Ask Autoblog: What was the best concept at the Detroit Auto Show?
At first I thought this would be a tough question to answer. Saturn certainly brought two of the strongest concepts to the floor, Ford's GR-1 in aluminum dress was stunning and the Chrysler Firepower might actually get made, but in the end I think the Jeep Gladiator takes the cake. It's the best execution of design, practicality and will hopefully return next year as a production car. Of course feel free to argue in the comment section.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Walter J Keegan 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I look at it this way.. The Aura is prety much production and we know it is being built - it removes it from the "concept" list as I see it. The Jeep is something that it seems everyone would want to see built - and is only natural that it happens with a loud enough outcry. I agree with you, the Jeep Gladiator gets the nod.
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Ben Huh 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Dave and Walter, I don't quite understand your facination with the Gladiator. It's a extended cab pickup with a jeep look, no? Is there something I'm not getting? So far, the front grill looks disproportionately small and it gets aweful mileage. The look is not quite retro, but not striking, just boxy.
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Ben 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I like it...fun, potentially affordable, cool styling. I think it does a great job of not being "retro for retro's sake" but of being truly based on the heritage of the Jeep brand. It's a lot more appealing to me than concepts that would never, ever be produced (two hemis and four wheel steering...right, whatever). Build it with either the new V6 or the diesel, keep it under 3500 lbs and under 24K and I could be tempted to buy in 07 or so.
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robofunk 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
gladiator? snooooorrreeee. are you guys serious?
the hurricane was the best concept, hands down.
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sparc 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I'm really excited about the gladiator. I think its biggest innovation is bringing diesel power to a smaller/cheaper truck segment. I've always thought a 4cyl turbo-diesel would be the ideal engine for a compact or mid-sized truck, they have plenty of torque, plenty of durability, and get much better mileage than their gas counterparts. In the liberty (weighing 4000+ pounds, similar to this concept) the CRD is rated at 22/27 mpg. While this isn't the best mpg, it's head and shoulders above the V6's 17/21.
Beyond that I love the gladiator's styling, as it looks much cleaner and even minimalist when compared to every other small truck on the market. If I could get a 2wd for ~$20K with a 6-7K tow rating, I'd buy it tomorrow.
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SGV 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
SO technical, so little emotion, so little passion, a diesel Jeep!?. If any it is the Hurricaine the one that deserves consideration, althoug we are not crazy about its name here in Florida.
Best in show? GR-1 hands down. The car many wish they were. . . Right Z06?
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Alexander Hauser 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I totally agree with your choice being the Jeep Gladiator. Classic Jeep looks, straght lines, where can I order one? Hopefully they will bring it to Europe!!!
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Ryan Gill 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
GR-1 sans chrome did it for me. But, I must admit, my head turned when I saw the Gladiator. What was cooler than any automobile at the Auto Show this year, you could also find at the Jeep display. Jeep set up a water show at the edge of a cliff facade that was absolutely fantastic. Tell me you saw it Dave.
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Ben 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I have trouble getting excited about concepts like the Hurricane. Same with the Dodge Tomahawk. It's not going to happen. There aren't even any real practical extensions for the ideas involved. I think they mostly look stupid, like the kind of things 12 year old boys with ADD draw when they should be studying. I don't see Porsche doing concepts like this, and they build genuinely exciting cars. If I find myself asking "What's the point?" instead of saying "Hey that looks cool," then the design is a failure, at least from my perspective. Obviously different people have different notions of what looks cool. I think the "one hemi good, two hemi better" thinking is from the same school of thought that says "spoiler good, double spoiler better, triple spoiler with vortex generators best."
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Charles S 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I have the admit that the Gladiator caught my eye when I first glanced at it. But after it sinks in a bit, I think it's a terrible idea.
First of all, it has nothing special about it but a boxy truck with a Jeep front. If the Jeep look alone was going to sell, all their products would have looked like the Wrangler, rather than the modern styling of Liberty and the Charokee. Second, it looks like an old truck. If retro was the proven "IT" factor for trucks, maybe it'll last a few more years. Otherwise, I see it as a niche truck and will drop off like the Prowler, and maybe soon to be gone, SSR.
I would never understand why US is so obsessed with trucks. The truck beds are often empty, or full of trash. Anything that's too big for a Minivan to haul is probably too dangerous to be haul by amatuers with a truck, and worse, probably will end up hurting their own backs in the process. Don't know how many times I've see furnitures flying off a truck bed on the highways. But y'know, it's KEWL and manly to drive a truck. Lucky I have such a thing as self-confidence, *and* I save hundreds per year in gas to hire other people to move stuff for me.
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robofunk 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
there isn't a practical application for a car that can turn 360 degrees in place? sure there are, you just weren't wearing your "thinking cap." manuvering rough terrain, and exiting a parallel parking spot come to mind...
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Lrxst 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I like the idea of the Gladiator, but not the design itself. At least the truck looks like a truck should, utilitarian. The golden age of the truck has passed, IMHO.
If Jeep is confused about what design cues to incorporate into a truck, it should take a good hard look at a 1970s vintage J10.
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Shamus 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
The gladiator just looks like a scrambler.
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Ben 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Practical applications for a vehicle that can turn 360 degrees? Of course, just look at a Bobcat or bulldozer. Will we see this coming to a Jeep dealership soon? No. My point is that the concept doesn't have anything to offer someone who wants to buy a car someday. I'm far more excited by technologies like cylinder deactivation and hydrogen drivetrains than I am by party tricks. I'd rather see an automaker showcase a vehicle that runs on biodiesel and might be produced this decade than one that sprouts wings to fly over traffic jams.
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robofunk 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
your lust for hydrogen and biodiesel do not change the fact that the jeep hurricane is STILL the coolest concept at the detroit auto show.
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martin 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
so yeah, i know i'm british and thus don't "get" the whole truck thing, but . . . its so god damm ugly, and not even ugly beautiful like the alfa SZ, just plain ugly. And quite frankly it might be "macho" where it hails from, but drive anywhere in europe in that thing and people WILL assume that you are gay, as they do if you drive the monstrosity known over here as the jeep wrangler. If its like other jeeps it'll be 70's tech than handles like shit on road and get blown away by land rovers off road (hell a friend of mine off roads and says that the bmw X3 handles better than the wrangler)
GR-1 wins it for me, even if it does look like a rip off aston martin!
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Tracy 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
If the technology is really there, I believe the Hurricane could be workable. Think about 2 four cyclinder inline engines instead of 2 V8s, 4 seats instead of two. If possible, the different drives could be designed for different torque. Everyday driving the goal of one and hill climbing power the design goal of the other.
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John T 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I think concepts should be about unusual engineering ideas and ahem, concepts rather than preproduction market research. In that regard, to me the Jeep Hurricane is a lot more exciting than the Gladiator, although I too would love to own a Gladiator. In an engineering sense, the Hurricane is much cooler and has a greater chance of advancing automotive thinking.
The regular product development lines are already full of safe, marketable, consumer-friendly models so for vehicles labelled as "concepts", I want to see risk-taking and crazy imagination. Most "concepts" these days are just regular cars with styling exercises that the car companies are afraid might be thought of as failures if the public doesn't like them.
Of course the Gladiator is far, far more likely to be produced in its current form, but the Hurricane is a concept car is the truest sense.
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Stomaphagus 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I don't like trucks, but the Gladiator is a good 'un. Compact, confident, masculine. If the Hummer is the automotive incarnation of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the '80s, the Gladiator is Paul Newman in the '50s.
If it comes with a turbodiesel, all the better.
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Andrew Frost 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
The Jeep Gladiator is a great idea, but lets take it a step further. How about an honest to god crew cab or and extended cab with 4 real doors. Put the spare tire in the back (the way it should be on a Wrangler, not like a FC150) and offer a Rubicon package (sans the hood stickers). I love the diesel engine and the interior(navigation and heated seats please). I don't really care for the canvas roof, how about a removable hardtop instead! I don't know why the Hurricane concept has created so little excitement...just 1 Hemi would get me to buy it!
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