Hasta La Ideas

A promising design trend: Hulk-maker GMC moving in the Scion direction. The GMC Granite concept would be the company’s smallest-ever SUV, which despite its dimunutive size, can swallow a full-size mountain bike without having to remove the bike’s front tire.

The concept is aimed at urban professionals. “We think of the Granite as the automotive equivalent of an urban loft apartment,” said Dave Lyon, executive director of North American Interior and Global Cross-Brand Design. “The exterior has an unmistakable industrial look, but the interior is warm and personalized.”

In keeping with the city-based design, the car features suicide doors with no B-pillar–not just for style, but because when parallel-parked in tight spaces, it provides a convenient way to load the car when another is butted up right behind you, preventing rear-hatch access.

The press release with all of the design details is here, and there’s a photo gallery up at Autoweek.

[thanks alicia!]

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