Photo: KDesign AG / Behance
After years of thriving in South America, the compact pickup truck sector finally mounted a rebirth in North America, too, all thanks to just a couple of entries.
While unibody compact pickup trucks like the Renault Oroch, Chevrolet Montana, and the all-new first-ever Ram Rampage are familiar sights across Latin America, the sector was essentially out of business further up North. That was until Hyundai got the wacky idea to start making its first-ever four-door pickup truck at HMMA in Montgomery, Alabama, based on the same unibody platform as the NX4 Hyundai Tucson crossover SUV.
Years later, the South Korean automaker is already working on a mid-cycle facelift because it needs to distance Santa Cruz from Tucson even further in an attempt to catch up to the only other contender in the reborn sector – Ford's Maverick. Initially used for compact cars and then for SUVs, this nameplate was revived for a little unibody compact pickup truck that has more in common with the Ranger and F-150 pickup truck models than its platform siblings – the Ford Bronco Sport and Escape.
Last year, the strategy worked out like a charm, and the Maverick turned into not only America's favorite small truck but also the best-selling hybrid truck in the United States as it overtook the F-150 PowerBoost by a slim margin. As for the difference to Hyundai's Santa Cruz, how does 94k versus almost 37k sound? Naturally, is anyone surprised the rumor mill hears whispers of potential new contenders at every corner – from Toyota, Subaru, and even Ram?
Some believe that the Japanese automaker might revive the Stout nameplate or derive the Corolla Cross into a unibody compact pickup truck and then split the costs with Subaru to allow them to bring back the BRAT or Baja models. Others think that Ram would be wise to make the Rampage a North American affair, too. However, someone from across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has decided that Volkswagen is the most appropriate brand to enter the new niche.
More precisely, Kleber Silva, a Brazil-based virtual artist known as KDesign AG on social media, has decided to have a CGI go at imagining a compact pickup truck from VW by reminding us of the Tarok concept launched in Brazil in at the São Paulo International Motor Show in 2018 and then showcased in 2019 at the 2019 New York International Auto Show. Curiously, it is said that although years have passed since its introduction, the project was never scrapped officially – and the resurgence of the compact truck sector in North America could be the triggering factor for its return to prime time.
Interestingly, the pixel master has updated the Tarok concept's unibody compact pickup truck look with styling cues from the ID series, thus suggesting that it could also double as an all-electric model. Would you sign your name on the purchase bill if that were the case if the little Tarok would feature the same powertrain options as, let's say, the ID.4 compact crossover SUV?
Years later, the South Korean automaker is already working on a mid-cycle facelift because it needs to distance Santa Cruz from Tucson even further in an attempt to catch up to the only other contender in the reborn sector – Ford's Maverick. Initially used for compact cars and then for SUVs, this nameplate was revived for a little unibody compact pickup truck that has more in common with the Ranger and F-150 pickup truck models than its platform siblings – the Ford Bronco Sport and Escape.
Last year, the strategy worked out like a charm, and the Maverick turned into not only America's favorite small truck but also the best-selling hybrid truck in the United States as it overtook the F-150 PowerBoost by a slim margin. As for the difference to Hyundai's Santa Cruz, how does 94k versus almost 37k sound? Naturally, is anyone surprised the rumor mill hears whispers of potential new contenders at every corner – from Toyota, Subaru, and even Ram?
Some believe that the Japanese automaker might revive the Stout nameplate or derive the Corolla Cross into a unibody compact pickup truck and then split the costs with Subaru to allow them to bring back the BRAT or Baja models. Others think that Ram would be wise to make the Rampage a North American affair, too. However, someone from across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has decided that Volkswagen is the most appropriate brand to enter the new niche.
More precisely, Kleber Silva, a Brazil-based virtual artist known as KDesign AG on social media, has decided to have a CGI go at imagining a compact pickup truck from VW by reminding us of the Tarok concept launched in Brazil in at the São Paulo International Motor Show in 2018 and then showcased in 2019 at the 2019 New York International Auto Show. Curiously, it is said that although years have passed since its introduction, the project was never scrapped officially – and the resurgence of the compact truck sector in North America could be the triggering factor for its return to prime time.
Interestingly, the pixel master has updated the Tarok concept's unibody compact pickup truck look with styling cues from the ID series, thus suggesting that it could also double as an all-electric model. Would you sign your name on the purchase bill if that were the case if the little Tarok would feature the same powertrain options as, let's say, the ID.4 compact crossover SUV?
Google News