If there was a discussion to figure out what is the single most American contribution to the world of automobiles, the lowly pickup truck would surely be one of the strongest contenders for the title. America knows its utility vehicles, they are intrinsic to the founding of the nation, and their connection to cowboy and western culture is not a mistake. The traditional American way has always been to go west and to make one's own way. This is to say, Americans have expectations, and it is very easy to fail to live up to those expectations.

Automakers have always vied for the attention of the American buying public, like rock stars trying to get a hit single, or a restaurant trying to make a perfect cheeseburger, many seem to crave the appeal of the truck market in the USA. That acceptance is fleeting, fickle, and most of all very specific. These are some cases where that failed.

8 Chevy L.U.V.

Via Autoinfluence.com

In the 70s with the oil embargo, all brands based in the United States were feeling panic and the crunch to supply a market, newly hungry for more economical rigs. General Motors looked to Isuzu, eying their Faster small pickup, with its small 1.6-liter to 1.8-liter 4 cylinder gasoline engines and simple 4-speed manual and 3-speed automatic transmissions, they were a perfect counterpoint to the gas-guzzling C10 models GM were already producing. They rebadged the truck to be called the L.U.V, an acronym that stood for. Light Utility Vehicle, and released it to the American market.

Via Autoinfluence.com

According to Autoinfluence, in its first year, Chevrolet sold 21,098 LUVs, in its second year 39,422, third 46,670, fourth 67,539, fifth 71,000, Over 100,000 in 1979, and then dropped off to 90,000 in 1980 after an unpopular update. It did not help that its customer base called it a ”Truckler.”

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7 Suburu B.R.A.T.

Via Flikr user Sicnag

For similar reasons, Subaru was looking to sell trucks to the North American market in the 1970s. The appetite for more economical offerings created an appeal that all automakers keyed into. They reworked the platform for their Leone station wagon into the B.R.A.T, an acronym for Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter.

Via Flikr user I.Hutton

According to Carsalesbase.com in its first year, 1976, Subaru sold 0 B.R.A.T.s, with 1,353, 22,945, a 23,441 peak, then falling to 12,003, 5,553, 6,909, 5,897, 4,840, 4,075, 4,142, 1,274, 12, and then in its final year of 1989, selling only one truck.

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6 Ford Econoline.

Via Wikimedia.commons

In the late 50s, Ford Motor Company was developing its next step into the market. Post-war Europe had developed some fantastic small vehicle offerings and Ford was keen to follow suit. They set about designing a small platform that could be used as a passenger van, a panel truck, and a pickup truck. What came out of that was the first Econoline. They saw this as the most likely dominant force to take the market by storm, with its new take on forwarding controls and a cab over engine architecture.

via Flickr, sv1ambo

What happened, though, was far different than what most people anticipated. The marketing brass thought that the pickup truck was going to be the most popular offering. What happened was the exact opposite. According to Motorbiscuit, Ford already had 2 different models of pickup on the market, the truck only had a 7 ½ foot bed, and the platform was so unstable in the original form that Ford had to use counterweight from the factory, to prevent it from flipping over on its nose. Problems with this method were shown so well in the Roadkill project, named the “The He Hate Me/Econorado.”

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5 Chevrolet Corvair Truck.

Via Flikr Ken Lane

Similar to the Ford Econoline was the Chevrolet Corvair pickup truck. Chevrolet looked at the forward control architecture and designed it around it. According to Hemmings, they fitted it for their air-cooled 164 cubic inch flat-six, with a 3-speed manual, or powerglide transmissions. It was also designed to haul over ¾ of a ton. The cabin boasted a heater and a comfortable bench seat.

Via Flikr Joe Ross

However, it was not without its major drawbacks. The rear engine platform created an uneven bed floor. Engine access was limited, with an inconvenient hood that required unscrewing the cover. Having an air-cooled engine led to overheating in stop-and-go traffic, and like the Econoline from the earlier portion of this article, in a collision, the passengers were, as Jay Leno put it in his video, “The first on the scene.”

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4 Ford Explorer Sport Trac

Via wikimedia.commons

The 90s were a time of existential change within the auto industry. The old guard was waning, the technology was changing, and the appetites for cars were moving toward favoring the newly named class of vehicles called the Sport Utility Vehicle. Ford had a dominating reputation in that niche, having built the Bronco and Bronco II twins, and their replacements, the F150 based Expedition, and the Explorer. Despite having a reputation for instability gained from a Firestone tire debacle, the Explorer had developed a stellar reputation as a fantastic mid-size SUV.

via wikimedia.commons

It is understandable therefore that executives would like to capitalize on that success and diversify beyond only offering a passenger model on that platform. Looking at the recent success of the Ford F150 Super Crew, they offered a truck version of the Explorer. The Sport Trac was born, taking the lessons that the Super Crew proved, a buying public that would accept an almost comically short bed, the appetite for a crew cab truck in less than a heavy-duty platform, and a need to be more timely with trends. However, this truck was less capable of bridging that gap, though it was initially very popular the tradeoffs that weren’t as egregious in the full-sized truck, were amplified in the Sport Trac. The resale values tanked and production was shuttered after a year.

3 GMC Envoy XUV

Via Snappygoat.com

Similarly, General Motors was looking for a new niche very similar to Ford. In an instance of parallel thinking, they eyed their mid-size SUV and pondered converting it to have a bed rather than a rear cargo hatch. They at least knew enough that in a vehicle that size they needed to have a full-sized bed. Their innovation was to have a flexible back seat, that folded forward, a tailgate with two hinges that would open both sideways and downward, a roof that retracted forward to open the cargo box to allow for taller items, and a front bed bulkhead with a retractable window that could be folded into the cabin.

Via wikimedia.commons

The problem with this, like the concept of the Pontiac Aztek, was that they added so much confusion to what consumers were buying. It looked like an SUV and drove like one. Opening the rear bulkhead to haul longer items did so at the risk of inviting the exterior grime that would typically accompany hauling things in the bed of a truck, despite the addition of in-bed drains to allow a hose to clean the bed floor. Also, like the Aztek and the Chevy Avalanche, the plastic panels thought to be more durable, only became more apt to crack and discolor with time. Finally, the mechanisms to open and shut the many windows and the roof were prone to breaking, due to them being overly complex.

2 Lincoln Blackwood

Via Wikimedia.commons

Again in the late '90s, Ford execs were looking to the success of the F150 Super Crew. Looking to capitalize on the wild runaway hit success of having a crew cab on a ½ ton pickup truck. They looked to diversify this success, very much like what happened with the Sport Trac earlier. In this instance, they looked at Lincoln. Banking on the previous success converting the Ford Expedition to the Lincoln Navigator, and strong aftermarket reuse of the front end sheet metal, interior accouterments, and paint schemes to convert existing Ford F150s to masquerade as Lincolns, they chose to adopt the platform to offer the same to a luxury market. The Blackwood was born out of this.

Via Wikimedia.commons

It at least offered the same towing capacity a 2 wheel drive F150 with a 5.4-liter V8 did. Where it failed to connect was the baffling insistence of taking the bed, changing the tailgate to open like the barn doors on a Chevrolet Astro van and the future Excursion, and then installing a bed cover that the end-user couldn’t remove, limiting the cargo-carrying capacity to a sliver of the practicality that a pickup truck owner really needed.

1 Volkswagen Caddy

White 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI
Via Wikimedia.commons

Like the previous attempts in this list, Volkswagen was looking at a new world. American gas guzzlers were less popular than ever. The Oil Embargo had permanently changed the American Appetite for cars and lots were longingly looking at the more economical offerings Europe and Asia had, with the promise of good gas mileage. VW already had a fantastic platform with the Golf, its bulletproof motor, and compact body. They retooled their plant in Pennsylvania and offered a truck version to the American market. They called it the Volkswagen Rabbit truck.

Via Flickr user Andrew Duthie

This truck faced one major platform vulnerability in that it was developed to be front-wheel drive, which limited its effectiveness when towing, making it unstable sooner with unevenly loaded trailers towed against the indications of the manufacturer. They also faced a big headwind in trying to compete against the established lines like the Dodge Rampage and Chevrolet El Camino.

Many factors go into a successful product and many more that can ensure a failure. The only thing worse than these failures is not trying at all.

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