There's no doubt about it! Crossovers, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks (both ICE and EV) are a sure recipe for success across the current landscape of the automotive industry. Or not?
If we look at the latest US list of best-selling cars, CUVs, SUVs, and trucks compiled after the first six months of the year, out of the first 25 entries, just five are passenger cars – Honda Accord (21), Nissan Sentra (18), Toyota Corolla (11), Honda Civic (10), and the eternal Toyota Camry (7). The rest of them are CUVs or pickup trucks, along with a lonely van (Ford Transit in 19).
The latter take the lion's share: Ford's eternal F-Series is first, Chevrolet's Silverado runnerup series is second, Ram's pickups have lost some traction but are in sixth position, the GMC Sierra is eighth, and Toyota's Tundra is 24th. Sure, they can't beat the overwhelming majority of crossovers and SUVs, so perhaps they need some reinforcements. No worries, the solution comes quickly from across the parallel universes of vehicular CGI.
Over there, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has recently designated the virtual artist tucked behind the AscarissDesign moniker on social media for a big showcase because it seems that he has a big craving for brawny pickup trucks. Thus, in his latest behind-the-scenes making-of video, there aren't any CGI procedures but rather a nice, rich digital reel of all of his past renders of various pickup trucks ranging from Audi to Ford and from Volvo to Cadillac.
He kicks off the proceeds with a cool two-door Volvo T90 based on the XC90, but we don't see it happening anymore since it's being superseded by the all-electric EX90. Then he gives us a much more useful Audi Q8 Extended Cab, followed by a forgettable Alfa Romeo compact truck, a quirky VW T-Cross pickup, and a sporty Cadillac XT5 'Ute.' Wait, that is not all!
After an ugly Opel, a great-looking, ruggedly adventurous Volkswagen Atlas SuperCab, a vintage-style Ford Bronco that's gone surfing, and even a Jeep Wagoneer pickup truck come next up. The luxury department is represented by the Cadillac Escalade IQ 'EXT' and the return of the Lincoln Blackwood. Between them sits the Ford Maverick SVT and Ford Ranger Extreme, along with a Lexus XX 550 with the weirdest design of them all. Last but not least is also the full-size Lexus LX 600 pickup truck with loads of chrome and also some forged carbon off-road protection!
So, which one is your favorite? Let's try to find a fresh model or two that's worthy of this pixel master's attention to try and persuade him to turn them into his next pickup truck design project. What do you think?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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