It’s possible to buy one of the best vehicles of the year, but only if you can place your reservation by Thursday.
Almost Everybody’s Truck of the Year
The 2022 Ford Maverick small pickup won our Best New Model award. It won North American Truck of the Year. Just over three weeks into the year, it has also taken home at least 10 other automotive press awards.
When Ford launched its little pickup, it offered two powertrains. The most efficient was a hybrid model good for 42 mpg in city driving and a respectable 191 horsepower. A 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine made more power (250 hp). A refreshingly simple pricing structure meant either option started at $19,995, plus a $1,495 destination fee.
Ford announced the truck in June and sold out of the hybrid model by the end of November. Gas-powered Maverick orders stayed open for just two more months. Ford announced today that it would stop accepting orders for those on January 27.
Orders will re-open in summer for the 2023 model year.
A Small Truck After a Decade of Big Trucks
The Maverick has succeeded by pushing back against a trend Ford helped create. Trucks have grown steadily for decades, and no automaker has sold a true compact truck on the U.S. market in 10 years. For 2022, two of them finally realized that there is significant demand for a vehicle with an exposed bed that is small enough to maneuver easily in parking lots.
The Hyundai Santa Cruz is well-liked, with an upscale cabin and 5,000-pound towing capacity. But the Maverick has beaten it out for most awards thanks to its do-it-yourself spirit. Its little 4.5-foot bed has molded-in slots the size of 2x4s, allowing owners to customize bike racks, kayak carriers, and other bed inserts. Its cabin has mounting points for accessories, and Ford gives owners access to files they can use to 3D print cup holders, phone mounts, and other accessories to customize their cabin.
“Customers may still be able to purchase a Maverick on the lot at their local Ford dealer,” a Ford spokesperson tells Kelley Blue Book. But that will be challenging. Thanks to a worldwide microchip shortage, many vehicles are in short supply on dealer lots. Most dealers sold every Maverick that Ford plans to send them before the trucks ever reached sales lots.
Two Trends to Watch
The run on Mavericks could be an encouraging sign for the auto industry. It may illustrate pent-up demand not just for smaller trucks, but for cheaper ones. In a time when the average new car’s price has soared (reaching more than $47,000 in December), Ford exceeded everyone’s sales expectations with the least-expensive model in its lineup.
It could also signal a change buyers need to keep in mind. Automakers used to keep large stocks of unsold cars on sales lots to ensure they had a ready model available to suit the tastes of most buyers. But the Maverick is the third new Ford model to succeed based almost entirely on pre-orders.
Ford’s Mustang Mach-E electric SUV and F-150 Lightning electric pickup were both similarly successful based mostly on an early-reservation model. The days when shoppers can expect to buy a new car from dealer stock may be disappearing.
