Accidentally foreshadowing the small crossover.
This is an installment in a series of posts looking back on show cars that we feel deserved a little more attention than they got. If you have a suggestion for a Forgotten Concept topic, please shoot us a line or leave a comment below.
Plymouth Expresso
First Seen
1994 Chicago Auto Show
Description
Whimsical high-roof subcompact car
Designer
None credited
Sales Pitch
“Experiment is retro-futuristic styling.”
Details
First seen at the 1994 Chicago Auto Show, the Plymouth Expresso was a compact concept built on a heavily modified and shortened version of the brand’s Neon small-car architecture. It was roughly two feet shorter in length but about 15 inches taller than a production Neon—giving it a high, boxy, upright silhouette with a bubble-like profile.
Key characteristics included playful, cartoonish styling, with exaggerated proportions, and window treatments that made it look more like an oversized toy car than a serious production vehicle.
The Expresso was powered by the same 2.0-liter inline-4 engine as the Neon. It was rumored at the time that the Plymouth concept was considered for use as a New York City taxicab replacement.
CG Says:
Though the Expresso never saw production, it was a harbinger of the small-crossover movement that would soon explode onto the U.S. auto scene. Consider the Chrysler PT Cruiser, which arrived for the 2001 model—and was also Neon based—and the SUV-like Nissan Juke, which debuted for 2011.
Credit the Expresso for its easy-to-park exterior dimensions, and high-roof packaging efficiency. While largely forgotten, the Expresso played a role—however small—in shaping customer interest in small crossovers. Click here for more Forgotten Concepts.
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Plymouth Expresso Concept: Pictures
(Click below for enlarged images)
