Ford's Explorer Sport Trac concept indicates that shit has just gotten completely out of control in the truck world. Or, rather, completely in control. It's called a "utility truck," but the Sport Trac appears as polished and perfect as a BMW 3-Series rotating in the window of a Scarsdale dealership. Not that the thing doesn't look cool, but you could cut the design tension with a fork (or at least a spork).
The truck's integrated ground effects, low-profile tires, and performance-tuned 4.6-liter V-8 engine deemphasize its truckness to the point of symbolism. From the front, it's got kind of a sporty elegance that approaches tasteful, but remains appealingly trashy. It's the same trashiness that, after a few cocktails, we'll admit to liking about both sporty-looking large SUVs and 1950s pin-up models.
What, then, is to be done with that last vestige of utility, the pickup bed? It just hangs out there like an awkward silence between old friends. Such a thing seems so embarrassingly out of place that using it to haul what little cargo it could hold just seems patronizing, like throwing an out-of-work classics professor a couple of bucks to work the bar at a frat party.
Then what's the point of the sport-truck exercise? Should cars stay cars and trucks trucks? Or should everything just keep overlapping to the point of insanity? Should lawn tractors inform our visions of lawn furniture? Should we use blender blades to fan ourselves on hot afternoons? Is there any other industry where this kind of excess be tolerated? Help us out. Send your comments to tips@jalopnik.com.
Ford Explorer Sport Trac Concept: more powerful, more versatile, more advanced [Tuning News]