1976 Ford Maverick with "Luxury Decor Group"

One of the many weird phenomena of Detroit cars in the 70s. Start with a bare bones economy model that's been around for years. Glue a lot of plastic and vinyl over a two-tone paint job and -presto!- it's a "luxury compact".

The Maverick had already been around for most of a decade when Ford made the copy seen here with the "Luxury Decor Group". This car cost about $600 more with the package; that's about $3,000 in 2020 dollars.

* The owner of this Maverick has scraped off the vinyl top, leaving the paintless metal.
* This '79 AMC Concord is another cheap compact re-imagined as a luxury car. It's certainly takes a lot of imagination.
* Here's a fun article on the "luxury compact" phenom.

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