In honor of creative design (see the results of our Design Contest in Truck Trend's next issue), we thought we'd enlist Mark Stehrenberger, our resident futurist/designer, to see what he could conjure up for two of the biggest names in truckdom. After a few conversations and a quick study of their heritage, Mark sent us these. From our vantage point, this might fall under the category of "million-dollar ideas given away free of charge." If either of these companies wanted to create some real excitement in a new, highly profitable segment, this would be a good starting point. International is giving it a shot with the RXT; why not also for heavy-hitters like Caterpillar, John Deere, Kenworth, or Peterbilt? This segment could, literally, be the next big thing.
John Deere
Much of what defines a truck is in front of and underneath the hood. Mark says once he figures out what the hood should be for a given vehicle, the rest falls into place. Of course, the overall look must reflect the core personality traits of the name brand as well as have practical and stylistic exclusivity. We'd assume this truck will have the best payload in its class and tractor-like gearing.
Caterpillar
It would be difficult to imagine this rig in any color other than its signature brand of yellow, but we especially like what Mark has done with the bed. Not only can we imagine a torque monster under the hood, but we'd guess the bed has a hydraulic ram ready to dump all its contents wherever needed. Look for both of these trucks to get the attention of their respective makers.