Doors for Days, and a Tailgate You Won't Believe
I swear, sometimes I feel like a broken record. Another month, another auto show, another electric concept that'll probably never see the light of day. I say that, but China's been surprising me lately. Take this Exeed E08 thingamabob. I was all ready to write it off, then those kooky engineers of theirs started messing with my perception.
Here's the thing: it's an MPV, or a minivan, for those of us stateside. Nobody really cares about minivans these days. Practical, sure, but inspiring? Nah. Yet somehow these folks at Exeed made me do a double take.
First off, this thing's got doors for days. The front ones open super-wide, which looks fancy. But those humongous sliding doors in the back? They're the real party trick – perfect for loading up a gaggle of kids or tossing bicycles in the back. The real surprise, though, is the tailgate. It does some sort of origami trick, folding out into a viewing platform. I'm no engineer, but it looks pretty wild. Imagine tailgating from your own tailgate!
The whole thing measures about 17 feet long, which to my brain is minivan-sized. They haven't released a ton of specs just yet, but we know it's got fancy lights and some sort of robot tech that controls all those crazy doors. The inside is all screens, as expected, but nothing crazy groundbreaking there.
So, here's what's got me scratching my head. This Exeed E08 isn't just a pie-in-the-sky concept. It's supposedly built on a real platform and whispers say we might even see it in showrooms before the end of the year. Price-wise, we're likely talking $55,000 to $70,000 – ambitious, but China's big on electric and MPVs over there.
Now, Exeed, being a luxury offshoot of Chery, could easily be selling a load of snake oil. Plenty of car companies do that with fancy concepts. But something about this one feels different. It's not trying too hard to be futuristic. It focuses on the practical stuff – hauling kids, tailgating, you know, real-world things we minivan folks actually care about. And hey, those wacky doors actually look useful, not just gimmicky.
Could this Exeed E08 be the electric minivan that finally breaks the mold? I don't know, but I'm keeping my sarcasm holstered and my sense of whimsy tuned up. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those crazy ideas actually make it onto the road. If anything, they've proven you can make minivans interesting again, and lord knows that's a minor miracle in itself.
