New Chevy Colorado - Conflicting thoughts

[DGS49]

Chevy has made a bit of a splash in the Truck World with their new Colorado, which they are characterizing as a "completely new mid-sized truck."

But it's a little porky for a mid-sized truck.

Until now, the mid-sized truck universe was made up of the following vehicles (overall length of Extended Cab and Crew Cab is shown in parens):

Ford Ranger Super Cab (203")
Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon (207")
Nissan Frontier (206")
Toyota Tacoma (208")
Honda Ridgeline (207")

The new Chevy Colorado crew cab is 213" long! This extra six inches (compared with the old Colorado) translates into 3" more legroom in front and 3" more legroom in back, while the cargo bed dimensions are basically the same as the old Colorado. Actually it's a little wider, but it will still not take a piece of plywood between the wheelwells (as my Ridgeline will).

Now look at full-size truck dimensions: Ford F150 (232"), Silverado (230"), Tundra (228"), and Ram 1500 (227.5).

The point of a "mid-sized" pickup was that it could fit into a standard garage, which a full-size truck generally will not. I realize that there is no nationally recognized specification for a garage space, but if you eschewed a F/S truck before because it was too big to fit in your garage, then you might not be able to fit a new Colorado in it either. It wouldn't fit in either of my garages.

The Colorado is significantly lighter than the F/S trucks and its V6 fuel economy is good (18/26), but again, it's only marginally better than the base V6 fuel economy of the F/S trucks. The Ram 1500 V6 is rated at 18/25. The F-150 with the new 2.7 Turbo is rated at 19/26, and Chevy's own Silverado is rated at 18/24 with the 4.3L V6.

So what's the point? It's a pretty nice truck and it looks OK, but (a) It is almost too big to fit into the niche for which previous mid-size trucks were made, (b) it is not significantly more economical than a comparably equipped full-size truck, and (c) since the dealers are not discounting them, the "out-the-door" price for a Colorado right now is essentially the same as what you would pay for, say, a V-6 Ram, F150, or Silverado.

It is said that Ford killed the Ranger because they were not profitable, and Ford figured most "Ford people" would buy an F150 when the Ranger went away. And this is why the Ranger will never be resurrected. To make it nicer they would make it bigger and more expensive, at which point the question becomes, "What's the point?"

Chevy sells a mini-pickup in Mexico called the Tornado. It's a stylish little, economical 4-cylinder truck like the old Datsun's and the original Tacoma. For someone who wants a small truck for household use or to run a little landscaping business, it would be ideal. That's what Chevy should have introduced this year.

 

[HenryBHough]

My fave was....

Dodge Dakota with small V89, FWD with all markings removed.

Guy down the street favoured the 4-cylinder Toyotas with manual transmission. His workers were hell on clutches so he kept a couple of earth-mover tires around. When he needed to replace a clutch he'd lift the OtaToy (fork-lift), lay them gently on their side, and work on 'em standing up. True it wasn't great on the paint but the dents pretty well hid that.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Chevy has made a bit of a splash in the Truck World with their new Colorado, which they are characterizing as a "completely new mid-sized truck."

But it's a little porky for a mid-sized truck.

Until now, the mid-sized truck universe was made up of the following vehicles (overall length of Extended Cab and Crew Cab is shown in parens):

Ford Ranger Super Cab (203")
Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon (207")
Nissan Frontier (206")
Toyota Tacoma (208")
Honda Ridgeline (207")

The new Chevy Colorado crew cab is 213" long! This extra six inches (compared with the old Colorado) translates into 3" more legroom in front and 3" more legroom in back, while the cargo bed dimensions are basically the same as the old Colorado. Actually it's a little wider, but it will still not take a piece of plywood between the wheelwells (as my Ridgeline will).

Now look at full-size truck dimensions: Ford F150 (232"), Silverado (230"), Tundra (228"), and Ram 1500 (227.5).

The point of a "mid-sized" pickup was that it could fit into a standard garage, which a full-size truck generally will not. I realize that there is no nationally recognized specification for a garage space, but if you eschewed a F/S truck before because it was too big to fit in your garage, then you might not be able to fit a new Colorado in it either. It wouldn't fit in either of my garages.

The Colorado is significantly lighter than the F/S trucks and its V6 fuel economy is good (18/26), but again, it's only marginally better than the base V6 fuel economy of the F/S trucks. The Ram 1500 V6 is rated at 18/25. The F-150 with the new 2.7 Turbo is rated at 19/26, and Chevy's own Silverado is rated at 18/24 with the 4.3L V6.

So what's the point? It's a pretty nice truck and it looks OK, but (a) It is almost too big to fit into the niche for which previous mid-size trucks were made, (b) it is not significantly more economical than a comparably equipped full-size truck, and (c) since the dealers are not discounting them, the "out-the-door" price for a Colorado right now is essentially the same as what you would pay for, say, a V-6 Ram, F150, or Silverado.

It is said that Ford killed the Ranger because they were not profitable, and Ford figured most "Ford people" would buy an F150 when the Ranger went away. And this is why the Ranger will never be resurrected. To make it nicer they would make it bigger and more expensive, at which point the question becomes, "What's the point?"

Chevy sells a mini-pickup in Mexico called the Tornado. It's a stylish little, economical 4-cylinder truck like the old Datsun's and the original Tacoma. For someone who wants a small truck for household use or to run a little landscaping business, it would be ideal. That's what Chevy should have introduced this year.

That little truck they sell in Mexico would bomb here.

First of all, it would cost hundreds of thousands , if not more, of dollars to get that truck to pass us safety and emission standards, second of all, Americans WANT bigger trucks that's why they sell.

Myself, I have an F250 Super Duty with the biggest gas motor Ford puts in them, crew cab 4x4 short bed though. It's a big truck but when you need a truck you need a truck.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Crap. Wish I hadn't read this.


Chevy trucks
Ford trucks
Dodge trucks

Now I'll be laying awake nights, worrying about this.

 

[Jarlaxle]

The Colorado is, bluntly, a stupid vehicle. It gives you 90% of a fullsize truck size, 95% of the cost, and half the capability!

 

[DGS49]

The market justifications for smaller trucks are basically 3: (1) a full-size truck won't fit in many garages, so if you want a truck and live where there is a lot of snow & shit, a big truck is too much trouble to bother with; (2) big trucks are expensive gas hogs, and if you pay attention to what you spend on gas and put a lot of miles on (which I do right now), the penalty for driving a standard sized truck is severe; (3) 90% of household truck functionality can be achieved with a 5' bed, so few people really need a full-sized truck. You can carry mulch or topsoil, plantings, furniture, lumber, lawn equipment, and garden clippings just about as well with a 5' bed as you can with a 6' or 8' bed, which is why most trucks that are bought by households rather than businesses are crew cab models.

The U.S. domestic market has not had a legitimate "small" truck (discounting that little Subaru thing) for a long time, but I would wager that a well-designed truck like the original Datsun B2300 (or whatever it was), getting an honest 20/30mpg rating, and selling for $15-25k would sell like hotcakes. It wouldn't be terribly profitable, but a lot of people would buy them. Exhibit A: Chevy Tornado.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Americans won't like it? Illegal Aliens will. They'll use their Tax Return as a Down Payment!

American Safety and Emissions Standards? Don't you mean; North American Safety and Emissions Standards?