Honda went a bit too conventional with the styling of the Ridgeline and the tow rating was very poor. Its very much a pickup for people who don't really need one. The Santa Cruz doesn't have to be a top seller to be a success. If they are able to take some market share away from the established competitors, I'd say that's a good first step.
Came across another rendering and this one stays much closer to the original design of the concept. Since so much time has passed since it was last seen however, I'm sure they've taken an entirely new design philosophy.
Even Toyota has had to completely redesign a bunch of their class leadings models like the Camry and Rav4 to stay competitive. The design language has long since taken a back seat to build quality and reliability, but newer TRD models are looking to change that. Hyundai is doing the same thing with the N performance models.
Honda went a bit too conventional with the styling of the Ridgeline and the tow rating was very poor.
Honda has went more conventional with 2nd generation Ridgeline (fake demarcation between cab and box) because consumers told them it didn't look enough like a truck... Can't win for losing.
Tow rating is way over hyped - 90% of full size pickups never haul anything heavier than groceries/tow anything. And way before I would come close to my truck's tow rating, I would have borrowed my son's 3/4 ton.
Hyundai can allow scope creep i.e. huge payloads/tow ratings if they want to undercut the market.
Give me 1,000 payload and it will cover 95% of anything I've had to carry.
A "C" class rating (Wells Cargo SW8) 3,850lbs tends to be limiting on any sort of travel trailer.