Chevy Colorado --Motor Trend Truck of the year

[s219]

To me the limiting feature of the small/midsize trucks is the bed size, both width and length. You don't get a full 48" between wheel wells, and the longest box in the Canyon/Colorado is 6'2". I already see limitations with the 6'7" box in my Sierra sometimes, and would never want to go shorter.

 

[Red Horse]

Duh?? You think the MT award is a straight up "best vehicle wins" issue?? Do some research. It goes to whoever is going to give MT the most coverage AFTER the award is given. Everyone has to submit their plan as to how they would use the award in their marketing.

As for the "winning" vehicle, I myself like the size. I dont want a big truck. I have an 04 Ranger FX4 off road that has been in the family since new. I really had hoped Ford would build the T-6 Ranger in this country but supposedly Ford felt the market for a smaller truck was too small to warrant the plant investment.

We will see now just how well these GM's sell. If Ford is correct, they will steal sales from toyota and Nissan and probably from some loyal GM fans who will shift from full sized GMs. But the overall "small" truck market won't see huge gains.

On the other hand if the market grows substantially, we will see how long it takes Ford to one way or another come up with a US plant to build the T-6.

In the meantime we will see just how well the new 150 does when they are readily available after Dearborn ramps up production and the KC plant does likewise. Is the consumer going to spend a few bucks more for a 150 that gets the same or better gas mileage than a small GM and carries more? Or will he spend almost the same money for less truck and one that is every bit as thirsty.

Oh by the way, the Chevy Vega and Corvair were both MT Vehicle of the Year Winners:duh:

 

[s219]

If I remember right, one of Ford's reasons for killing off the Ranger in the US was that the F-150 did so much more with comparable fuel economy. Annually, they were selling hundreds of thousands of F-150s and barely 20,000 Rangers towards the end. Part of that may be due to the fact that the Ranger was very stale by the end, but I am sure Ford had the data they needed to drive the decision.

Now with Ford out of the way and Toyota/Nissan models stale, maybe that's enough opening for GM to be successful. It's one thing to bring a new product to a small market with good competition. But if entering the small market with product substantially newer/stronger than the competition, it's an opportunity.

 

[MossRoad]

So did the '74 Ford Mustang II.... hahahahaa

Here's a more complete list of past Mt car of the year winners. Not truck of the year, but car of the year...
Motor Trend Cars of the Year Complete Winners List

 

[jejeosborne]

Must be really frustrating for Ford to have this supposedly great ecoboost engine and aluminum body panels and the Dodge Eco deisel and GM Colorado are stealing all their thunder winning awards and contests.

Not sure why it would affect Ford or even be bought into this discussion as they are not in the same segment, but since you did...... The Combined MPG of the 2.7 liter ecoboost is equal to the Colorado's 4 cylinder engine and better than the V6 engine. Sounds perfect for someone looking for a smaller, less capable truck that uses more fuel. The same is true with the ecodiesel with the exception the ecodiesel gets better MPG but cost more per mile to drive. There is a market for all types of buyers and doubt the Colorado will pull from the larger truck segment. It will definitely cut into toyota and nissan numbers though.

 

[roadhunter]

LAffin. OMG it just keeps going and going and going like the energizer battery.

If you believe everything these guys write there would only be 1 manufacturer in the USA as according to them the others simply can't compete. But for some strange reason people still buy the other brands and the other brands sometimes get higher rankings and still win awards. From their perspective it must be puzzling.

I am still really looking forward to a Colorado diesel. Tune that baby up and you might be able to squeeze 40 mpg out of something like that. Sweet!

 

[RAS323]

Sorry I didn't include the competitors. 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year Contenders - Motor Trend

 

[Bota4me]

Ill take tried and true reliability over truck of the year unknown durability any day thats why for me my midsize tacoma still rules

 

[crazyal]

I looked at the Colorado, they had two at a mall and it looks like a car with a bed. The thing just looks like it has no ground clearance. Not sure who they are going to sell it to but I think it'll be old men and Chevy fans. Most of the young to middle aged men who buy this style truck either wants it to look like it can go off road (even if they never will) or want them for doing outdoor sports like kayaking and fishing. Just looking at this picture from Chevy's website you can see what I'm talking about.

 

[roadhunter]

I looked at the Colorado, they had two at a mall and it looks like a car with a bed. The thing just looks like it has no ground clearance. Not sure who they are going to sell it to but I think it'll be old men and Chevy fans. Most of the young to middle aged men who buy this style truck either wants it to look like it can go off road (even if they never will) or want them for doing outdoor sports like kayaking and fishing. Just looking at this picture from Chevy's website you can see what I'm talking about.

Interesting. We have 1 poster who says it's the size of a car with no clearance and another who says it's the size of an older 1/2 ton truck.

My guess is that being smaller will be really appealing to people. Easier to drive in traffic, park, change lanes, etc... Will fit much better in most smaller garages yet still offers the ability to haul things in the bed. Looking back its' almost strange how big our vehicles have gotten compared to the old days of s-10's, luv trucks, Datsun, Mitsubishi, Ranger, Toyota, Nissan, etc... when we had much smaller trucks that got better mileage.

When you look at other countries smaller vehicles are much more popular than they are here. I guess we just like them big here in America.