The Japanese automakers are renowned for their reliability. Still, in this day and age, no one is above fault – not even Mazda, which just issued a massive recall for their latest model, the flagship CX-90 crossover.
However, maybe it's not fair of us to ask such great things of automakers anymore with all the onboard electronics and thoroughly complicated automotive platforms. After all, gone are the days when Mazda gave North America a great workhorse that was also comfortable to use, like the B-Series pickup truck.
Produced between 1961 and 2006 (when the BT-50 mid-size pickup truck series took over, first with shared DNA with the Ford Ranger and now with the Isuzu D-Max), the reliable yet cozy series of pickup trucks were offered across five generations. Some of them also reached the United States, where they were thoroughly appreciated (like the fourth B2000 iteration) for their comfortable ride, smooth handling, and car-like good feel that didn't impeach on the truck's ability to perform the usual, practical pickup truck-focused tasks.
However, the current BT-50 is unavailable in the United States, where fans must contend with the MX-5 Miata, the Mazda3 series, or the CX-3, CX-5, CX-50, and CX-90 crossovers. But what if that was not the case anymore? There are no market restrictions across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, after all. For example, Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has taken up the task of revealing a new B2000 pickup truck - in CGI.
The model's potential for sales across North America is quite undaunted because the pixel master was smart enough to choose a great partnership that could yield the best (virtual results). As such, his resurrected and reinvented Mazda B-Series pickup truck not only takes into account the regional characteristics but also marries a popular new Mazda model with Toyota DNA in a collaborative digital effort that doesn't look half bad.
More precisely, the CGI expert used the XK70 third-generation TNGA-F-based Toyota Tundra (SR5 and TRD 4x4 grades) as the base for the transformation and infused the resulting Mazda pickup truck with the sporty yet tough design character of the locally-produced Mazda CX-50 compact crossover SUV. We are not to say that a B-Series revival could compete at the top with the F-Series and GM or Ram offerings, but maybe it would be cheap to produce based on the shared underpinnings and could eat away some of the market share owned by the Big Detroit Three.
So, what do you think – should we give this Mazda B-Series revival based on the crossover between the MTMUS-produced Mazda CX-50 and the XK70 Toyota Tundra our traditional CGI hall pass, or the model's nameplate is better left at the retirement home?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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