Add John Stoll of the Wall Street Journal to the list of downtrodden cynics who have lost their frontier spirit. “Could GM’s Salvation Be Stuff of Science Fiction?” subtly berates the company’s decision to develop autonomous vehicles despite financial losses. Ignored is the importance of autonomous vehicle technology to strategic national defense. Instead, Stoll shifts subjects just in time to call GM’s alternative fuel research a “moon-shot project.” The nervous posturing is overt: “It’s a big risk.” Every graf is mired in the current: “Technology moves slowly in the auto industry.” To a futurist, the pessimism is overwhelming: “… many attempts at moving the state of the art forward don’t pan out.”

This rhetoric is far gloomier than any financial forecast.

Thankfully, our domestic auto industry still believes in the power of an honest try. In the past two decades — through every high and low — Ford has refused to stop dreaming. Design language introduced by the GT90 and Indigo concepts cascaded into technical visions of the future stamped with 021C, 24.7, and SynUS badges. Just as the design language began to flirt with dangerous scientific severity, the romantic Airstream concept fused the future-cues with suggestions of family and adventure. It tugged at the heartstrings of a nation once in love with its own wanderlust. The Airstream was a springboard — a benchmark from which to move forward.

The Ford Explorer America concept is the first venture forth. Gadgets in the center stack have been distilled, standardized, and rendered in metal. Space-efficient STAC seating allows for single-touch ingress, ensuring simplicity and safety for children who load themselves into the third row. Rail-thin seats are softly rendered in rich, cross-branded Californian Mulholland leather. The cabin’s centerpiece is a dash-mounted three-dimensional topographic map illuminated in ethereal green, hinting to passengers that every drive holds the promise of the unknown.

Naysayers could have easily ended the Explorer America project before it left the drawing board. Impossible are the sliver-style bumpers and sculpted tire treads. Then again, who’s to judge? Dozens of months ago, the concept’s all-glass roof, LED lighting, and hypertight panel gaps were automotive science-fiction. In 2008, their mass-market viability gives today’s travelers a sense of wonder.

Anyone can follow. It takes an exceptional ethic to lead the world through innovation. Hey, someone has to trailblaze. At the North American International Auto Show, the Champions of the Dream are easily discerned. And the followers? They will blend, irrelevant.

When the Nissan Titan debuted in 2004, its aggressive interior design and solid powertrain warned the Big 3 that their dominance over the full-size truck market was not inherent. Toyota’s push to produce a similarly capable Tundra placed the American staples on alert. It’s no coincidence that Ford capitalized on quieting the cabin of their best-selling F-Series while Chevrolet readied interior design and construction that would vault its Silverado past the company’s most expensive flagships.

Enthusiasts and industry watchers alike expected a Lexus level of refinement from the Tundra at its launch. Questionable trim quality, ergonomics issues, and a surprising lack of attention to detail left the pedestal empty. On the other hand, the overachieving Silverado – borne of panic, I’m sure — became one of the best values on the new-car market. Suddenly, buyers could expect world-class build quality, satellite-linked communication and entertainment services, and sheetmetal’s equivalent of haute couture — at a $20,000 price point.

When the benchmark is raised, the competition must follow.

Full-size truck buyers have benefitted from this effect for years. The most exciting battles are now being fought in the emerging full-size crossover market, as you’ll see in these ExpoTV video reviews. Mazda’s CX-9 offers a mastery of mixed-media design inside, and a world-class exterior lighting package. The GMC Acadia’s more sedate interior belies the truck’s techie tendencies. OnStar, the navigation-equipped Black Tie head unit, and heads-up display ease the stress of travelling with a large family.

Choosing between the two is a matter of personal taste. There’s no wrong move here.
It’s a sign that the segment is hypercompetitive.
It’s the best way to move forward.