First, there was the pickup truck. Intended for hard-working men (and women) the world over, the truck served and continues to serve many needs — from hauling to offroading to towing. Craving some of the utility for themselves, people began using these workhorses as personal vehicles. But it wasn’t until the Chevrolet Avalanche and its luxufied Cadillac Escalade EXT variant that the pickup truck became a truly personal vehicle, in its own right. Although neither the Avalanche nor the EXT sold in huge volumes, both were adored by their owners. Sadly, General Motors decided to discontinue both vehicles in 2012. But as it turns out, not for long.

Enter the 2015 Cadillac Escalade EXT, an all-new luxury pickup that aims to blend the comfort of a personal luxury vehicle with the versatility and capability of a pickup truck.

“We looked at the market overall, and saw an opportunity to deliver an uncontested vehicle for our customers”, said Roberto Fairy, Vice President of Global Cadillac. “We’re proud to announce that Cadillac will continue to own the segment it single-handedly created in the early 2000’s.”

As you would expect, the 2015 Escalade EXT is based on the same highly-capable all-new K2XX vehicle architecture introduced by the 2015 Escalade and Escalade ESV. The personal sport-luxury utility truck features all of the amenities of the Escalade SUV range while adding a six-foot-long bed with the famous fold-down mid-gate between the bed and the cabin.

“Customers loved the Escalade EXT, so it would only make sense for us to bring back a successor to the EXT’s unique, versatile, and distinct nature”, said Cadillac spokesperson David Coldwater. “There is no doubt that customers will love this truck even more than the last.”

Unfortunately, fans of the Avalanche shouldn’t hold their breath for a Chevy variant, as The General appears to have no plans to make a version of the truck for the Bow Tie brand. When asked whether the 2015 Escalade EXT previews a similar model from Chevrolet, General Motors Product Chief Marcus Aurelius made note that, “we’re not doing Chevrolets off this platform. The last thing we want to do is put a Chevrolet alongside this and take Escalade sales away.”

Expect the 2015 Escalade EXT to reach dealer showrooms later this year. The vehicle will be exclusively powered by GM’s all-new 6.2-liter EcoTec3 L86 V8 making roughly 430 horsepower mated to Cadillac’s first-ever 10-speed automatic transmission. Pricing will be announced closer to the launch date.