By accident foreshadowing the small crossover.
That is an installment in a collection of posts wanting again on present vehicles that we really feel deserved somewhat extra consideration than they acquired. If in case you have a suggestion for a Forgotten Idea matter, please shoot us a line or depart a remark under.
Plymouth Expresso
First Seen
1994 Chicago Auto Present
Description
Whimsical high-roof subcompact automobile
Designer
None credited
Gross sales Pitch
“Experiment is retro-futuristic styling.”
Particulars
First seen on the 1994 Chicago Auto Present, the Plymouth Expresso was a compact idea constructed on a closely modified and shortened model of the model’s Neon small-car structure. It was roughly two ft shorter in size however about 15 inches taller than a manufacturing Neon—giving it a excessive, boxy, upright silhouette with a bubble-like profile.
Key traits included playful, cartoonish styling, with exaggerated proportions, and window therapies that made it look extra like an outsized toy automobile than a severe manufacturing automobile.
The Expresso was powered by the identical 2.0-liter inline-4 engine because the Neon. It was rumored on the time that the Plymouth idea was thought of to be used as a New York Metropolis taxicab substitute.
CG Says:
Although the Expresso by no means noticed manufacturing, it was a harbinger of the small-crossover motion that will quickly explode onto the U.S. auto scene. Contemplate the Chrysler PT Cruiser, which arrived for the 2001 mannequin—and was additionally Neon primarily based—and the SUV-like Nissan Juke, which debuted for 2011.
Credit score the Expresso for its easy-to-park exterior dimensions, and high-roof packaging effectivity. Whereas largely forgotten, the Expresso performed a task—nonetheless small—in shaping buyer curiosity in small crossovers. Click on right here for extra Forgotten Ideas.
Hearken to the Shopper Information Automobile Stuff Podcast
Plymouth Expresso Idea: Footage
(Click on under for enlarged photographs)
