Suzuki Bringing a Pickup to the Chicago Auto Show?

Believe it or not, the Chicago Auto Show might have debuts other than the omnipresent Dodge Challenger when it opens to the media in early February. Reports are surfacing that Suzuki may have a little surprise up its sleeve as well.

(Click through the jump to read on about Suzuki and the Chicago Auto Show.)

Though Suzuki PR won’t confirm or deny the name, it looks like the automaker will be brining its vision for the mid-size pickup market to the show, with a truck based on Nissan’s Frontier, that could be called the Equator. The Equator name has been registered to Suzuki, though no official word on the potential truck has come out yet.

Truck offerings from smaller manufacturers have struggled historically in the U.S. (Mitsubishi Raider, anyone?), Suzuki has long toyed with the idea of bringing something to market. In 2000, the company showed a Grand Vitara-based truck at the Tokyo Motor Show, but plans never really developed beyond the spit-balling phase.

This year at Tokyo, Suzuki showed the young-skewing X-Head concept (above) to wildly positive reviews. Any truck, even scaled back to more production like standards, with some of the X-Head moxie, would seem to be a thrilling step for Suzuki.

+ PickupTruck.com: Suzuki Equator Midsize Pickup to Make its Debut at Chicago Auto Show