If there's any doubt GMC has intentions to build a new vehicle, the fact that General Motors has applied to trademark the "Granite" name four times is a good indicator.

On April 11, GM filed for the "GMC Granite" name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)—for the fourth time in the past 10 years. GM Authority first reported on the latest trademark filing and provided a timeline of the previous filings.

A GMC spokesperson told Motor Authority GM regularly files trademarks for a variety of reasons. Otherwise, the brand did not comment on the trademark.

2010 GMC Granite Concept

2010 GMC Granite Concept

2010 GMC Granite Concept

2010 GMC Granite Concept

2010 GMC Granite Concept

2010 GMC Granite Concept

GM's previously filings for the GMC Granite name date back to the end of 2009. In 2010, GMC showed the Granite concept, which was a boxy hatchback of sorts. Fun fact: the Granite concept was originally meant to be a Pontiac before the division was scrapped during GM's bailout and bankruptcy restructuring.

Rumors persisted GMC would soon introduce a production Granite with subsequent trademark filings occurring in 2010 and 2015. The original filing from 2009 and the second filing in 2010 are deemed "dead" within the USPTO, while the 2015 filing and the latest filing are live. GM has three years after a trademark is granted to prove it has a real product for the name, hence the multiple filings. The 2015 filing will die shortly, which means the latest filing gives the brand a few years to bring a GMC Granite to market.

2010 GMC Granite Concept

2010 GMC Granite Concept

Although we don't know exactly what the Granite will be, there are two obvious options. The first, and most likely, is a sub-compact GMC crossover akin to the Buick Encore and Chevy Trax. GMC has not entered that segment despite the fact that GM introduced the Encore for the 2013 model year. The second is a full-size crossover. Since GMC downsized the latest Acadia, it competes in the mid-size segment. That leaves a void for GMC to offer a Traverse or Enclave-sized crossover with three rows. The previous Acadia was closely related to its two corporate cousins, but it is now smaller.