GMC had unveiled the Granite crossover at last year's Detroit Auto Show, stirring up surprising reactions from the press and fans alike. 11 months later, the American carmaker will be hogging up the attention at the 2010 LA Auto Show with the Granite CPU. The name stands for Compact Pick Up and, although it doesn't seem worthy of it, it makes up for its reduced size with practicality and style.
Based on the front-wheel drive Granite, the CPU offers a little more utility than the wagon model. The bed is easily accessible, with two hinged doors that open to the side instead of a conventional flip-down tailgate, and side-access load doors that slide down into the fenders. A steel rack system is fitted in the bed for use as a ladder holder or to hold a bike in place.
While the initial design of the Granite was surprising, the new concept redefines the phrase Urban Utility Vehicle, which is what the small crossover was called at the time. It was conceived as a new type of vehicle, that could stretch people's ideas of what a GMC can be. In fact, if any of the two models of the Granite concept entered production, it would become the smallest GMC ever to be built, which is exactly the opposite of the image GMC had until recently.
There's no word yet from GM on this concept ever entering production and as the Granite hasn't yet made it to dealers, the Granite CPU is at least a year off.
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