Experts agree: Mavericks shouldn't be daily drivers

This tends to be my point of view. I can drive anything. What my wife and kids ride in is another story. However, I think you are more aware of your surroundings and pay a lot more attention to the traffic and driving when you are driving your classic. I notice that I take longer to make left turns, I pause an extra second on pulling into an intersection, and I give myself a lot more room on the road. Really, I should drive my daily drivers like I drive the "old cars."

 

Our cars are no more dangerous to drive on the street than a "Smart Car". That's something that I would not want to put any one of my family members in under any situation. Are they as safe as a $60,000 Lincoln Navigator? NO by any means. But there are a lot of small compacts out there that the government says that are safe that will not take a hit from a bird much less another car. Even an M1 tank will loose against a train. So if you put it in perspective then our cars are as safe, if not more so than more than a few on the road that people drive every day. Just because you cant jump in, turn the key, put it in drive and go about your merry way doesn't mean that you cant use it every day. How do you think most of them got the 100K + miles on them that most of them have? That's right, they were daily drivers from a different time. I think that most people have become soft and when they get in an old car they don't have the comfort they do in their 2010 vehicle that they can stand in their underwear in the house and start to warm up on a -20 degree day. I drive my 69.5 every day for everything. That's why I put a 250 I6, T5 and disk brakes in it. It has never let me down not even once. It will tell me when something is going wrong with it. You know what I mean, like starting to stumble on acceleration or a barring whine..... things like that. The normal person doesn't know anything about the car they drive anyway, no matter what it is. They don't know how to check the oil, or any other fluid for that matter. They just drive them. So when they encounter a car that needs some attention they tend to put it off as trash and not a good car to drive. I say drive them anywhere you want if you have the ability to.
OK, I am off my soap box now!!!!!!!!
Keep on driving what you want to where you want and our cars will be around long after many many of the so called safer more sophisticated cars are long dead.
Have a Maverick day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

If the structure is intact, and the rest of the car has been "up-graded" with replacement or newer parts then these cars are as safe as anything on the street.
I have been in a couple of accidents with new cars and one in a Maverick. Having my new 1978 Fairmont rearended while stting at a stop light was far worse than when the same thing happened in my Maverick. There was also less damage to the Maverick than there was to the Fairmont. I feel just fine driving my Maverick as far as survivability is concerned.

 

Coming back from Carlisle this year in my friend's '99 Camaro, a young girl in a Honda made a left turn into our path Both cars totalled and not a scratch on anyone. The left front wheel on the Camaro was driven back about 6". The front end was ripped off the Honda.

I'm now a big fan of air bags. Would not like to take that hit in a Maverick or any 3000 pound car without air bags. But I don't want to drive a Honda either. I'll drive my Mav but I don't believe it's as safe as the newer cars. Sometimes having fun has some risks.

 

My take is that reliability isn't much of factor. If someone with no mechanical ability wants a maverick for a daily driver they can pay someone to go through the entire car and recondition it (starting with a rust free car).

Like others have said, it's all about the safety features, or lack there of. Disk brake upgrade all around and radial tires help, but the steering can be an issue, along with no airbags, and no crumple zones.

Here's one to think about ... if a maverick and a SMART car were to crash head on, which car would you want you and possibly a beloved passenger to be riding in? I have no idea myself!

Same question except replace the SMART car with a 2000 Taurus/Camry/etc.

I guess I'm saying they can be fine as daily drivers, buy not the best choice if you have loved ones that are counting on ya being around.

 

No need, it's all been said!

Some people can drive a 40 year old car every day, some can't.

 

I don't worry much about collisions, because I don't get my car into situations where there is a great risk for one, less it be a total freak accident. In the area I live in, that's saying something. I've been in 2 wrecks while I was driving, one was in my Maverick, the other in a '02 Taurus, both times the car was totaled. I was not at fault on either of them, but I realized at some point that while I was not at fault, had I myself been paying a bit more attention, I could have avoided the accidents both times.. Never make assumptions about what the vehicles around you are going to do. Just keep your car in a position that you can avoid them if necessary. I always leave plenty of room between me and the car in front of me at red lights, and keep one eye on the mirros so I can dart out of the way if I notice a car isn't going to stop. Never tailgate, and if someone is tailgating you, just get out of the way.

 

I think your car should be driven as often as you want to drive it, whether its a classic car or not............HOWEVER, the risk of getting creamed while driving your classic car goes up the more you drive it. I myself drove my first car, a 1955 ford fairlane, to work daily, waaayyy back when, and on my anniversary some guy ran a red light and I got nailed in the side, typical t-bone while turning left. Guess it was my fault cause I got the ticket, well a huge lesson learned there.(I still drive THAT car today!!) Then another time a friend of mine drove his classic 55 ford sedan delivery every day and he too got creamed, sitting at a light and some idiot slammed into the back of him, what a mess.
I plan on driving my maverick as much as I can, untill the roads ice over, because people like to see these old cars, plus I like to show my junk off. Hopefully with the lessons learned it will stay out of harms way for some time.

 

Jamie; I agree with what you said. While my car is not a daily driver, it could be, and might be sometime in the future, you never know. It is safe, with 4 wheel disc, has a 5spd and gets fairly good mileage. These cars were driven millions of miles when they were in production, and right up till today. If properly maintained and kept up, there is no reason they could not be driven daily. As you said, driver attention is required, as with any car, new or old. These are great old cars, and it does me good to see them on the street. Unfortunately, most of them that are being used still are poorly maintained, beat up and unsafe, due to driver neglect. Hopefully, the owners will wise up, and fix them up!

 

Agree 110%. I used to ride motorcycle so my driving is very defensive to start with. You have to be on a bike.
I am very careful and observant in all vehicles I drive but even more so in the Mav.
As I ask my kids when were driving, Whats Daddys number one rule when driving??
They answer, "assume everyone else is stupid!" It proves itself over and over again on the road and off the road.

 

If my old motor can handle glazed cylinder walls, 2 blown head gaskets, eating oil and antifreeze and still run with 15 mpg.... then yeh, ide say they are decent daily drivers.
Compaired to a new motor with the same problems.


oh thats right, we are talking cars.

 

paraphrasing an old quote ....

"it's an old car ... it might go 50 miles or it might go 5000 miles without a problem, but eventually, it will have one ..."

If you are self-sufficient at fixing it, and love the car enough, it's not much of a problem. That got me through 90K miles in mine as my daily driver. It is a mindset.

 

Mine's a daily driver for school, work, etc. Granted mine was only $1500 and is nowhere near trailer queen status so I don't worry about taking it out on the road. I have power steering but no power brakes. Drums all around too. I have had no problems driving it, in fact we had more problems with our old 95 toyota 4 wheel drive which are generally known for their reliability.

 

this AVANTI seems to be a lot of fun:

 

I don't use my Maverick for a daily driver,but I wouldn't think twice about it,if I didn't have to haul a bunch of crap around! I just use the pickup more and If I have a longer trip with no junk to carry,I'll use the Maverick cause I like having more power and air! Besides,people always want to ask you about the car!!!