Earlier this year, Hyundai showed off a concept vehicle called the Santa Cruz at car shows. It's a mini-pickup-truck, essentially a compact car with a small box at the back. Oh, it's adorable. And there are rumours that they may actually put it into production.
To people aged 40+, it may bring back memories of the old Subaru Brat, a mini-pickup that was quirky even for a Subaru. That's a reminder that even though it may seem like car companies are afraid to try new things, they do sometimes put weird combinations of ideas together. It's just that mistakes are expensive, and no one wants to end up building a Pontiac Aztek.
I hope they do build it, if only because it's a refreshing combination. Most of today's unusual car layouts are just more ways of making vehicles look like SUV's, or making SUV's seem like other vehicles. And that's the depressing part of all this: It seems like now if a manufacturer is making a vehicle that's a weird combination of ideas, it's not for practicality; It's for pretend. SUV's are a combination of truck and car created for people who want to pretend they're not driving a minivan. Crossovers are a cross between cars and SUV's for people who can't commit to a full SUV. Porsche's lineup has become an Island of Dr. Moreau of ungodly automotive splices trying to appeal to anyone who wants to pretend they're driving a 911. Even pickups themselves - which were once the ultimate in utility and practicality - keep growing and bulging and looking ever more desperately masculine.
So it's actually refreshing to see an oddball automotive design that has some practicality. No one would buy it to pretend it's a real pickup, because it's the size of a Tonka truck. And no truck owner would buy it because it's small and a Hyundai. It will have to live and die on its own usefulness. Hopefully there are enough urbanites working on small bohemian construction projects to let it survive.
No comments:
Post a Comment