Last week Ford announced it was throwing overboard virtually all of its sedan models, at least for the North American market. But now we learn that an old name familiar to European Ford owners could be on the way in, as part of the company’s plan to grow its offering of SUVs on this side of the Atlantic.
The blue oval manufacturer has trademarked the Maverick and Timberline names in the U.S.. While the former likely won’t ring any bells with younger consumers, older types may recall that the Maverick name was previously affixed to a compact sedan and coupe from 1970 to 1977.
What’s more, there’s a bridge between that long-gone era and today’s trademark of the name for a possible future SUV: European versions of the Ford Escape carried the Maverick name in the early 2000s. This may lead us to think that the small SUV set to join the automaker’s lineup alongside the reborn Ford Bronco in the coming years would well carry the name. Car and Driver, meanwhile, is reporting that the lines of the new SUV look they are rending tribute of some kind to the first-generation of the Escape.
As for the Timberline name, it’s possible that it will end up being used to designate a model, but it could also end up being a trim designation. If it’s the former, we suspect it would be a larger SUV similar in format to the Toyota Land Cruiser (our Lexus NX).
Ford has refused any comment on the move to trademark the names, other than to say that it is not intending to make any announcement soon regarding a future model or name.
One thing’s for sure, things will definitely be hopping at Ford in the coming years, with several new SUVs sure to join the lineup. Whether the decision to chop sedans from its roster proves to be wise or a misstep, remains to be seen.