Wild-Ass Rumor Of The Day: GM Re-Committing To Compact Pickup Market?

by Edward Niedermeyer

Updated: July 14th, 2010 Published: May 26th, 2010

wild ass rumor of the day gm re committing to compact pickup market

If you’ve been reading TTAC regularly, you might have noticed that many of us have something of a soft spot for compact pickup trucks. And what started for me as an innate affinity for all forms of cheap, honest, rugged transportation has become full-blown affection on the strength of several months driving a ’92 Toyota with four-cylinders, four-wheel-drive and a manual transmission. Of course, all auto writers struggle with the disconnect between their personal taste and that of the buying public, and cheap full-sized trucks seem to have eliminated all chances of a re-investment in the segment. Ford, for one, has said that it plans on “replacing” its aged Ranger (which dies next year) with Ecoboost-powered F150 options and its Focus hatchback. Dodge, or Ram, or whoever builds the trucks in Auburn Hills is said to be considering an unibody Dakota replacement, but hasn’t made a peep about it in months. Meanwhile, GM is shutting down Canyon/Colorado production at its Shreveport plant by 2012, ending its half-hearted competition in the segment. But, according to Pickuptrucks.com (which is usually one of the best at breaking these kinds of stories), GM is considering a new entry into the otherwise neglected segment.

This is one of those “anonymous sources” deals, and the details are still very fuzzy, but the gist is that

GM is said to be working on a new compact runabout that’s reminiscent of the original Chevrolet S-10, according to our sources… The key elements of success for GM’s future small truck would be fuel economy that’s greater than its full-size pickups and a window sticker that’s significantly less. It would also be a completely different and smaller platform than the planned next-generation overseas version of the Colorado that will be built in Thailand.

According to the report, the fact that other automakers are neglecting the segment, and the recent growth in the size of the Toyota Tacoma have “opened the door” for a possible neo-S-10. Color us intrigued.

#Chevrolet #CompactPickups #GM #Trucks #WildAssRumorOfTheDay

Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 45 comments

Bill Safreed on Jun 17, 2010

Just sold my '94 Ranger 4WD automatic, 4.0 V-6. Had it since '96. Will miss it great little truck, but it was nickle and diming us. Just before I sold it had it in for shocks and oil change and A/C recharge, only it needed a new condenser too, total to the tune of $620! Before that it had been another condenser, spring brackets, all the brake lines, master cylinder, three starters, alternator, valve cover, valve cover gaskets (never did solve the oil leaking however) and various and sundry little pieces and parts. I guy in the market for one saw it at the shop, the mechanic knew I was going to sell it, he offered me $3000 cash and I took it. Have an '05 Silverado 2500HD Crew cab now to tow a livestock trailer and run around town in (In my rural area NO ONE gives you the stink-eye for driving a full size P/U or SUV).

Like Reply
Also Tom on Jul 10, 2010

I'm having a terrible time wrapping my brain around the phrase "built in Thailand."

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Jkross22 Their bet to just buy an existing platform from GM rather than build it from the ground up seems like a smart move. Building an infrastructure for EVs at this point doesn't seem like a wise choice. Perhaps they'll slow walk the development hoping that the tides change over the next 5 years. They'll probably need a longer time horizon than that.
Lou_BC Hard pass
TheEndlessEnigma These cars were bought and hooned. This is a bomb waiting to go off in an owner's driveway.
Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Thankfully I don't have to deal with GDI issues in my Frontier. These cleaners should do well for me if I win.
Theflyersfan Serious answer time...Honda used to stand for excellence in auto engineering. Their first main claim to fame was the CVCC (we don't need a catalytic converter!) engine and it sent from there. Their suspensions, their VTEC engines, slick manual transmissions, even a stowing minivan seat, all theirs. But I think they've been coasting a bit lately. Yes, the Civic Type-R has a powerful small engine, but the Honda of old would have found a way to get more revs out of it and make it feel like an i-VTEC engine of old instead of any old turbo engine that can be found in a multitude of performance small cars. Their 1.5L turbo-4...well...have they ever figured out the oil dilution problems? Very un-Honda-like. Paint issues that still linger. Cheaper feeling interior trim. All things that fly in the face of what Honda once was. The only thing that they seem to have kept have been the sales staff that treat you with utter contempt for daring to walk into their inner sanctum and wanting a deal on something that isn't a bare-bones CR-V. So Honda, beat the rest of your Japanese and Korean rivals, and plug-in hybridize everything. If you want a relatively (in an engineering way) easy way to get ahead of the curve, raise the CAFE score, and have a major point to advertise, and be able to sell to those who can't plug in easily, sell them on something that will get, for example, 35% better mileage, plug in when you get a chance, and drives like a Honda. Bring back some of the engineering skills that Honda once stood for. And then start introducing a portfolio of EVs once people are more comfortable with the idea of plugging in. People seeing that they can easily use an EV for their daily errands with the gas engine never starting will eventually sell them on a future EV because that range anxiety will be lessened. The all EV leap is still a bridge too far, especially as recent sales numbers have shown. Baby steps. That's how you win people over.