Ford Super Chief

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What Is It?
Ford Super Chief

What's Special About It?
Two words: frontal area. It isn't often that a concept vehicle takes its design inspiration from a locomotive, and for good reason. The aerodynamic profile of the Super Chief looks like it would yield gas mileage in the gallons-per-mile range. Good thing there's a trick engine under the hood.

Ford calls it the Triflex V10. It can guzzle regular gas at a furious rate, sip on 85-percent ethanol if that's what's around, or run solely on hydrogen while reducing emissions by 99 percent. Not only are emissions close to nil in hydrogen mode, but a supercharger kicks in to provide up to 400 pound-feet of torque.

Based on a current F-250 chassis, the designer of the Super Chief sacrificed 2 feet of bed space and added it to the interior. The resulting cabin is huge, and like the exterior its design was inspired by the look and feel of classic railway cars. Dark shades of brown leather cover the seats while walnut trim covers just about everything else, and the glass roof makes the cabin feel like one big observation car. With the retractable ottomans in back, the Super Chief's rear seat wouldn't be a bad place to sit back, relax and try to figure out where you're going to get your next tank of hydrogen.

Exterior highlights include power-operated suicide doors, a dual-hinged tailgate that can open in either direction, and a wood-trimmed cargo bed. There's also an under-bed cargo tray that can slide out even if the bed is full.

What's Edmunds' Take?
Tough-looking truck, but so was the Tonka concept a few years back. Does Ford have a little-man complex we should know about? — Ed Hellwig