How do you all suppose this Maverick got here? It doesn’t seem to match United Airlines livery during its years of production, now does it?
No, between 1969 and 1977, when the Maverick was in production, many United Airlines jets had just been repainted to look like this (that U logo, by the way, was designed by none other than Saul Bass, who illustrated the titles in much of Hitchcock’s work). Appropriate colors for the era, aren’t they?
That means, of course, that someone went out of their way to paint that Ford in its current grey livery. Note the care taken not to paint over the chrome on the door handles, wheel arches and windshield trim. It even has fresh whitewalls. Perhaps it was done for a senior employee; perhaps said employee is a CC reader.
Maybe he or she remembers the day when flight service looked something like this. Check out that hair, those gloves and the simple lines of that dress; she belongs in a Fuselage-era Chrysler. Let’s just call her Ms. Duster.
Oh sorry, I got distracted. This post began with a Ford car, and flight attendants–that’s what we call them today–don’t drive around the taxiway. Is it far fetched to imagine the car was painted for a senior mechanic? After all, there’s no harm in indulging sentimental attachments for someone who does so much to passengers safe (they, of course, dress a little bit more practically).
It’s only natural that a lover of jets would also have a thing for cars. All the power, style and technology that attracts us to jets in evident in cars and vice-versa. So why not just paint the cars to match?
These days, United (recently merged with Continental) rents cars painted in this livery. With the grey theme, slapping a decal on a dull grey silver car like the GL pictured here makes for a cheap solution.
Looks rather dreadful, doesn’t it?
That’s much better! Doesn’t get much more ’70s America than this. AMC’s cars of the era look quite at home next to a jet (though a widebody aircraft would make more sense than this 737).
Just to top it off, here’s another picture of a car decorated by the poster child of the golden era of jet travel, Pan Am. Those years are long gone, and though our planes look much the same, our cars do not. It’s no wonder, then, that someone wanted to hang onto that Maverick and the good times it represented. With new jumbo jets, fewer delays, more carriers, swankier service and emptier flights, it wasn’t malaise for everybody. Many thanks to SoCalMetro for the pictures of this sweet machine.
Quite the interesting story with the Maverick, I’m sure. It is a bit surprising the hole in the roof (from a radio antenna?) wasn’t plugged when it was repainted.
Those look like Ford Granada wheel covers, which really improve the looks of this Maverick.
I think you could order those wheel covers on the 76-77 Maverick. I just found a picture of one so equipped on oldcarbrochures.
the Granada and Maverick were platform mates, so it would make sense that similar wheel covers would be offered.
interestingly, the Maverick offered a wheel cover shared with the Cougar (another platform mate.) these are the ones where the center bit inevitably got knocked out:
Cougar:
Interesting. I had those on my Maverick, and never knew they were shared with the Cougar.
During the ’70s and into the ’80s, some Ford and Mercury wheel covers were downright ubiquitous; the 14″ plastic “turbine” wheel cover was on a great number of Fox-platform cars from 1978 to about 1982.
I thought those suited the 2 door Fox Mustangs perfectly; too bad Mom’s white ’79 had the wire wheel covers, along with the chamois vinyl roof (and it wasn’t even a Ghia!).
Back in its early days, Southwest was notorious for its hot-pants go-go boots flight attendants. Sorry, no pictures.
C.R. Smith, the late CEO of American Airlines hired by E.L. Cord, is said to have hated paint on aircraft, hence the livery with only the colored window stripe.
My favorite gag livery is “Only in Japan,” the Hello Kitty airliner:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EVA_hellokitty1.JPG
EVA Air is a Taiwanese airline.
There is even a Hello Kitty gate at the Taipei airport. I was quite amused the first time I saw it.
Taiwan is a must see place, an amazing mix of cultures.
You are right about Taipei…and Taiwan in general….All the culture and history of China…After all it is the Republic of China (R.O.C.), but in a first world democratic country where the people are educated, free, where most speak English speaking and welcoming of Americans.
We’re in a new golden age of jet travel with Emirates and Dubai taking on the role of Pan Am and New York…
Okay, I should’ve been more specific. The Golden Age of American jet travel.
Yes, when I’m rich one day, I’ll travel Emirates (actually I think I’ll still be too stingy).
Actually, their economy is surprisingly cheap and has excellent service. Emirates is how Filipino OFW get to the Middle East.
Perry wants the suite with the in-flight shower.
Al Bundy is an aviation mechanic?
Al was a patron of the Hamtramck Moderne school of art……
Wow! That livery was introduced in 1993 or thereabouts and to my eyes still looks fresh and contemporary. I suppose a Maverick could still have been in service but seeing it in those colors is, uh, different. Surprising to see it still around nowadays. I wonder which airport this was taken at.
This pic was taken in Denver, in 2006. That livery is gone, replaced by dull silver with the Continental logo. Appropriately depressing livery for domestic air travel.
Still, the new livery beats the solid white with the blue fade (United), couldn’t have looked more budget if they tried. And yes, domestic air travel is quite the bore. Actually, our domestic airlines are quite the bore even for int’l travel, foreign carriers seem to do it better but are potentially state supported I guess.
By the way, that Mercedes is a GL, not an ML. (Add $20k). I wonder what it is used for.
Oh right; they just use the same platform. It’s a United Airlines service car; I imagine it’s either rented or used as some sort of courtesy shuttle, but I think outside the US.
Yep, GL is a little longer. That shot is in the US, the Speed Limit sign gives it away. Maybe it’s the VIP shuttle for playaz, yo! (i.e. not me)
It’s something like that.
I know this Maverick well.
During my last few years in Houston, I was a volunteer at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum at Hobby Airport. In addition to one of the few surviving Art Deco airport terminals anywhere, the museum also has the former Eastern Air Lines hangar just up the street. Built in 1929, the hangar is the oldest surviving building on the field. Across the street from our hangar was (and still is) Omega Aviation, a used GSE (Ground Support Equipment) dealer with a lot full of airstairs, ramp tugs, deicing trucks, bag belts etc.
I had come across the photos of the Maverick in DEN (which was used as a maintenance supervisor’s ramp car) on Flickr not long after they were first posted. Lo and behold, one day while working at the hangar I noticed a grey Maverick on Omega’s lot. Sure enough it was THE Maverick from DEN.
No doubt the Maverick was one of the thousands of pieces of GSE driven or towed across Denver in the early morning hours of February 28, 1995 in a massive convoy from Stapleton, which had closed earlier that evening to the new Denver International.
Shameless plug time…
1940 Air Terminal Museum – Absolutely worth a visit if you’re in Houston. A unique piece of commercial aviation history run by an awesome group of volunteers….
http://1940airterminal.org
Omega Aviation – if you look at some of their sale listings you’ll see the museum in the background….
http://www.omegaaviation.com
Here’s the Maverick on Omega’s lot 11/22/2008….
Wow–very cool. Except what the hell happened to the poor Maverick?
It was still there when I left Houston in early 2010.
It is still there in 2014, and it is rough. I spotted it after a visit to the awesome museum. Being a United employee, I had to take a better look, in hopes of having a unique part of the companies history. But it is too far gone, rust through and damage everywhere. Sad, cause it sure is neat.
The men standing in front of the jet engine aren’t United employees, they are US Coast Guardsmen
Neither are the women fixing that turboprop engine–I just liked the images.
Actually it’s a radial piston engine.
A-ha. I just assumed that because it’d be used to drive a propeller that I could use that term.
The Pacers look like they’re about to fight with the jet serving as referee.
Or like the Zax from Dr. Seuss. “I’m not turning! You turn!”
I believe that United livery scheme on the Maverick is called “battleship gray”.
I vividly remember seeing on the ramp near my gate at the Sacramento airport (SMF) in about the fall of 1996 a very basic, fleet car 1977/’79 Ford LTDII wagon. It was a TWA service car in bright TWA red with big “TWA” block letters in white – of course with blackwalls and poverty caps. I wondered why it was still in service, how many miles it had and thinking that it would sure be fun to own in the exact state it was in.
– constellation –
That United livery was nice in that between the upper and lower fuselage colors they still had the “orange/red/blue” stripes to harken back to the previous livery which I thought was a very nice touch. You can’t see it on the Maverick (beyond at least the red stripe) but it was definitely there on the planes.
Weird CC effect. I just sat down to read this with a coffee in my TWA mug. I have a lot of TWA memorabilia but no service car, alas. I still miss TWA.
An aging Maverick is an appropriate symbol of today’s United (and I’m a longtime United FF). No audio/video on my last three flights, including one returning home from NYC last week-end. In addition, that flight was delayed by two hours+ due to an array of other problems that seem to be related to an aging fleet used on some routes. One of the rockiest mergers in the history of airlines.
Notice that the Ranger has the Saul Bass U on the door.
Too bad about United using Continental’s recent logo now. They also had a Saul Bass designed meatball logo that could be used today. That man was genius for logos, and anyone who has one should not retire it, and old disused ones should be brought back if possible (I’m looking at you, AT&T).
More of the Maverick, November of ’08
And still more….
It is nice to see any Maverick around after all these years, but the photo reinforces what I thought when the brought out the 4 door Maverick, namely that it just looks awkward. The 2 door Maverick was very nicely proportioned, especially prior to the massive bumpers.
The fact that it is equipped with both a right and left remote controlled side-view mirrors indicates it is a 1977 Ford Maverick. Ford had discontinued that production of the Maverick in 1977 and had a lot of surplus cars they wanted to get rid of, so they sold them as fleet cars at a cheap price. The US Military had a large number of Ford a Maverick MP cars used to patrol army bases in the late 70s and early 80s. Other agencies bought Ford Mavericks as well for fleet use. Not many of these cars survive. (I supplied you with a photo of a fully restored 1975 Ford Maverick for you to compare the United Airlines Ford Maverick to.)
Very cool car I love it when old vehicles are still found in service decades later. That stewardess has an out of this world hat, my mind is nearly blown.
hoenix Sky Harbor (funny name) has some really old equipment, but guess when all a 30 year old F-series does is drive around an airport in a climate like AZ I should not be surprised to see them there. I hear Pan Am had some Ford Explorers with the logo embroidered on the front seats.
My grandparents have numerous pieces of British Airways silverware which are very cool.
That hat is something, isn’t it? I wonder how heavy it was, and cringe at the thought of it being worn with someone who had longer hair!
Perhaps that is where MLB got the idea of those protective hats for pitchers?
Call me crazy, but I’d take the Ford Maverick any day over the AMC Pacer.
What is that wagon in the Maléve Airlines photo?
Lada/VAZ-2101 wagon
Nice article , too bad the Maverick rusted out .
-Nate
The sale ad will be fun to see on this one when United gets rid of it. Something like, 1974 Ford Maverick, AM radio, vinyl seats clean no dents, 9,000 airport miles.
The Southwest Pacers are a hoot!
Saul Bass was a genious. My all time favorite design of his still has to be the 1969 Bell System logo.
I just emailed Omega in regards to the Maverick. I am curious to see what, if anything they reply with. I’d consider a trip to TX for something like that!
Well let us know what you hear back!
Oh definitely!
It’s interesting that it has full wheelcovers and more trim, you would think that it would be a dog dish and steelies cheapo Maverick for the fleet. Some of these cars, because they are only used on the airport have really low miles and hang around forever, at MIA there used to be a Falcon style Econoline “Super Van” that was running around in United Airlines “Friendship Rainbow” Saul Bass logo and in spite of it being ancient, it was even repainted to the blue and gray circa 1994 United logo and still used for a while longer then later sold, I saw it on the road once about 5 years ago.
A buddy of mine that works at the airport tells me that there are still a good number of late 80’s vehicles in service and even very few late 70’s vintage trucks hanging around. Until at least a few years ago United had a good number of early 80’s Ford trucks in their fleet down here too.
I once came across an old man who was driving an Eastern Airlines schemed Courier once on the road about a decade after Eastern closed in 1991. I have lots of Eastern stuff, my grandfather worked for Eastern from 1967 to 1983.
Another oldie you’ll still find at a lot of airports are deicing rigs on a Ford C-series cabover chassis. Ford stopped making those in 1990 after a 33 year run.
Just heard from the Sales Director at Omega, he informed me that the car has been sold.
The old Maverick looks like it was maintained well, and kept running with fresh parts. The factory had parts to use up, so it has the former ‘sport mirrors’ and full wheel covers.
Ramp vehicles can last surprisingly long – they don’t travel very far, the road is always flat and usually plowed, and I’m sure the Denver supervisor alwys found a hanger spot for this baby.
You see the same thing in college fleets. When I came east to go to college in 1983, our physical plant department still had both a ’61 Ford integral bed pickup, and a Dodge A100 compact pickup, plus a couple of very worn 3-speed ’74 Vega Kammbacks I wound up using when I worked a summer for the University Architect. It wasn’t a poor school, by any case, but back then they tended to keep things around for a while. The president had just received a triple beige panther Lincoln Town Car, which replaced a similar ’76 Town Car – the only TC of that era I’ve ever seen with vinyl delete.
It’s a shame that a 1970’s era car that was still in use in the mid 2000’s was allowed to languish and decline so fast once it was retired. Deserves better for 30 years of service, especially given how low the miles likely were. Hopefully the buyer picked it up for restoration as opposed to parts or scrap, though given the declining condition of the car in photos from 6 years ago, I have my doubts.
You’re right about some college fleets as well. When I worked at NC State University, from 2002 to 2012, there were still some oldies under university ownership. One department had an ’83 Malibu wagon, though that disappeared sometime in the 2006-2008 time frame. The landscaping crews used a motley assortment of vehicles, the oldest of which were mid 80’s Chevy S-10s with ragged stake beds. Plus a smattering of late 80’s pickups among the large fleet run by physical plant.
There is a Dodge Ram 50 thats still working for our local high school. I would love to have a 80s Malibu station wagon to make a drag car out of.
I’m just going to leave this here…