{"id":22077,"date":"2018-03-30T16:37:22","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T20:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=22077"},"modified":"2018-03-30T16:37:22","modified_gmt":"2018-03-30T20:37:22","slug":"volkswagen-goes-big-with-pickup-concept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/volkswagen-goes-big-with-pickup-concept","title":{"rendered":"Volkswagen goes big with pickup concept"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SCNY18_PICK_UP_3\"<\/p>\n<\/div>

New York<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Germany\u2019s Volkswagen has thrown on a cowboy hat and boots and swaggered into the U.S. pickup market with the mid-size Atlas Tanoak truck concept.<\/p>\n

Built on the same bones as the three-row Atlas SUV, the Tanoak \u2014 introduced Wednesday at the New York auto show \u2014 is the latest pickup to be based on a car-like unibody instead of a traditional body-on-frame truck chassis. It is also part of Volkswagen\u2019s strategy to redefine itself as an ute-maker with an expanded Atlas family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tanoak takes (the Atlas) to a new all-American extreme,\u201d Volkswagen North America CEO Hinrich Woebcken said at the reveal.<\/p>\n

U.S. truck enthusiasts have long pooh-poohed unibody pickups for their lower towing and payload numbers.\u00a0But unibody chassis boast a smoother ride than ladder frames<\/a>, and the Honda Ridgeline \u2014 built on the same unibody as the Pilot SUV \u2014 has been a popular alternative since its 2016 introduction.<\/p>\n

Hyundai is building its own unibody concept based on the Santa Cruz concept that debuted at the 2015 Detroit auto show. Volkswagen is testing the waters to see if there is room for its own unibody creation.<\/p>\n

There are no current production plans for the Atlas Tanoak, according to Volkswagen. But the automaker wants to gauge response to the idea, since pickups are one of the biggest volume segments in the U.S.<\/p>\n

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