette]

Wow, that's interesting and I never heard of Ford storing cars like that.

My grandmother drove a mustard yellow '71 or '72 Maverick and kept it till she passed in '83, then it went to one of my uncles that drove it for many years after.