Greg In The Desert

Volkswagon is showing off the vehicle it will be using as part of it’s sponsorship of the Dakar Rally in South America and it’s a truck.

I like the look of the Amarok (which translates into Wolf in Inuit), it kind of looks like a smoothed out Honda Ridgeline.

Wikipedia has the specs.

The Amarok range will consist of single cab and double cab, combined with either rear-wheel drive or 4motion four-wheel drive, and powered by Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel engines.

I would like to see the Amarok come to America. But it probably wont due to the chicken tax which is a 1963 tax that imposes a 25% tax on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks.

Volkswagon Amarok site (flash and pretty pointless).

What appears to be Toyota’s answer to the Honda Ridgeline is called the A-Bat (Advanced Breakthrough Aero Truck) pickup truck and won’t be made anytime soon thanks to the economy. It has a Hybrid engine and an aerodynamic styling.

The Counter Balance was debuted at the New York auto show this year. It has has a V8 engine placed in the middle of the vehicle which gives it the “handling of a sporty passenger car”.

I’ve been asking to see innovation in pick up trucks but doesn’t look like anything like these two will be available soon.

Tesla finally announced their new Model S Coupe last week. This is the car that Tesla was supposed to build in Albuquerque, but moved the manufacturing to San Jose California when they got a better deal. That didn’t work out either and it’s not clear to me exactly where they plan to build the Model S.

I lived in San Jose in 2001 and it’s a crazy place compared to Albuquerque. I’m still not sure how they ever thought it would be cheaper to produce the cars there rather in Albuquerque in the long term. It could end up being a good thing for Albuquerque if they go out of business like Eclipse Aviation did. I’m certainly not wishing for Tesla to go under but the times are tough and I’ve read some possible bad news in that regard. I would still like to see them have some manufacturing in Albuquerque.

At $40,000 over 500 sedans have already been pre ordered. It’s a good looking car but I won’t be on the buyers list anytime soon. Maybe if they came out with a pickup truck I might have to get out the credit card.

The 2004 Auto Show has had some interesting cars from US auto makers. I’m glad to see the rear wheel drive is not dead.

Ford is getting a lot of attention for their super cool concept Bronco and new Mustang for 2005. The Mustang and Bronco show homage to the late 60’s and early 70’s vehicles with the same name. I really like the look of the new Mustang, “its signature long hood and short rear deck capitalize on 40 years of history, as do classic design cues that have helped define Mustang since the 1960s: C-scoops in the sides, three-element tail lamps and a galloping horse badge in the center of the grille. The ‘05 Mustang’s nose imparts an attitude not seen since the 1967 model, while jeweled, rounded headlamps in trapezoidal housings are part of a striking new desig flair.”

I won’t be buying a Mustang as a primary car (however tempted I am) because I am more interested in a pickup truck for a primary vehicle (not to mention that I have a project car). I haven’t seen a lot of news on trucks yet but I will be watching.

1969 Boss Mustang photo from http://www.nwphoto.com/commercial_portfolio/autos/

[Update:] motortrend has some pictures as well as some info on many of the cars.