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GMC's Granite looks tough, is tiny

GMC launches the Granite concept at the 2010 Detroit auto show.

Wayne Cunningham Managing Editor / Roadshow
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
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GMC Granite
GMC's Granite is a concept designed for an urban environment. Sarah Tew/CNET

GMC Granite concept (photos)

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DETROIT--Of GM's four remaining brands, GMC was supposed to stick to big trucks and SUVs, but the company pulled a fast one at the 2010 Detroit auto show, bringing out a concept the size of a Scion xB. The Granite is a design study into how GMC might build vehicles for urban dwellers.

From our standpoint, the Granite looks feasible from the exterior design. The box on wheels has proved a popular shape for Scion and Kia, more recently. Not only does it have an individual look, but the interior space is very practical for a wide variety of purposes.

Of course, being a concept, the Granite has silly features, such as suicide doors, that would never make it to production. But we are intrigued by the OLED set into the dashboard, showing navigation, phone, audio, and climate.