Volkswagen just unveiled a pickup-truck concept that shows it's ready to take over the US

pulse

March 28, 2018 5:26 PM

Volkswagen introduced the Atlas Tanoak pickup-truck concept at the New York International Auto Show on Wednesday.

It says the truck can produce 276 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque and accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds.
While VW has no plans to produce the truck, it signals the company's increased attention to the preferences of US consumers.

Volkswagen has made a serious effort to appeal to a US car market that has been dominated by SUVs and pickups in the past year.

And on Wednesday, the automaker unveiled the Atlas Tanoak, a pickup-truck concept that signals the company's increased attention to the preferences of US consumers.

The dual-cab, short-bed pickup truck debuted at the New York International Auto Show. Volkswagen has no plans to produce the vehicle, though the company indicated in a press release that it would consider a production version of the concept based on the response it receives.

The Atlas Tanoak has a 3.6-liter V6 FSI engine, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and VW's 4Motion all-wheel-drive system.

Volkswagen says the vehicle's engine can produce 276 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque and accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds.

At 214.1 inches, the Atlas Tanoak 15.8 inches longer than VW's Atlas SUV, and its 9.8-inch ground clearance is 2 inches higher than that of the Atlas SUV.

Inside, the vehicle can seat five passengers. Most interior settings are controlled digitally through a touchscreen infotainment system.

The Atlas Tanoak is the second concept Volkswagen has revealed this week — it unveiled the Atlas Cross Sport concept on Tuesday. That vehicle is a smaller version of the Atlas SUV, which was introduced last year for the 2018 model year.

Volkswagen also redesigned its Tiguan compact SUV and eliminated the Touareg midsize SUV for the 2018 model year.

Before revamping its SUV lineup, Volkswagen had struggled to make headway in the US market because of its reliance on smaller passenger cars, a strategy that was successful in Europe, Asia, and South America but didn't align with Americans' preferences for larger vehicles.

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