Pickup trucks, which are dear to our hearts, have seen a lot of changes over the years—or have they? Yes, the engines are more powerful, they can haul more weight faster, and they coddle their passengers with more amenities and electronic do-dads then ever before. But look at a Ford Model T pickup, and you’ll see the same basic layout, radiator and engine hood out front, followed by a cab and then a cargo bed.

Back in the '50s and ’60s several interesting designs were introduced, such as the Jeep FC-150 and 170 series, VW, Ford Econoline and Dodge A-100 van-based pickups, which all had their engine between driver and passenger, along with the rear-engine Corvair pickups.

These trucks, which are all defunct, provided exceptional packaging efficiency, fitting a lot in a short overall length. One of the tradeoffs was a reduced crush zone to protect the driver in a frontal crash. Since then there has been very little innovation in the basic pickup truck layout. However, today’s need to reduce fuel consumption, combined with increased urban congestion and parking problems, call for us to rethink the basic design of current and future pickups. Perhaps with current technology, including better seatbelts, airbags and computer-aided design, occupant protection in a flat-front pickup could be improved, like it is with the tiny Mercedes Smart car. The front could also slope backwards in an aerodynamic shape.

What do you think needs to be done, and what would you like the pickup truck of the future to be like?

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