Pickup trucks aren't known for being nimble, and their general styling hasn't changed since, well, ever. Elad Barkan hopes to change that.
Barkan rolled into the New York auto show with a mid-engined truck that he says combines the utility of a pickup with the handling of a sporty passenger car. The Counter Balance is built on a Chevrolet Tahoe chassis with a V8 engine smack in the middle. It looks a bit like a Chevrolet Avalanche crossed with the Yellow Submarine and the Batmobile. Love it or hate it, the Counter Balance definitely has people at the show talking. "So far, the response at the Auto Show has been good. Some people like it, and some people don't," Barkan told Wired.com. Barkan earned a degree from the Automotive/Industrial Design School in Turin, Italy and started working on the Counter Balance in San Diego five years ago. He lost the first prototype when a wildfire destroyed his garage. Read More at Wired.com