Is this truck another case of "too little, too late?" The current Colorado I-5 engine okay, but it's nothing to get your blood boiling; worse still, power-hungry small truck customers felt the same way, and have stayed away from Chevy (and GMC) dealers in droves. Shouldn't this V8-powered version debuted when this current generation Colorado was announced a few years ago?
When it was announced that the Hummer H3 was getting a 5.3L V8 option, it was also (unofficially) confirmed that the Colorado would also get that engine. No one, however, figured on the financial industry collapse, and the resulting domino effect it would have on the auto and other industries. So will this be a savior for this truck line, or just another example of a great idea coupled to miserable timing?
billt9 says:
08:00 AM, 12/26/08
Is this engine a used car retrofit?
What a crappy looking truck inside and out. Everything about this truck is an anachronism from 1995.
orangutan says:
08:10 AM, 12/26/08
My thoughts exactly, billt9.
firstwagon says:
09:37 AM, 12/26/08
Trouble is once you get the required options, it will be almost as much as the full size. And given the killer deals you can get on a full size pick up these days, the only reason to one one of these will big discounts (or if you have a narrow garage).
They should offer the 5.3 on all trim levels so sport truck guys can get it in a base 2wd, reg cab and build their own truck. That would be interesting (and a cheap starting point).
the_big_al says:
05:18 PM, 12/26/08
This truck was doomed from day one. It was never very well put together, was designed before GM decided to try and actually try to improve their interiors, they also partnered with Isuzu to design a world-market truck and that didn't translate very well into a small truck that Americans would want to buy. It's cheesy plastic interior and anemic motor coupled with 1st year reliability problems have probably sunk this truck. Besides all that, once you loaded it up with options that would make the truck livable and not just an "appliance", it cost almost as much as a full-size truck - even before the gas crunch and the heavy incentives on anything with a V8.
I have always like the exterior styling sans the funky turn signal/headlamp location, but the style is good as long as the lights are off. The truck looks aggressive, but not too over the top like the Frontier or the Tacoma. The interior has always been hard for me to swallow though. Sure it's functional, but I find the interior in my 8 year old S-10 better and it was designed in 1998!
So even with the V8, I don't think it will help this truck overcome it's other glaring shortcomings and without a drastic makeover, this truck, especially with the situation GM is in now will go the way of the Dodo...
bbechtel16 says:
02:08 PM, 12/29/08
Good news I guess; but I still don't get why they didn't design this truck with the sweet I-6 in mind when Dodge had been offering a V8 Dakota forever.