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The next Silverado and Sierra could get more storage...or maybe something else entirely.

Full-size trucks are the best-selling and most profitable vehicles on the market. The margins between the Big Three offerings are fine. And the fierce competition between them means even features like tailgates can become a major development war.

General Motors already offers the versatile, multifunction MultiPro tailgate on Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. But it appears the company may offer another trick tailgate soon. Muscle Cars & Trucks found a GM trademark application filed last week for "StowPro." The filing explicitly mentions using the trademark for "tailgates for motor land vehicles."

What is the StowPro? It's not entirely clear. The name suggests a mechanism that could stow the tailgate inside the vehicle. The question — though it has not been an apparent hindrance to previous tailgate applications — is what the practical utility of stowing a tailgate would be?

Driving with the tailgate down does not seem to improve efficiency, which was our immediate thought, what with GM's electric pickups on the way. Stowing the tailgate could replicate the Ram 1500's split tailgate by providing easier cargo bed access. Stowing could also mean a lockable compartment for stowing one's tools or wet bathing suits in the tailgate. Not having lockable storage outside the cabin is one of the weaknesses of owning a pickup truck.

You could have a MultiStow situation where the tailgate can be stowed in a compartment that can also function as a Honda Ridgeline-style trunk in the bed when not housing the tailgate. Alternatively, the trademark does not mention which motor land vehicles. So it could be some sort of pop-out tailgate on the Yukon or Tahoe — perhaps along the lines of this Hyundai patent.

Whatever the eventual function is, we would not expect a StowPro tailgate to appear on any GM trucks immediately. It will be months before the trademark filing is approved. The company already revealed details about the refresh for the 2023 model year. It might be a more reasonable update for when the next-generation pickup arrives around 2025.