Though Frankfurt
may be the biggest, Geneva the most sophisticated and Tokyo simply outlandish,
the North American International Auto Show in Detroit is where it's at
when it comes to showing off cool concept vehicles that are halfway there
to ending up in your driveway.
Pickup trucks
have had an especially enviable record in recent years at the 'Cobo Show',
making the leap from eye candy to real life haulers. Dodge's 1990 LRT
Concept went on to become the 1994 Ram full size pickup. It was so successful
that it didn't even make it to the show floor because Chrysler execs thought
it was giving away the goods on the new Ram. Ford showed off its Triton
concept in 1995 that hinted at the current F-150
and followed that truck up in 1997 with the PowerForce, a preview of the
Super Duty. Perhaps most famous of all is the Chevrolet
SSR that wowed everyone in 2000 and made a smooth transition for public
consumption with the debut of the 2003/4 model shown at this year's show.
This year's
class of concept pickups has taken their turn on the stage and one of
the most likely to make it into production is a crew cab pickup/SUV hybrid
from Isuzu.
Isuzu has
been without a pickup for sale in North America since the 2000 model year,
when it discontinued sales of the Hombre compact truck. In a truck driven
marketplace like the United States, especially when you are a pure truck
manufacturer like Isuzu, having a hot pickup truck is key to your portfolio's
success. And while Isuzu continues development of a new
midsize pickup with General Motors, expected to debut in 2003, it's
also looking at possibly producing a hardcore sport utility truck aimed
at folks with active lifestyles.
Enter the
Axiom XST Concept,
penned by Isuzu designer Brent Wickham.
The
Axiom XST started off as a sketch on paper by Isuzu Designer Brent
Wickham
Wickham was
born in Canada to parents who emigrated to the Great White North from
the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Since the 7th grade he has lived in
Southern California, immersed in its rich car culture.
In high school
Wickham constantly sat in class and drew pictures of cool automobiles
he lusted to someday drive. Wickham would also cut apart model cars and
other toys only to snap them back together again in new and unique permutations.
After graduation he was accepted into the prestigious Art Center College
of Design in Pasadena, California where he studied for three and a half
years.
Always a
fan of Nipponese design, Wickham would work for another Japan-based company,
well-known design house Milai, before joining Isuzu in 1998.
Wickham and
his team received their mission from corporate product planners in July
2001, about 6 months before Isuzu's senior execs and 6000 pushing and
shoving members of the press would await its arrival.
