Hyundai News:Hyundai Finally Gives the Green Light to A Pickup

[William Maley]

At the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, Hyundai unveiled the Santa Cruz pickup concept. It was well received by the media and attendees to the show that Hyundai started making plans to possibly launch this truck, though the Korean home office had cold feet about this project. Much has changed since the debut of the Santa Cruz concept. Hyundai's sales have been falling as consumers are flocking to the likes of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks. So far in 2017, Hyundai has seen sales fall 11 percent.

Michael J. O’Brien, Hyundai's Vice President of Corporate and Product Planning in the U.S. tells Reuters that the company's top brass has finally given the green light for the pickup project. It is expected to be similar to the Santa Cruz concept and will likely be based on one of Hyundai's crossovers. A timeframe for when would see the truck was not given.

The truck is part of broader plan to get Hyundai back on track in the U.S. According to sources, Hyundai is planning to launch a new Santa Fe Sport next year, followed by a replacement for the three-row Santa Fe in 2019, and ending with an all-new Tucson in 2020. 

Source: Reuters

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[G. David Felt]

Took them long enough, Hopefully someone will have enough long term thinking to bring this out as is in an ICE Truck but also look at having a King Cab EV Truck. I believe who ever does will see a big jump in sales to cities for both normal consumers and governments that do not need an ICE to use around the city and parks.

[smk4565]

A very good idea to sell this.   I would assume this would be a whole size class below the Colorado/Canyon and like the size of the 80s S10.  Which is huge opportunity because no one makes a small pickup.

[Robert Hall]

If it's crossover based, sounds like it may be like the Ridgeline.  

[smk4565]

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

If it's crossover based, sounds like it may be like the Ridgeline.  

But I think smaller.  And no doubt cheaper than a Colorado or Ridgeline.  There is opportunity there, not everyone that buys a pick up needs to tow 10,000 lbs or haul ton of bricks in back.  $40k for a Tacoma or Colorado isn't uncommon.  If Hyundai can sell this at like $20-30k, look out.

[riviera74]

Warning: the Ridgeline is not half the truck a Colorado/Canyon are, let along a Silverado/Sierra. 

If Hyundai wants to build a midsize pickup truck, they need to build something superior to what is on the market now.  Normally Hyundai builds a vehicle and initially sells it at a discount, and then the second generation is the significant leap.  We will see if they actually succeed.

[daves87rs]

4 hours ago, smk4565 said:

But I think smaller.  And no doubt cheaper than a Colorado or Ridgeline.  There is opportunity there, not everyone that buys a pick up needs to tow 10,000 lbs or haul ton of bricks in back.  $40k for a Tacoma or Colorado isn't uncommon.  If Hyundai can sell this at like $20-30k, look out.

And their is a market for it too....people miss those smaller trucks....

[riviera74]

On 8/23/2017 at 1:14 AM, daves87rs said:

And their is a market for it too....people miss those smaller trucks....

People miss smaller trucks?  Since when?

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, riviera74 said:

People miss smaller trucks?  Since when?

Since GM came back to the market and could barely keep up with demand. 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Since GM came back to the market and could barely keep up with demand. 

Still think there is room for a Mini Pickup in addition to the mid and full size trucks especially if the Mini is an EV.

[Robert Hall]

8 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Still think there is room for a Mini Pickup in addition to the mid and full size trucks especially if the Mini is an EV.

A pickup version of the Countryman or Clubman could be an interesting plot twist for Mini.   The original Mini had a pickup version in the 60s.

Edited August 24, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[G. David Felt]

53 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

A pickup version of the Countryman or Clubman could be an interesting plot twist for Mini.   The original Mini had a pickup version in the 60s.

That would be cool as I bet many inner city people would love a mini pickup.

Very Cool

Having a Mini Pickup EV would be so cool!  

[ccap41]

On 8/22/2017 at 8:05 PM, riviera74 said:

Warning: the Ridgeline is not half the truck a Colorado/Canyon are, let along a Silverado/Sierra. 

You're right, it does 95% of the work a Colorado/Canyon can with a much superior ride and driving dynamics(because that's what trucks do 95% of the time..driving unloaded, commuting)

[G. David Felt]

Found the European Mini Pickup. They so should be selling this here.

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Found the European Mini Pickup. They so should be selling this here.

I think that is a custom or a photoshop..I don't think there is a current production Mini pickup.

Another interesting idea would be a modern 'mini pickup' in the sense of the ones from the 70s-80s like the Datsun 620, Toyota Hilux, Ford Courier, Chevy Luv or S10...i.e. a compact truck.   I would think there would be a market for such a truck, the Ford Ranger sold here well for a long time, even as ancient as it was...

Edited August 24, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

A pickup version of the Countryman or Clubman could be an interesting plot twist for Mini.   The original Mini had a pickup version in the 60s.

Mini has too many vehicle variants and not enough sales to support them as it is. 

20 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

You're right, it does 95% of the work a Colorado/Canyon can with a much superior ride and driving dynamics(because that's what trucks do 95% of the time..driving unloaded, commuting)

Yes and no... it really depends on what you are doing with it. If you're just a weekend warrior throwing a kayak or 5 bags of mulch in the back, yes the ridgeline will do.  If you need payload and towing or any semblance of off-roading beyond wet grass, the Canyonado is where it's at. 

[G. David Felt]

20 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

I think that is a custom or a photoshop..I don't think there is a current production Mini pickup.

Another interesting idea would be a modern 'mini pickup' in the sense of the ones from the 70s-80s like the Datsun 620, Toyota Hilux, Ford Courier, Chevy Luv or S10...i.e. a compact truck.   I would think there would be a market for such a truck, the Ford Ranger sold here well for a long time, even as ancient as it was...

Agreed, a Mini truck in EV would work well. I still think you could even do an ICE version that would sell in decent numbers. I think like Drew points out, they need to cut the number of Mini Coopers down and add the pickup.

[ccap41]

32 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Yes and no... it really depends on what you are doing with it. If you're just a weekend warrior throwing a kayak or 5 bags of mulch in the back, yes the ridgeline will do.  If you need payload and towing or any semblance of off-roading beyond wet grass, the Canyonado is where it's at. 

Payload you ask? They're less than 50lbs apart(1548lbs vs 1499lbs). It's a wider, longer, and deeper bed as well. They're three tenths of an inch different in ride height but it's largest downfall is towing capability. 7000lbs vs 5000lbs (Duramax ups it to like 7600lbs). Yes, it's AWD system isn't going to be as good off road as a the 4wd system in the GMs but it will do 95% of what the Canyonado will do overall with a more livable interior and "regular" driving dynamics. 

54 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Found the European Mini Pickup. They so should be selling this here.

Why would anybody buy that though? You can't even fit a bicycle in the "bed" with the front wheel off. 

[G. David Felt]

15 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Why would anybody buy that though? You can't even fit a bicycle in the "bed" with the front wheel off. 

Easy, there are many people who want a small truck to run to Home Depot or Loews and get some mulch, etc. Bikes are more or less now using a trailer hitch mount. 

[Drew Dowdell]

I'd put a lot more trust in going over the rated payload in the Canyonado than the Ridgeline. The plastic bed of the Ridgeline would give me concern. Yes, you are correct that the Ridgeline will ride better than the Canyonado, but I didn't find the Ridgeline to be out of this world great.  The Canyonado rides really well for a truck truck, it's just the seats in it are awful... and a big reason I won't get the current generation.

My observations broken down for the segment:

Ridgeline - Highs - Rides well, comfortable interior, feels fast. Lows - Loud interior with lots of road noise, plastic bed, AWD is not especially capable

Canyonado - Highs - Decent ride, optional diesel, very fast with V6/8-speed, highest tow rating, can be optioned into a capable off-roader. Lows - Horrible seats, interior was dated at release, gets expensive fast when adding options, little to no deals to be made due to demand. Denali isn't very Denali beyond the badge.

Tacoma - Highs - It's a Toyota, it will start and run every day for the next 20 years. Can be optioned into a capable off-roader.  Lows - V6 is not a truck engine, torque doesn't come till too high in the power band. Bounciest of the mid-size trucks. Rather random dash button layout takes some getting used to.

Frontier - Highs - Rides well, decent power, the most comfortable available seats. Lows - Dated Dated Dated Dated, this is the Grandpa of the group, still pricey for its age. 

[ccap41]

52 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Easy, there are many people who want a small truck to run to Home Depot or Loews and get some mulch, etc. Bikes are more or less now using a trailer hitch mount. 

It just seems too small for even that task. Why would somebody buy that over a small cuv with more capability and not british reliability? 

The current max payload for a Mini Cooper is 895lbs - 200lbs for a driver - 150lbs passenger and/or other miscellaneous stuff and we're talking 550lbs of available payload.. Yeah, that'd work for the housewife who's into gardening and just needs to grab a bag or two of potting soil or mulch and thinks Minis are cute but that's a pretty narrow market right there. 

I'm not opposed to a true small truck like the previous Ranger by any means but i think something this small is useless. I think there is room in the market for a small truck but not this small. This can't be marketed to small towns or cities as a cheap, efficient, work truck like a small Ranger/S10 could. 

[Drew Dowdell]

Yeah, I don't see a market below the size of the previous Ranger. I doubt anyone will, but it would be nice to see someone fill that niche.

[G. David Felt]

7 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

It just seems too small for even that task. Why would somebody buy that over a small cuv with more capability and not british reliability? 

The current max payload for a Mini Cooper is 895lbs - 200lbs for a driver - 150lbs passenger and/or other miscellaneous stuff and we're talking 550lbs of available payload.. Yeah, that'd work for the housewife who's into gardening and just needs to grab a bag or two of potting soil or mulch and thinks Minis are cute but that's a pretty narrow market right there. 

I'm not opposed to a true small truck like the previous Ranger by any means but i think something this small is useless. I think there is room in the market for a small truck but not this small. This can't be marketed to small towns or cities as a cheap, efficient, work truck like a small Ranger/S10 could. 

Trust me when I say I get the point your trying to make, yet with this, we both I think are in agreement that a mini pickup like a Ford Ranger or Chevy Luv is missing from the market. 

Back in 2014 the Nissan Leaf team built their own EV pickup and people for years have been asking for Nissan to build it.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094509_worlds-first-nissan-leaf-electric-pickup-truck-for-shop-use-only

After this hit SEMA and online EV sites, Nissan then built a concept to show off and get feedback.

Since then, this has been talked about and Nissan says if they build one it would be on version 2.0. So once the Leaf 2.0 is launched with battery options, one has to wonder if a Leaf 2.0 Truck will finally happen.

A truck with a 500-1000 lb capacity is all inner city folks really need as do city gov's that need to send two people out to do basic cleanup and maintenance at the parks, etc.

Many would do fine with this pickup, I know my dad loved his Chevy Luv Series 5 pickup. I inherited it and restored it and loved it till I sold it to fund my college in Japan. I wish I still had that truck today.

5 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Yeah, I don't see a market below the size of the previous Ranger. I doubt anyone will, but it would be nice to see someone fill that niche.

Drew this is one time I disagree with you as I see a market for inner city folks as well as Cities that need a basic 1-2 person truck to take tools out to clean, maintain parks, city public zones, etc.

I see in so many inner cities, full size trucks being used where a mini or mid size EV truck would make far more sense.

I hear from many coworkers how finding a quality used Ranger or any other mini truck is hard as that is all they need for their Home Depot runs.

I think there is more need than is given credit as companies tend to go with the sell a full size to everyone or in GM's case mid size which to me shows the need for smaller size trucks.

[ccap41]

I still don't see somebody buying a truck that much smaller than a Ranger over just a small CUV that has the same amount of space in the hatch(with the seats down probably more) as those do in their beds. 

There can't be too much need otherwise there would have been one out by now or some time in the last 5 years since the Ranger has been gone or the first gen Colorado. 

[Drew Dowdell]

If I could get a Colorado sized Avalanche... that would be the bomb!

[ccap41]

That'd be way cool! 

[Drew Dowdell]

Just now, ccap41 said:

That'd be way cool! 

It would really solve a whole bunch of problems for me.  A full size crew-cab pick-up is too big to get around the corner of my driveway.  An Avalanche is really pushing the limit of what I can get back there.  Albert won't drive something as big as an Avalanche and we sometimes need to swap cars. The Canyonado crew cab is a little too small inside, but if I could get the flexibility of an Avalanche style bed, I would live with it.

[daves87rs]

12 hours ago, riviera74 said:

People miss smaller trucks?  Since when?

Cause I miss my s10....

[riviera74]

Too bad the Avalanche did not sell as well as it could have been.  A mid-sized version is a great idea though.