Patent applications are often our first glimpse of new features or, sometimes, entirely new models. An example of such a filing by Hyundai is entitled “Water drainage structure of the center gate of the vehicle‘, which seems pretty boring until you realize that Hyundai doesn’t currently build a vehicle with a center port. This could be a feature intended for Hyundai’s upcoming midsize pickup, or possibly a next-generation Santa Cruz to make better use of its small bed.
A center port is a nifty feature we first saw on the Chevy Avalanche. It extended the truck’s 5-foot-long bed into the cab after the rear seat was stowed. This provided an 8-foot-long bed, equivalent to a real long-bed pickup, when needed, as well as a usable rear seat when the extra length wasn’t needed. It was a fun idea that spread to the Avalanche’s platform mate, the strange Cadillac Escalade EXT, about which Car And Driver once wrote, “There are a lot of things you could spend $49,990 on. This is one of them.” The Hummer H2 SUT also received a center gate, as did the Subaru Baja. In their case, it was really just to try to make their useless short beds just a little less useless, and it didn’t really work.
However, with a center port in the relatively short Hummer line, there was precedent for bringing it back in the modern GMC Hummer EV. That almost happened. Early designs included a center port, much like its H2 SUT predecessor, which would have given its five-foot-long bed some extra functionality. But unlike twenty years ago when the Avalanche roamed the streets, a smaller five-foot bed is now the industry standard, so they decided to skip the center gate and use a slide-out rear window instead.
Other bright ideas
While we’re at it, here are some other ideas for Hyundai to consider. The Jeep Gladiator is currently the only convertible pickup, although Ford considered and patented one. That could be a market Hyundai could tap into. In fact, a removable hardtop would be an easy way to open the back seat for cargo with the center hatch open, without all the electronic trickery with a sunroof. Ford also has a patent for “selectively operated magnetic floor segments” in the bed. These could replace the mounting points, but I’m also thinking of one or two magnetic motorcycle wheel chocks that could be placed in the bed, electromagnetized in place and then released and removed when not in use.
How about a bedwetter? Toyota patented a sprinkler system intended to wash the bed of your truck without going to the car wash. Or you can fill the bed with dirt, lower the water pressure to a sprinkler type system, put an opaque cap on the bed, add some grow lights and grow… well, whatever you want in your mobile grow lab. Okay, maybe I played a little too much Schedule I recently.
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