8 truck ideas that weren't so good after all

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As far as an automaker is concerned, trucks have two things going for them: Buyers love them, and they’re profitable. And over the years, manufacturers have put forth a lot of ideas to make their trucks stand out.

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Most of the time, those ideas work, and today there’s a whole bunch of useful truck stuff out there, such as Ford’s onboard generator , Ram’s bedside storage boxes, and Honda Ridgeline’s locking trunk, just to name a few.

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But not all truck ideas turn out to be golden. We’ve rounded up eight examples that were either too far ahead of their time, or too expensive, or just too far-out-there to really connect with buyers.

Mazda Rotary Engine Pickup (REPU)

Numerous automakers experimented with the rotary Wankel engine, including GM, Citroën, and Mercedes-Benz, but it’s most associated with production cars from NSU and Mazda. Mazda was the only one to put it in a truck, and the REPU was only sold in Canada and the U.S.

It arrived for 1974, carrying a 1.3L rotary engine. It likely wouldn’t have been a big seller even in good times, but it happened to arrive at the worst possible moment. There was an oil crisis in 1973 and gas prices had soared. Rotary engines make a lot of power for their size, but they also go through a lot of fuel, and a thirsty engine was the last thing anybody wanted. Mazda lost a bundle, and reserved the rotary only for a few select models. The REPU only lasted until 1977, and most of the 15,000 built were made in the truck’s first year.

Chevrolet Four-Wheel Steering

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GM’s “Quadrasteer” was actually a very good idea, but too pricey for most buyers to add to their Silverado or Sierra trucks. Using a steer-by-wire system on the rear axle, Quadrasteer could turn the rear wheels up to 15 degrees opposite to the front ones. The turning radius was about one-third tighter than a similar truck without it, making it more maneuverable, especially when backing up.

It added 129 kilograms, but the rear end was beefed up enough that towing capacity was actually higher on a Quadrasteer truck. The system also improved stability at higher speeds. But the option cost as much as US$6,000 when it debuted in 2002, and buyers didn’t show much interest even when that fell to about US$1,000. It was quietly dropped after 2005.

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Dodge Dakota Sport Convertible

People love trucks, and they love convertibles, so wouldn’t it make sense to combine the two? You’d think so, but the Dakota Convertible proved otherwise. Starting in 1989, Dodge shipped some of its midsize Dakota pickups to American Sunroof Corporation (ASC), which chopped off the roof and added a single-hoop rollbar and vinyl top.

The top looked cheap, but the truck wasn’t. In similar configuration, a regular Dakota was $13,210, while the convertible version was $18,115. Mini-trucks were far more popular than the midsize Dakota, and this drop-top version wasn’t even as practical as those smaller ones. Only some 3,700 Dakota Convertibles were built, the last ones a handful in 1991 to fulfill the ASC contract.

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Chevrolet SSR

At the Detroit Auto Show in 2000, Chevrolet rolled out a concept truck that turned a lot of heads. The SSR, for Super Sport Roadster, was meant to look like a hot-rodded roadster pickup with a retractable roof. GM put it into production for 2004, pacing the 2003 Indianapolis 500 to kick it off.

It was everything a cool truck should and shouldn’t have been, all rolled into one. The early-‘50s-style rounded front end was great; the angular rear end was mismatched and awkward. The bland cabin was so cramped that drivers had to open the door to adjust the seat, because there wasn’t room to squeeze one’s hand down to the controls. The 300-horsepower 5.3L V8 wasn’t enough for the heavy truck, and the Corvette 6.0L V8 that replaced it came too late. Above all, the $42,000 tag scared most buyers away. Only about 24,000 were sold before it was axed in 2006.

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Nissan Titan XD Diesel

The Japanese automakers haven’t offered a true heavy-duty as the Detroit companies do, but Nissan comes closest with its Titan XD. Introduced for 2016, it was advertised as halfway between light- and heavy-duty, with longer wheelbase and stouter frame over the regular Titan. It debuted with a Cummins 5.0L V8 diesel engine, joined in 2017 by the Titan’s 5.6L V8 gasoline engine.

That diesel was a great engine, but for most buyers, the package couldn’t compete with the domestic heavy-duty trucks. The XD came only in 4×4 in Canada, starting at $52,400, and maximum conventional towing was 12,010 lbs, when similarly-configured three-quarter-ton domestic diesels could pull more than 14,000 lbs and cost less. When the Titan and XD were redesigned for 2020, the diesel was gone; and after 2021, the Titan won’t be sold in Canada at all. As a footnote, a Cummins rep told us the Titan’s V8 diesel was originally developed for Ram, which ultimately decided against taking it. Nissan then bought it, and the Titan was the only vehicle to use it.

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Ford Styleside Unit-Body

In 1961, Ford restyled its trucks, and on the F-100 and F-250, introduced the “Styleside” with integrated bed and cab. There was no gap between them, and the back of the cab was the front of the bed. In its advertising, Ford said the no-gap design provided extra capacity, and “car-like ride, too!” Ford called it a unit-body, although it rode on a frame and wasn’t true unibody construction. In addition to U.S. production, it was also built in Oakville, Ontario, and with a Canada-only Mercury version as well.

It only came in 4×2, with 4×4 trucks using the conventional Flareside design with separate bed and exterior-mounted rear fenders, but lack of four-wheel was the least of the Styleside’s problems. The one-piece body flexed, and back then, people bought trucks to work them. The doors often stuck shut if the truck was heavily loaded, or they could pop open on a rough road. Ford added a separate-bed Styleside version alongside it for 1963 – hastily-designed, and the cab and bed didn’t quite line up – and the one-piece truck didn’t return for 1964.

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Chevrolet Cameo

For Chevrolet, 1955 was a big year. There was the new small-block V8; an exciting new line of restyled cars; and there was the Cameo Carrier. It was gorgeous, but far too expensive, and trucks weren’t “lifestyle” vehicles just yet. It was the first with “Fleetside” styling, with straight sides instead of its fenders outside the box – the standard today, but revolutionary at the time. It was done by taking Chevy’s conventional Stepside steel box and laying a fiberglass skin over it.

The Cameo also featured chrome trim, wraparound rear window, and Bel Air hubcaps, but at $1,981, it was $462 more than a regular Chevy 3100 half-ton. The fiberglass panels lasted until 1957. In 1958, Chevrolet introduced the Apache, with a steel-sided Fleetside box, and the Cameo name was used one last time, as a chrome-bedecked Apache trim level. The 1955-1957 Cameo sold only 8,896 copies, while its GMC twin, the Suburban Pickup, moved fewer than 1,000 over those three model years.

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Lincoln Blackwood

Oh, you knew we’d get to this, didn’t you? For 2002, the Ford F-150 SuperCrew was pimped out to create the Blackwood. It came only in 4×2, with seating for four in leather bucket seats, and a sumptuous interior. But what really made this truck was the meant-for-lightest-possible-duty box. The bed floor was covered in carpet and stainless-steel trim, it had a power-operated tonneau cover, and two swing-out doors instead of a tailgate. The priciest F-150 was around $32,000, and the Blackwood was $52,500.

Ford expected to sell 10,000 of them, but ultimately built around 3,300. The Blackwood lasted a single year in the U.S., and the leftovers were sold in Mexico through 2003. The company tried again for 2006, adding fancier trim to an F-150 – but no bed carpeting this time – to create the Lincoln LT. It did better than the Blackwood but still underperformed expectations. Ford gave up on a Lincoln truck after the last LT in 2008, and the following year, simply added a pricey new Platinum trim to the F-150.

LISTEN: A Truck Guy’s take on the electrification of the pickup

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