Let’s face it European auto makers just don’t get American pickup trucks. Perhaps that’s why they only stick to selling cars in the United States?
Sure, Volkswagen builds the Amarok pickup, but it is not sold in the USA and because of the commerce-killing chicken tax…chances are good that it will never be sold in the United States.
As you probably know VW owns Škoda, and recently a group of Czech students were given the opportunity to design and build a Škoda pickup truck. This Škoda Funstar concept is what they came up with. It’s tiny, it is cute, and it is based on the Škoda Fabia Hatch.
According to Škoda’s press release, “The ŠKODA FUNstar drives up on 18-inch ‘Gemini’ alloys from the Octavia RS. The engine is a 1.2 TSI petrol with 90 kW. The transmission features a modern seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.”
This means the Škoda Funstar is basically a tiny car with a pickup bed or tiny pickup…the perfect vehicle to tow a miniature horse!
Will Škoda build the Funster concept? Probably not and that’s a shame because there’s certainly a small but growing need and even desire for small urban pickup trucks in the United States. Just look at the popularity of the new small crossovers like the brand spankin’ new Honda HR-V. This market segment is exploding and yet all car and truck manufactures continue to shy away from offering even smallish pickups in the United States, let along tiny ones like the Škoda Funstar concept.
The newest mid-sized trucks from GM would dwarf even the biggest VW Amarok. The good news is that Honda has decided to stay in the truck biz with the newly redesigned Ridgeline coming next year. And Hyundai is considering entering the market with the new Santa Cruz concept pickup that was revealed at the recent Detroit Auto Show (see video below). But even these “lifestyle” trucks are huge, difficult to park, and live with in most large American cities.
Perhaps in the coming years, a car or truck manufacturer will figure it out and realize that both the newest crop of young truck buyers and even empty nesters would relish the chance to own a tiny pickup. Why? Because after all miniature horse are not going to tow themselves.
