America is building some important cars right now. On the surface this isn’t one of them. It’s not hybridised or electric. It’s not particularly efficient. Or forward looking. Or sophisticated. In fact it’s quite old-fashioned, using a ladder frame construction similar to the Ranger pick-up and thrust along by a pair of turbocharged petrol engines. Here it comes...
But. It does what the best American cars have done for the last 60 years or more: introduces you to a carefree world where everything is going your way. It moves to a Motown rhythm. Every destination is a Beach Boys party. It doesn’t ride particularly well, the cabin materials, screens and design are like any other piece of outdoor equipment – intended to be rugged, weather- and dustproof first, attractive and tactile second. You won’t care because you fell in love with the front end and you’ve just removed the roof panels and taken the doors off too.