by frazgo
Manufacturer test mule roaming the streets of LA
February 19, 2009 at 2:45 pm in Driving, San Gabriel Valley
I spotted this manufacturers test mule parked on a side street in Monrovia this afternoon. It was devoid of every name or other badge on the entire little trucklet. That is until you looked inside and could see they did not cover up the “Actyon” name on the steering wheel hub.
What is an Actyon was my next question. Its certainly a new one around here. LA is so important to the world car market that if it can’t make here it doesn’t stand a chance in hell anywhere else. Really. Even more interesting is the number of attempts to get a foothold in the US with launching in LA first. More on the Actyon after the jump.
What I was able to find on the trucklet is that it is made in Korea by SsangYong Motors. The specific model is called the “Actyon Sport”. It is the SUT version of the SUV Model where the rear luggage compartment is whacked off and converted into a truck bed.
Overall size is about the same as a Toyota RAV or Ford Explorer. The Actyon does sit lower to the ground than either of those. The bedlet attached to the rear is about the size of a folding card table.
A peek in the interior didn’t yield any real surprises. I wasn’t impressed with the integration of the A/C vents and some of the odd fake chrome plastic. I didn’t get to touch or sit in it but it appeared about average for an entry level trucklet-SUT.
The wiki has references to “European” sourced or Mercedes Benz sourced petrol engines. The small diesel is what caught my attention. With it numbers better than a hybrid suv should be possible with a resulting smaller carbon footprint. Something that might help it sell. Maybe?
Thank gawd they left at least one badge intact for ID purposes
I wonder what this codes means and why its visible for me to see.
It is interesting to find this vehicle on our streets. Dangerous time in my opinion to launch a new brand in a rapidly shrinking market. Even more dangerous to try and float a new nameplate in a very crowded segment with all the major players already slogging it out. Do you think this is a wise auto to even test for our market given the conditions now?
All the pics are by me and get bigger with a click.
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