Does anyone remember the GMC Granite? It's okay if you don't because it was never an actual production model but rather a concept that debuted back in 2010. Thing is, GMC has been sitting on the "Granite" nameplate ever since, renewing it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office a total of three times. The most recent renewal was in 2015 and according to GM Authority, GMC has filed once again for that trademark application.

The original Granite concept, a wagon-like crossover pictured here, was billed as the smallest GMC ever. General Motors at the time was still emerging from bankruptcy and its GMC brand managed to survive. The Granite concept was intended to offer a clue as to what future GMCs could become.

Instead, gas prices got cheap again and GMC has gone all-out with pickup trucks and SUVs, along with crossovers like the Traverse and Acadia. So now the question is what will the nameplate be used for? Could it be for a future trim package for an existing model, or a new model entirely? Our best guess is the latter, and here's why: subcompact crossovers are rapidly gaining in popularity and GMC doesn't have one.

While Chevrolet and Buick offer the Trax and Encore, respectively, GMC has a gap to fill. The next-generation Trax, as we recently learned, will be renamed TrailBlazer. We don't have a precise launch date for it just yet, but it'll likely arrive sometime next year. The GMC Granite could be its new corporate twin.

This would be a relatively quick and cost-effective solution for GMC's lineup. We're also surprised GMC has launched a subcompact crossover already. It's not like it lacked available platforms. That's why we'd bet on the GMC Granite coming to fruition as the brand's smallest production vehicle ever.