QOTD: Yea or Nay to the Blazer Name Game?

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

It seems there were no shortage of comments left on our 2019 Chevrolet Blazer story after it went up last night. Sorry for keeping you all up, feverishly pounding those keys. But could there not be? The decision to resurrect a fairly fondly remembered name and apply it to a less-rugged vehicle was bound to spark controversy. Twitter, that bastion of right-thinking hot takes, was aflame.

You can’t always get what you want, some might say. The middle ground in Chevy’s crossover space is too lucrative to field anything other than what we got. Sure, the model isn’t what us die-hards hoped for, they’d say, but a two-door, body-on-frame SUV just doesn’t fly, and the development costs and resulting MSRP would place it outside the hole Chevy intended to fill.

Screw that, others might say. Ever heard of the Bronco? No one shoved a .38 in the small of Chevy’s back, forcing it to dust off the Blazer name for this particular model.

Amazingly, especially given my very GM-centric upbringing, I have no experience with a Blazer, though I have spent time in a first-generation Jimmy (front-mounted spare, white Tremclad bumpers) and an Envoy. For the first model especially, “indestructable” is the word that first comes to mind.

Heritage holds weight, so it’s little wonder Chevy decided to go with a nameplate that carries significant name recognition. For the same reason, it’s no wonder why many are upset. By calling this midsize, unibody crossover the Blazer, GM made it clear we’re not going to see a latter-day revival of the BOF ute in showrooms anytime soon, if ever. Ford went in a different direction when it opted to return the Bronco name on a 2020 BOF SUV (we’re waiting, with bated breath, to see just how faithful this model actually is).

If there’s no plan to ever fill that same SUV space again, why not make use of available historic names? Something new doesn’t erase the past, it just clouds the memory. And sales remain unaffected by words (unless those words are “recall,” “unreliable,” and “explosion”). Plenty of shoppers are bound to like what they see in the new Blazer, and they won’t galloping into the showroom simply because of a returning nameplate.

On the same note, a person with absolutely no desire to ever own a midsize crossover will continue keeping his or her distance from midsize crossovers. Advantage: GM.

So, how about it? Do you still feel stung, or have you gotten over it already? Or do you care at all what GM does with a name like Blazer?

[Image: General Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • 2000ChevyImpalaLS 2000ChevyImpalaLS on Jun 22, 2018

    Those who say the K5 was replaced by the S-series Blazer forget that the K-5 Blazer stayed around in it's most recognizable (squarebody) form through 1991, and became the Tahoe when folks decided 4 doors were better than 2, but a Suburban was just too much. But the smaller Blazer was a pretty decent machine itself. I still see plenty of them around, decades after they went out of production, so GM must've gotten something right. I've looked in to buying one a time or two. I've mentioned this before, but my first vehicle was a '78 K-5. I loved that truck. I'm not thrilled with the idea of putting the Blazer name on an _UV, but I won't lose any sleep over it, either. And honestly, neither will anyone here. I hope they at least offer a 4WD/AWD version.

  • WildcatMatt WildcatMatt on Jul 11, 2018

    My gut reaction is that yes, I would like the resurrection of old nameplates be reasonably related to the original or at least best-known iteration of the original. So yeah, I don't really want to see a bland _UV with the Wildcat appellation. That being said, Aspen seemed like a decent SUV name despite it having nothing in common with the F-body original. And remember that the Voyager was a full-size van and the Town & Country was a station wagon before they were minivans. As far as destroying nameplate brand equity, you can be sure Chevy focus-grouped this to within an inch of its life. If it was likely a majority of buyers would reject the name, they would have left it mothballed.

  • Arthur Dailey Good. Whatever upsets the Chinese government is fine with me. And yes they are probably monitoring this thread/site.
  • Jalop1991 WTO--the BBB of the international trade world.
  • Dukeisduke If this is really a supplier issue (Dana-Spicer? American Axle?), Kia should step up and say they're going to repair the vehicles (the electronic parking brake change is a temporary fix) and lean on or sue the supplier to force them to reimburse Kia Motors for the cost of the recall.Neglecting the shaft repairs are just going to make for some expensive repairs for the owners down the road.
  • MaintenanceCosts But we were all told that Joe Biden does whatever China commands him to!
  • Rick T. If we really cared that much about climate change, shouldn't we letting in as many EV's as possible as cheaply as possible?
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