Originally Posted By: Win
In high school, a friend had one with the inline six and ( I think ) a three on the tree.
I don't recall it being a bad car in any way. It had bench seats front and rear. Everyone thought that was a useful feature.
I still see one a few times a year. I haven't seen a 70's Honyota since the 80's (thankfully - except for the original Z car and Celica those early asian rust buckets had to be the absolute, make you want to gouge your eyes out, ugliest cars ever built). Every once in a while I still see a 70's Datsun.
I still see 1970s Hondas and Toyotas on rare occasions, but then in Florida there is no snow and therefore no road salt.
The early Japanese cars were ugly because the engineers made functionality and low cost priority #1.
The reason more Ford Mavericks are still out there is probably repair cost. Many of the 1970s Japanese cars had Macpherson strut suspensions, whereas the American cars had regular shocks. Many Japanese cars used timing belts and American cars usually did not. 1970s Hondas used FWD, leading to more costly repairs than a solid rear axle found in the Maverick.
That, and the Ford I6 was a very tough engine, so that wasn't an issue either.