The Good-Guys car show was back at the Alameda County Fair Grounds in Pleasanton this weekend. I didn't pre-register, and I learned from my bad experience two years ago if I didn't get there by 8 am it is very difficult to find a good spot to show off my car.

I planned to drive down on Sunday when it isn't as crowded, but when I tried starting my Maverick it wouldn't turn over. That usually means the carburetor needs priming because I haven't driven recently. Ray Shams of Ray's Dublin Auto always tells me to drive it at least once a week to keep it running properly, but I don't.

I don't remember driving it at all this year. The last time I drove it was in June of last year coming home from the Good Guys 2014 Summer Get-Together. My Maverick was in the Indoor exhibit for that show. There's no additional charge to be indoors, but your car has to qualify as worthy of being indoors.

The Good Guys staff, which has their offices in Pleasanton, didn't seem too enthusiastic about putting a Maverick in the Indoor Exhibit, but mine is in such good shape it was accepted. That show had a whole indoor display dedicated to Mustangs, but Mavericks are the Rodney Dangerfields of Fords and "don't get no respect."

They were cheap to buy, easy to maintain, and make good, cheap used cars now. They are surprisingly durable. Ford must not have had high expectations for them because Mavericks came with a 5 digit odometer. There are probably many Mavericks where the odometer rolled over at 99,999 miles. My current Maverick has 88K miles on it. I'm sure these are the total miles, but the odometer could roll over to zero after another 12,000 miles.

I bought my first Maverick in April of 1970. They were advertised for young adults and sold for $1995. The photo here isn't of my car, but mine looked exactly like it. The only accessory I added was an AM radio for another $50. That car was light and peppy and fun to drive. Later Mavericks added many more accessories and enhancements that slowed them down.



I remember being contemptuous of the Grabbers that came out in 1972. I thought they were pretentious. I couldn't understand why anyone would pay extra for a fancy paint job.



But my 1973 Grabber had every deluxe feature a Maverick could have in 1973: a 302 V8 Engine, tinted windows, Grabber paint and stripes, air conditioning, vinyl bucket seats, automatic transmission with floor shifter. The only thing it didn't have was an AM/FM radio. I replaced the original AM radio with an AM/FM from a 1977 Thunderbird on eBay.

On my way back from last June's Good Guys I stopped for gas at a station in Dublin. A man admiring my Maverick said I was the "Luckiest woman in the World." I should have gotten his name and phone number because I'm considering selling it now. It was appraised last year for insurance purposes at $16,200 but I'd consider anything over $12,000.

My Maverick was a lucky find, and even though I put in a lot of money into new parts and painting it, it is very rare to find a Maverick as well equipped as this one.