Granite is believed to be the name of an upcoming vehicle from General Motors’ GMC brand.
Following is speculative and unconfirmed information about the GMC Granite. This page is a continuous work-in-progress and will be updated on a regular basis as we await official details from General Motors and GMC.
If you notice any inaccuracies about the information provided, have recommendations, or suggestions to share, please let us know here.
Evidence
Over the last few years, General Motors has been actively pursuing registration of the Granite name with the Untied States Patent and Trademark Office. Most recently, the automaker filed a trademark application on May 26, 2015 for the term Granite in the goods and service category of “Motor land vehicles, namely, on-road passenger automobiles.” As of March 7th, 2016, this application is live.
General Motors has also filed applications to register Granite as a trademark with the USPTO on two prior occasions:
- November 9, 2009
- November 17, 2010
Both of these applications have since been abandoned as a result of GM not filing a Statement of Use document, which shows the trademark office how the applicant (GM) is using the name being applied for. Notably, the applicant can only file such a document once it has launched a product or service in the marketplace by that name.
Expectations
At this point, we are not sure about what kind of vehicle the GMC Granite could be. In speculating, however, we believe the following three options for the name:
- Subcompact crossover: GMC is working on a subcompact crossover to slot in below the GMC Terrain. As such, this vehicle could be called Granite. It’s also possible that the subcompact GMC crossover could be called GMC Graphyte instead.
- Full-size crossover: with the second-generation 2017 GMC Acadia shrinking to become a midsize crossover, GMC now has room for a full-size CUV to slot above the Acadia. As such, this vehicle could be called Granite.
- Offroad SUV: GMC has been rumored to be pondering an offroad-focused SUV to take on the Jeep Wrangler. As such, it could use the Granite name for this vehicle.
The close we get to the official unveiling of whatever vehicle the GMC Granite will become, the more we believe that the first option is the most correct.
Spy Shots
In August 2018, a prototype of a small (subcompact) crossover was spied undergoing testing in Arizona. It is believed that this vehicle is indeed the upcoming GMC Granite. The model will share a platform (GM vehicle set) with the future Buick Encore and future Chevy Trax.
[nggallery id=1000]Original GMC Granite Concept
In 2010, GMC unveiled the GMC Granite concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Riding on GM’s Delta platform, the concept was a compact hatchback with two rows of seating and suicide-style doors.
The concept was rumored to be earmarked for GM’s Pontiac brand, but was supposedly changed for GMC when the Pontiac brand was discontinued as a result of the automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy. Subsequently, the GMC Granite concept was never brought to production.
Notably, the upcoming GMC Granite is not expected to take the shape of the original Granite concept, but is instead expected to have a more traditional crossover body style with a higher ride height (think Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore, and less Chevrolet Sonic).
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