Today in Weird Auto News

This may not be news to many of you, but it was to me. Prior to yesterday, I had never heard of Alkane Truck Company, nor their Dominator off-road vehicle. Even the all-seeing eye of Google failed to pull up much information, so I had to do some digging. If like me, you hadn’t heard of this new vehicle brand, it’s because it only exists in the aether, and I suppose in the form of a  few prototype vehicles. The company is currently in the initial stages of funding, and here’s where you get to be a part of this story.

In our age of crowd funding, Alkane hopes to raise all of the capital they need to put their trucks on the road from––you. What sets them apart, aside from their non-traditional business plan, is that their trucks, two commercial models and one recreational offering, are powered with alternative fuels. None of this electric nonsense as used by Tesla, et all. Alkane trucks will be powered by propane, compressed natural gas, or for the unimaginative, good old gasoline or diesel.

This is where the story gets interesting and bumps into some other fun anecdotes of small automotive ventures and creative capital raising. I’m sure everyone remembers John Delorean and his revolutionary, if not ill-fated DMC-12 sports car. Since his enterprise was well ahead of the age of crowd funding, he resorted to trafficking cocaine to generate cash for his company, which proved to be less than ideal.

There’s another interesting connection beyond the alternative financing strategies between Delorean and Alkane. Both secured the design assistance of Triad Services Group of Madison Heights, Michigan. Triad may have only had a minor roll in the development of Alkane’s vehicles, but they had a significant hand in Delorean’s creation. Before you dismiss Triad as just an oddity of automotive history, it’s worth pointing out that they also manufacture “The Beast.” That’s the limousine used by the U.S. president.

Not to say our readership isn’t interested in fuel efficient commercial trucks, but the Dominator will likely pique your interest. Alkane says they hope the Dominator will fill the void left behind by the demise of Hummer. They certainly channeled that design aesthetic. If that wasn’t their intent, then I can only assume it’s cheaper to build body panels without a single curve. The thing looks like it was designed on an Etch-a-Sketch. I’m surprised they made the wheels round.

There’s not a lot of information to draw from with regard to the Dominator. The fact is, I’m not even sure if you get to go buy one and drive it home, or have it shipped to your driveway in boxes where you put it together. Alkane claims they’re able to keep costs down because they won’t technically make any of the vehicles themselves, but rather source the parts from existing manufacturers. The chassis is evidently being sourced in China. With a target price of between $25,000 and $35,000, I’m guessing the prospective owners better be pretty good with a wrench.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5nJWlsqcQk

It’s also worth pointing out that these types of commercial endeavors are easily dismissed, even mocked. In my back pocket I have a stash of witty comments to unleash, but one thing keeps me from doing so. At one point in time, very recently, Christian Koenigseg said he was going to build the fastest hyper car in the world, and people snickered. His contemporary in Italy, Horacio Pagani said the same, but added, “it will be the most beautiful car ever made.” Both are legends of the automotive world.

As I said earlier, to many of you this is probably old news. It may even be a flash in the pan. So, who’s going to pony up with some capital and take a stake in Alkane Truck Company?

(And I know I just said I wouldn’t make fun of Alkane, but this video below is kind of funny.)

“Built to take on every square inch…of the world.”  Provided you can fuel the thing.