NAIAS 08: Toyota A-Bat

[t-rex]

Horrid styling aside, I don't see anything wrong with the concept.

Has it occurred to anyone here that the huge boom in fullsize truck sales over the past decade has simply been because they became fashionable to own? Nobody's doing any more towing today than they were 15-20 years ago. Half the fullsize truck owners I know traded in ordinary rides like Accords, Celicas and Grand Prix's for their trucks. Take a spin through the student parking lots on my campus. I have grave doubts that those F150s bought by Mommy & Daddy for college freshmen sons are towing bass boats to the spillway on the weekend. No, they're bought because trucks have a certain "cool" cachet to the American male. They're used NO differently than an ordinary car. So complaining about a Ridgeline or A-bat's inability to tow a horse float is pointless, because they're not designed to take on such tasks. I mean nobody needs an 8-litre V10 dually to haul around bedroom dressers and such.

The pickup truck has a certain appeal to the psyche of the American male. There's a "coolness" about them, and they strongly suggest masculinity, something that, in my opinion at least, has been systematically stripped from the American male over the past few decades (I'll spare y'all my misogynist ramblings...). I think what trucks like the Ridgeline were intended to do was to tap into this "I love trucks, but don't really NEED one" type of buyer. Granted, I'm sure this segment is possibly far outnumbered by truck buyers who need something beefier, but I gotta give Honda credit for at least tapping into a segment that no company had yet ventured. Of course I wish they'd done so with something not so friggin' ugly!

Nobody can say for sure that a crossover-based SUT would find a ready market. I've contended before that there's more of a market for them than the Ridgeline's sales suggest. Its horrid styling is enough to turn off many customers. That's why I'd suggest that GM, with its strong association with trucks, tap into that possibly lucrative segment with vehicles that would have more appeal to the traditional American pickup buyer. I'm wondering why they didn't redo the Avalanche on Lambda; it's raison d'etre suggests it was never intended to be a serious hauler like the Silverado, but rather more of a fullsize "lifestyle" type vehicle. I think GM and Honda were chasing the same customer, in theory at least.

So while I too almost skewered my own eyeballs to not have to look at the A-Bat, the concept behind the vehicle is sound. GM, bring us a Theta SUT and Lambda SUT (Switch anyone?) and show the Japanese how it's done!!!

[throwback]

I think Toyota is on to something. Their are no compact trucks left except for the Ranger. I think a uni-body compact makes sense. It will probably not be used for towing so why not maximize the mileage and give it versatility? Small SUVs are selling great I think a true compact pick-up would do well also. The styling of this leaves much to be desired, but the idea is a good one. GM should be thinking along these lines, my suggestion is to use the VUE platform, Lambda is too big for a true compact truck. The current Colorado/Canyon are an okay size but they are essentially smaller versions of of the Sierra with nothing to recommend them over a V-6 full size truck.

[Uzzy]

The pickup truck has a certain appeal to the psyche of the American male. There's a "coolness" about them, and they strongly suggest masculinity, something that, in my opinion at least, has been systematically stripped from the American male over the past few decades (I'll spare y'all my misogynist ramblings...). I think what trucks like the Ridgeline were intended to do was to tap into this "I love trucks, but don't really NEED one" type of buyer. Granted, I'm sure this segment is possibly far outnumbered by truck buyers who need something beefier, but I gotta give Honda credit for at least tapping into a segment that no company had yet ventured. Of course I wish they'd done so with something not so friggin' ugly!

I think the truck has filled the void left by the disappearance of the muscle car. Sure, there's still Mustangs, but those are for girls, and of course the Corvette, but most people can't afford one. There is little else in the way of RWD V8s, besides a truck. That's a big part of the reason why I've got one. We buy trucks caue chick dig it.

[1G6]

masculinity, something that, in my opinion at least, has been systematically stripped from the American male over the past few decades

I agree 100%.

[FenwickHockey65]

I agree, I've always wanted a smaller Avalanche-like truck. I think the Envoy XUV was a step in that direction, but I guess it didn't really appeal to many buyers.

[Porkfriedrice]

looks like they finally got the crosshair design down from dodge

http://www.thetorquereport.com/dodge_demon_fr-thumb.jpg

http://z.about.com/d/trucks/1/7/A/X/CN006_031DG.jpg

[meatwad79]

ok, i'll bite a little. you can all hate on me, im the exterior designer for this. no joke. i know its not the most gorgeous thing in the world, but i guess im biased to love it. like you love your own kids i guess. the whole point was that not everyone needs to tow or haul thousands of pounds of crap some of the time, and drive a 10 mpg truck the rest of the time. not everyone can afford 2 vehicles, so this was kind of the in between solution. this was what i wanted. decent mileage all the time w/ the capability to haul some light to medium loads w/out borrowing some buddys truck. and its small, rav 4 small but lower. w/ a possible 4x8 foot bed, thats not useless imo.
and im not mad about the hate on the design, its definitely polarizing and not for everyone. it is what it is. and im proud of how it came out. i like this front pic better personally

[Joevette]

if your really the designer then go get your eyes checked. that front end looks like someone crashed it into a wall

[Mr. Burns]

ok, i'll bite a little. you can all hate on me, im the exterior designer for this. no joke. i know its not the most gorgeous thing in the world, but i guess im biased to love it. like you love your own kids i guess. the whole point was that not everyone needs to tow or haul thousands of pounds of crap some of the time, and drive a 10 mpg truck the rest of the time. not everyone can afford 2 vehicles, so this was kind of the in between solution. this was what i wanted. decent mileage all the time w/ the capability to haul some light to medium loads w/out borrowing some buddys truck. and its small, rav 4 small but lower. w/ a possible 4x8 foot bed, thats not useless imo.
and im not mad about the hate on the design, its definitely polarizing and not for everyone. it is what it is. and im proud of how it came out. i like this front pic better personally

Are you really the exterior designer?

[meatwad79]

if your really the designer then go get your eyes checked. that front end looks like someone crashed it into a wall

ok, i like, my boss's like it, and i get a paycheck that says so. like i said, its not for everyone.
im fine w/ all forms of criticism, otherwise i wouldnt have chimed in here. they train us to have thick skins. im always curious what people think of my stuff, and this is my first showcar, so im pretty excited. even though ill be honset, the comments across the baord havent been kind. so i learn, find out what people think and figure out what i need to improve on.

[King Riffle]

ok, i like, my boss's like it, and i get a paycheck that says so. like i said, its not for everyone.
im fine w/ all forms of criticism, otherwise i wouldnt have chimed in here. they train us to have thick skins. im always curious what people think of my stuff, and this is my first showcar, so im pretty excited. even though ill be honset, the comments across the baord havent been kind. so i learn, find out what people think and figure out what i need to improve on.

Did Isuzu have any input on this project?

[marinerbc]

Are you really the exterior designer?

I ask alongside my learned friend. I have doubts that you are.

[meatwad79]

nope, if it has vehicross like characteristics, totally accidental. and as for the frontm there is a central vertical bar theme that runs through nose, into the lower and is linked into the interior. if it looks dodge or bowtie like, again totally accidental. as for the ridgeline, the only character trait it shares is the c-piller touchdown to the bed. we wanted it to look like an integrated truck rollbar
we originally wanted it to be a scion truck, hence the more boxier surfaces and rear end breaks, but marketing pulled that idea for now. this is purely concept w/ the capability to be production, so we didnt make it super unrealistic. built it on a rav platform, used reasonable sight angles, seating, bumpers and even ordered the tires from tirerack, so theyre not custom made.
i know there are hardcore truck guys in these forums, so i check and im always curious as to what you guys think in general. im sure most of you would never go for something like this even if you thought it looked good as its not a "real" truck. which its not, its an offrad car...more or less. but if it ever made production, w/ tweeks, changes whatever, honestly, what do you guys would think would help it?

[meatwad79]

I ask alongside my learned friend. I have doubts that you are.

im not sure how i can prove it...? this is my quote and name from autoweek for what its worth The A-Bat's shape was inspired by the silhouette of the Toyota Prius, Calty Project Creative Director Matt Sperling said in a statement.

[marinerbc]

im not sure how i can prove it...? this is my quote and name from autoweek for what its worth The A-Bat's shape was inspired by the silhouette of the Toyota Prius, Calty Project Creative Director Matt Sperling said in a statement.

Fair enough, then.

The first thing...that front end is just well, wrong. The headlights are too recessed, and the grille bar looks like it came from a '56 Ford 1/2 ton. Smooth the curves a bit, move the headlights to a more Ridgeline like place, get rid of the bar, and rename the thing to something like BushRunner..I dunno. A-Bat just isn't for me.

The second thing: disregard anything I or any other GM fans says, because we aren't ever going to buy one.

Third, after I re-read my first two points, leave it just as it is. GM will love it that way.



EDIT: On second thought, the more bizarre the styling, the better a Japanese vehicle sells, so GM may not like this thing after all. Good thing that Toyota doesn't "get" trucks, in that case.