Every once in a while an idea comes along that’s just too awesome to succeed. This Dodge concept car called the Deora from 1967 is just one of those ideas. It’s sleek, cool, has a beautifully cool interior. I suspect that the primary reason it never went into production was the ridiculous front door hatch and swiveling tailgate.
According to the source links, the Deora was intended to be a sleeker more modern version of the Dodge A-100 pickup truck, which was a compact front end pickup cab that looked like a van cab. Ford, Jeep and Volkswagen also made similar van trucks. The main problem with the Deora was probably the way you get into it.
The name Deora is sort of an Americanization of the Spanish ‘de oro” or from gold, or made of gold. According to the source links, the original designer intended it to have some actual gold on it rather than just being painted yellow. When the Deora concept car went up for auction in 2009 it was described by RM Auctions as follows:
Spectacular!…that’s the best single word description for the remarkable Dodge Deora. When people see this futuristic cab-forward pickup today, they’re certain it’s an AMT scale model or a “Hot Wheels” car come to life. But it was the other way around. Created as a spectacular one-off custom, this Ridler Award winner from the 1967 Detroit Autorama was adopted by Dodge Division of Chrysler Corporation, and became one of the company’s most popular show cars. Created by one of hot rodding’s premier designers, the Deora was handcrafted by two of the best custom car builders of all time. (Auto Blog)
Other snub-nosed pickup trucks
Lego Deora
I found this lego Dodge Deora on Flickr. Click through for the description.
-Mike
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