The Hyundai Santa Cruz has been a source of wonder - will they put into production or not? For the longest time, Hyundai's U.S. office say they wanted to do it, but it was the home office that had to make the final call. It seems we have a final decision.

 

“We have made the decision. We have not made the announcement,” said Dave Zuchowski, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America to Motor Trend.

 

That decision is a yes.

 

Zuchowski said they are busy at work on a production version. The Santa Cruz's design went in for a review earlier this month and they are close to finalizing it. The production model is expected to use the same platform as the Tucson and could use either a gas or diesel engine. Hyundai is working on a new four-cylinder diesel for the Genesis brand in Europe. Zuchowski said the diesel is possible for both the Santa Cruze and Santa Fe.

 

But can Hyundai succeed with a car-based pickup? Subaru failed with the Baja from mid-2000s, while Honda is giving it another try with the second-generation Ridgeline. Zuchowski believes they can if they execute it and price it right.

 

Motor Trend says to expect the Santa Cruz in 2018 as a 2019 model.

 

Source: Motor Trend

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2019 is a long time. The GM twins will likely be refreshed by then, the frontier will be new, and there is still the Ridgeline.

Should be interesting... Giving this the benefit of the doubt-I think it has a chance this time-but they need to market it!

I think a car based pickup can work.  You get better ride and handling with a unibody and not everyone buying a pick up is going to tow 6,000 lbs or haul 1500 lbs of mulch in the bed.   Look at hoe people fled body on frame SUVs in favor of crossovers with better ride and better fuel economy, because they weren't going off road or towing a huge boat.

And pickups are a big segment without a lot of players, even if the Santa Cruz isn't a big seller compared to the Tacoma or Frontier, they could still sell 50,000 Santa Cruz per year, which is nothing to sneeze at.

This is why I think the Tesla pickup or any other Mini EV Pickup with a 1000lbs payload capacity would be a winner for city living folks who want a pickup to go to Home Depot and get their gardening needs.