Fiat pickup!

You might want to pay attention to the Commercial Vehicle Show from April 24 to 26 in Birmingham, England, where a couple of new pickup truck-style vehicles will be showcased.

Or maybe you shouldn’t pay attention to the show, because all it might do is to get your hopes up that someone from somewhere might bring another truly compact pickup truck to the United States sometime.

We know that most of you believe anything short of full size isn’t a real pickup truck. But think back not that long ago to the popularity of the Nissan Hardbody, the Toyota Hilux-based pickup, the Ford Ranger and other compacts of that ilk — vehicles that were both entry-level work trucks and inexpensive enough to provide an affordable platform for customization and personalization.

Fiat will use England’s Commercial Vehicle Show to showcase its new Doblo Cargo van, a European competitor for vehicles such as the Ford Transit van.

The Doblo Cargo is available in various configurations, including the Work Up, whose pickup-style “load box” is 7.5 feet long, just short of 6 feet wide and can carry 2,200 pounds.

And that’s not all. There’s a subfloor storage area for tools, too.

Oh, and one more thing. The sides of the cargo box are hinged to turn the little truck into a flatbed.

The Work Up’s side steps make access to the bed easier, and a panel behind the cab not only provides a protective screen over the rear window, but it also serves as the base for the front portion of a ladder or cargo rack.

“All these features make the Doblo Work Up ideal for agriculture, construction, maintenance or city parks services sectors,” Fiat said in a statement. “It is ideal for the transport of frames and glass and can take, for example, three Euro pallets or 33 boxes of fruit.”

Work Up buyers can select MultiJet diesel engines that range from a 90-horsepower 1.3-liter to a 135-hp 2.0-liter that pumps out 235 pounds-feet of torque. Yet it is rated at 50.4 mpg thanks in part to its standard stop/start technology. (When the vehicle is stopped at a traffic light, the engine shuts off to save fuel.)

Sorry about that.

Dont think they'll sell many here