It looks like Ford is going to revive yet another of its classic nameplates. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office lists the name Maverick as having been trademarked by the Blue Oval once again. Along with the Maverick name, the company trademarked the name Timberline. Both were issued in mid-April. Ford initially applied for the Maverick trademark in December 2016 and the Timberline trademark in January 2018.

For the young'uns, the Maverick name was perhaps best known for its use on a small sedan and coupe from the '70s that was a size larger than the Ford Pinto. Under the hood could be an inline six-cylinder or a V8, or, if it's built by Sung Kang, an EcoBoost four-cylinder. The name also appeared in other markets on various Fords and even a few rebadged Nissans over the years. We doubt the Maverick name will be used on any sort of sedan or coupe considering Ford's product plans going forward. Instead, it will likely adorn a new crossover. That crossover could be one of a variety of sizes, since the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus will all be disappearing in the near future. It could be a great name for the upcoming "baby Bronco." It fits the idea of being spunky, unconventional (for an off-roader), and would be a great match for the Jeep Renegade.

The Timberline name appears to be new for Ford. Like Maverick, it will probably appear on a near-future crossover. It sounds particularly rugged and outdoorsy, so it might show up on a more off-road oriented vehicle. It could even be used as a trim level name, perhaps for the upcoming Bronco or even the Ranger.

The tailgate matches a computer rendering we saw back in May.

Once upon a time, Ranger was a trim level for the Ford F-150. In the early 1980s it was spun off as its own compact pickup truck, and it endured in that role for nearly 30 years. Then it went away in the United States and when it returned for 2019 it was a midsize machine. That means there’s room in the Blue Oval lineup for a compact pickup, and now we might have proof that it's coming back as a revived Ford Maverick.

The above photo was sent to Motor1.com by an anonymous source, and it’s about as straightforward as you can get. The white tailgate certainly looks much smaller than what you'd find on an F-150 or Ranger, and the name stamped at the bottom is consistent with the design we see on the Ranger. This is also consistent with a tailgate rendering that we saw back in May, so while it's possible this could be an elaborate hoax, it seems unlikely from our vantage point.

Still, we contacted Ford about this photo for some automaker insight. The official comment was essentially a no comment – specifically that the company doesn't comment on speculation about future products. It's certainly not a confirmation that a new compact truck named Maverick is coming, but it's not a denial either. Take that information as you will.

In addition to the tailgate images, we've seen spy photos of a compact Ford truck with a unibody design reportedly based on the Focus. It's believed to share the powertrain from the Bronco Sport, at least in terms of engines with a turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder or a boosted 2.0-liter four-pot. In the Bronco Sport, that power goes to standard all-wheel-drive but it's doubtful such an arrangement will be offered on a compact truck.

Ford confirmed a small truck was in-development back in 2019, and most recently the automaker said a new model launch was coming for 2021. Curiously dubbed Whitespace, the outline is that of a small SUV but it could certainly be a red herring. With no offerings in the compact truck segment from any automaker in the U.S., there is certainly white space to fill and it seems Ford is keen to step in.

Over the weekend, spy shots of a coming Ford vehicle ignited debate around the Autoblog offices as to whether we were looking at a next-generation Ford Flex or the coming Maverick compact pickup. A surfeit of circumstantial evidence and an amicus curiae contribution from Dan Edmunds made a strong case for the latter. In response to our assertions of a crew cab and a small backside, a commenter on the post noted, "that's [an] awfully short bed, totally defeating the purpose of producing a small pickup with almost zero usability." We can't render verdict on usability yet, but according to a post on the Maverick Chat forum, a big cab and a short bed could be exactly what we're getting. Someone who allegedly works at a supplier posted a few Maverick tidbits, opening with the claims that the pickup will come with "4 doors only at first" and a "fairly small bed."

Work-focused buyers looking for a compact truck have repeatedly informed the Internet that they want a sturdy single-cab pickup with a decent-sized bed, akin to the old Ford Ranger. That won't be the Maverick, if these rumors are true. The forum poster admitted he hadn't seen the final truck, but described the coming pickup to other members as "mechanically a Transit Connect pickup but finished with an exterior and interior intended for active lifestyle retail customers, not a commercial truck at all. If you are someone who does not go off road, does not need a huge truck, but you want to carry things sometimes and stick to a budget, this will be a great truck."

The poster said the Maverick's bed will cut 24 to 30 inches off the length of a Ranger bed, "depending on configuration." The Ranger comes in two cab and bed styles, SuperCab with a 72.8-inch bed, or SuperCrew with a 61-inch bed. If the rumored Maverick dimensions are correct, the bed could be as short as 31 inches or as long as 48.8 inches. Remember the Ford Explorer Sport Track built from 2000 to 2010? The second-generation trucklet measured 210.2 inches long, 0.6 inches shorter than the current Ford Ranger, and carried a bed 49.2 inches in length. With the Maverick expected to be shorter overall than the Ranger, and packing four doors, a bed around 42 inches sounds like a good guess to start with.

The Transit Connect relationship is said to extend to the engine, that Maverick Chat post claiming the pickup will launch with the van's 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 162 horsepower and 144 pound-feet of torque. We're told the 1.5-liter three-cylinder that makes 181 hp and 190 lb-ft and serves the Escape and Bronco Sport could join the lineup after launch. The 2.0-liter in the Transit shifts through an eight-speed automatic, the Maverick is predicted to get that and possibly a manual transmission.

The Transit Connect references surprise us. The supplier insider said Ford's wary of market reception, so the automaker has grabbed a bucket of parts from the van to save money. However, we've been expecting a pickup version of the Bronco Sport — the front end of the vehicle in the spy shots even looked like the Bronco Sport. The Transit Connect and Bronco Sport are related, though, the van sitting on the Global C platform that evolved into the C2 platform supporting the new Escape and the Bronco Sport, and sharing its 2.5-liter engine with the Escape. The mash-up sounds like lifestyle exterior looks on commercial bones, which seems reasonable.

Market launch is expected next year as a 2022 model, priced around $19,000.

The upcoming Ford Maverick has been spied yet again, this time with a current Ford Ranger tagging along. Not only do these photos show off the true size of Ford's new baby pickup, but they also give us our clearest view yet of its rear suspension.

While early photos of Maverick prototypes lacked a good reference for judging scale, these shots reveal just how small, narrow and low to the ground it is compared to even the midsize Ford Ranger. And it's worth noting that while the FX4 pictured here isn't the base Ranger 4x4, the height difference between the two of them would be negligible at most.

We already knew the Ford Maverick would be front-wheel drive, thanks to previous photos that revealed the absence of any driveline components in its rear suspension. These new photos give us an even better look at what's going on underneath the Maverick's bed, and it's some pretty basic stuff.

This is a simple, coil-sprung twist-beam suspension, typical of a low-cost, front-wheel-drive platform. In fact, this looks very similar to the Ford Transit Connect's rear suspension, which is apt, since the Maverick will be to trucks what the Transit Connect is to vans. The fact that every Maverick prototype we've seen so far has been front-wheel drive backs this theory up.

This configuration as it sits would be incompatible with powered rear axles by virtue of the rear spring location alone, so if there is to be an all-wheel-drive variant, it stands to reason that it would have to use of an entirely different rear subframe. Since this is expected to be Escape-based, like the Bronco Sport, Ford should be able to dip into the parts bin to provide a solution that powers all four wheels.

We're getting our best look yet at the new Ford Maverick thanks to a photo of a still-camouflaged prototype that appears to be sitting alone on an assembly line. While it's still wearing some of its disguise and quite a few bits are missing, this is the first time we've seen such little covering on the baby pickup's nose.

Things have been quiet on the Maverick front for the past couple months, but today's leaked image (coming to us in a tip from mavericktruckclub.com) shows us a handful of things we haven't seen before. The prototypes spied on public roads thus far have worn camouflage over what appeared to be a Bronco Sport front end. We can see from this that the Maverick will get a visually distinct nose, despite likely riding on the same fundamental platform.

If there was any lingering question as to whether this would be part of the baby Bronco family, this pic offers convincing evidence that it won't. Instead, the look seems to split the difference between the Bronco Sport and the midsize, rear-wheel-drive Ranger. Ford has kept relatively mum about the Maverick project, but there are a few things we do know. For starters, it's going to ride on a unibody, front-wheel-drive platform. As you can see in the spy photo below of the Maverick's rear suspension, at least one variant is riding on a twist-beam style setup with no rear differential in sight.

It's difficult to say for certain from the angle of this photo, but it's possible that Ford will offer the Maverick with two different rear suspensions: one for base-model, front-wheel-drive variants and another designed to accommodate power going to the rear. The smart money would be on an all-wheel-drive system similar to what Ford offers in the Escape and Bronco Sport, likely without the latter's fancy (and optional) off-road setup, though we certainly have no reason to completely rule out the possibility of Ford offering a beefier version for those who need the extra capability.

We're calling the Maverick a 2022 model here, but that's far from a given. As is the case with the details of the trucklet itself, Ford has kept tight-lipped about the Maverick's production timeline. We expect the company is hoping to clear the hurdle of getting the Bronco Sport and larger Bronco into the hands of customers before pivoting to production logistics for its new baby pickup.