Yamaha Cross Hub concept is one funky-looking pickup truck

Yamaha had already done one concept car before, the Sports Ride, and it was a sweet little sports car. With that as reference, we were expecting, maybe even hoping, the company would have something similar. As it turns out, that's not the case. Instead, we have the Cross Hub concept, a curiously designed pickup truck.

The truck's styling isn't for everyone. Every surface is near bursting with curves, creases, vents and materials. In some ways, it seems that no one in the design department had the courage to say, "No," to all the incoming suggestions. With that being said, we're also not opposed to the idea of a funky compact pickup, especially as formerly "compact" pickups such as the Colorado and Tacoma continue to balloon. And the Cross Hub is compact. It's about three feet shorter than the shortest Toyota Tacoma. Clean up the lines a bit and the Cross Hub could be a promising little cargo hauler.

The Cross Hub's packaging is another thing we can get behind. Though it looks like a regular cab truck that would only have space for two people, it actually has seating for four. It uses a "diamond" layout for the seats, with the driver's seat forward and in the middle, two seats outboard of that one and farther back, and a fourth seat immediately behind the driver. Think of it as how the McLaren F1 would be set up as a four-seat car. Aside from providing a supercar-like driving position, this layout also makes some extra space in the bed at the forward corners. According to Yamaha, this is enough to allow two motorcycles to fit. Leave it to Yamaha to design a car perfect for its other products.