Ford stored surplus Mavericks in an underground cave in Kansas and it turned out to be a great decision
Published on Oct 27, 2025 at 9:05 AM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Nov 07, 2025 at 8:40 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Ford once made an incredible decision with surplus Mavericks that the company didn’t know where to store.
The automaker was running out of ideas – and storage – so it simply parked these cars in an underground cave in Kansas.
So far, so… strange.
But believe it or not they’re still doing it today.
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How these Ford Mavericks ended up here
Back in the 1970s, Ford began using SubTropolis, a network of tunnels in Kansas City, Missouri, to store some of its cars, primarily to protect them from bad weather.
During the entirety of production of the Maverick, the American manufacturer assembled the car at its plant in Claycomo, which is also part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Ironically, the Maverick’s commercial success became a bit of a problem because it led to excess production in an area where you can’t really park showroom-ready cars outside due to bad weather.
So Ford decided to simply park them in a cave.
Today, SubTropolis is part of what’s called Automotive Alley in Kansas City.
There are still caves about 150 feet under the Hunt Midwest Business Center – just minutes away from the Ford and GM assembly plants in the city – and it’s still utilized as a storage facility for new vehicles after they come off the assembly line.
What happened to the Maverick?
The Maverick, as people in the 1970s knew it, no longer exists.
The 1970s Maverick was marketed and sold as a ‘compact car’, but it was actually more like a coupe.
Some people would even call it a muscle car, mostly because it vaguely looked like a Mustang from the same era.
Production ended in the late 1970s, but Ford resurrected the Maverick nameplate for a completely different vehicle in 2021.
Today’s Ford Maverick is a compact truck, pictured above, that’s actually one of the cheapest trucks you can buy in America.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
