A Glimpse Of Chevy's Compact Pickup Future
Well, we’ve accidentally developed something a of a Chevy theme this morning, what with the Cobalt and 2013 Malibu… and now this, the Colorado Rally Concept, a first look at the next generation of GM compact pickups. Though the concept’s 2.8 liter turbodiesel engine is unlikely to make it to the US, Pickuptrucks.com reports
According to manufacturing documents we’ve obtained, the Colorado’s start of regular production is slated for Oct. 3, 2011, in Thailand and Jan. 16, 2012, in Brazil, where it will likely be sold as the S-10.
According to our sources, the code names for the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon versions for North America are 31XC and 31XG. Start of U.S. manufacturing is scheduled for around July 2014, though production of the current Colorado and Canyon are expected to end by 2012 at the plant in Shreveport, La.
Aimed directly at the global pickup segment defined by Toyota’s HiLux and Ford’s Global Ranger, the Colorado looks to be larger than the typical compact pickup and represents a fundamentally different strategy than Chrysler’s planned minivan-based “lifestyle pickup.” And don’t look now, but tough midsized trucks like this could be as much a replacement for current full-size buyers as gas prices and CAFE standards rise, as they could be true entry-level compacts. But then, we’ll need to see how much this global vehicle is modified for the US market before we really know what we’re getting here.
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Genuinely small pickups used to sell in big numbers, but years of inexpensive fuel killed people's willingness to deal with cramped interiors. As small pickups were scaled up to have roomy, comfortable cabs, the entire trucks ended up bigger. Then they needed bigger engines and capabilities to match their size. I really like the idea of a sub-3,000 lb pickup that keeps up with traffic and gets 25 mpg with a 4-cylinder engine, but I was origamied into 1987 Toyota pickups when I was a 6'2" inch, 175 lb teenager. I'd be tortured as a 225 lb adult. Those little Toyotas were tough as nails, and I was impressed when I drove a rusty old leaf-sprung 4x4 Yota up a mountain stream bed, but even then I didn't want to contemplate having my knees in face while sitting 4 feet off the ground on a daily basis. My friend's 2008 Tacoma is a Range Rover by comparison. It only gets 18 mpg in DC traffic, but that's actually about what his car gets there too.
Chevy missed it. Nice looking truck and really like that rack in the back.. but no easy fold down midgate??? They should have built something that looked more like the 2001 k5 concept.