About a year or so ago, a Hyundai official made an off-hand remark that his company was looking at the possibility of doing a production pickup truck. No one thought much of this at the time, but the South Korean automaker has apparently stuck with the idea. The Santa Cruz HCD-15 concept revealed at Detroit this week is proof. Hyundai officials have been quick to point out that an official production decision hasn't been made, but it's looking rather likely.

The concept had a number of clever features such as that slide-out rear bed extender (Hyundai has already applied for the patents) and its overall compact dimensions. But to be clear, Hyundai has no illusions that it'll draw Chevy Colorado and/or Toyota Tacoma drivers. The Santa Cruz is more of an alternative to a small crossover but for younger buyers with active lifestyles. It's clearly not a conventional truck, but Hyundai would still offer both front and all-wheel drive. Even those rear-hinged suicide doors could make production. So the question now is whether a production version will arrive. That'll be up to you, the public. Do you think Hyundai is onto a winner here?