"Jeep Rescue is the supreme trail search and research vehicle - one that only Jeep could build," stated Trevor Creed, Senior Vice President - Chrysler Group Design.
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| If you've ever sat inside a Hummer H1, you'll appreciate the Rescue's interior layout. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada) |
But of course it could also make an alluring civilian vehicle, for those Schwarzeneggers in the crowd who can never get enough size and capability. And the Rescue should be capable indeed, able to ford deep waters, trek up steep grades and overcome otherwise impassable obstacles.
But there's more to the new Jeep concept than just feats of bravery. If you've ever sat inside a Hummer H1, you'll appreciate the Rescue's interior layout. Stretch out your arm and it's actually possible to touch your fellow passenger, a near impossibility in the ridiculously un-ergonomic H1. The Rescue looks inviting, with high-quality materials and a functional layout where the Hummer is horribly archaic, featuring bargain basement plastics incorporated into an eclectic circus of switchgear, gauges and ancillary equipment.
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| The Rescue concept sports what could easily be the largest infotainment screen to ever grace an automobile's cabin. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada) |
Front and center on the Rescue's dash is what just might be the largest infotainment screen to ever grace an automobile's cabin, less something customized for the sport compact "Sound Off" competition. The new concept's main gauges are larger than life, for easy legibility, and set into a rugged looking horizontal cross-member that also boasts seamlessly integrated air vents. A metal spine-like center stack and console look as if structurally responsible for carrying the weight of the vehicle, while housing the audio, 3-D topographical mapping software and topographical navigation system, and other ancillary controls, automatic transmission and shift-on-the-fly 4x4 levers, simple metal cupholders and oversized armrest.