Car and drivers Colorado vs 2016 tacoma !

Mark great idea, that new truck should have no issue pulling that load. That DMax sounds like a winner, in a year or so u may be able to find one low miles and used. Keep us posted.
Kris

We have downsized to a 29 ft tt weighing in at only 5000 pounds. always had an 8000 plus camper. I love having this lighter camper !! and yet it does everything our heavier ones have. All that said because I am thinking Colorado crew duramax would be a perfect truck for everyday use and for our new tow vehicle. Better start saving now !

Funny discussing the manual vs auto in transmissions. I have always preferred an stick shift till a few years ago. Now I like the modern 6 speeds autos in the newer trucks. Don't get me wrong, my 69 is a manual and I love it. Heck any corvette or other sports car I prefer a manual transmission. The other day I was driving my 69 C10 around, the I jumped back into my 09 and can say that I really like both. The 69 is such a simple truck verse the new ones, and is a blast to drive when u got a mild 350 putting out 325hp and 3 on the floor. Ok back to the post... So I actually saw a new Colorado today and I will say great job GM! If I had a smaller camper I would be looking at one with the 2.8 Duramax.... Just saying

Nice truck the Colorado. I have the same 3.6 V6 (305 hp) in my 2015 Impala and the car does scoot.

I also have a GM 6 speed automatic (different then the Colorado as the Impala is FWD)and after driving 1000's of miles in mountainous parts of Wyoming and Montana a month ago, I can attest to the efficiency of the an automatic transmission with a manual mode.

For downhill use, I hit M and shifted down to second, sometimes first...engine braking was great and very useful. No riding brakes like many I saw in front of me. Yes, I've had older GM and Fords and downshifted, but the new 6 speed automatic with Manual mode, really works better, IMO.

BTW, aren't the 6 speed FWD automatics, that Ford and GM use... developed as a joint project between GM and Ford ?

And are not the new GM/Ford trucks transmissions coming out also a joint Ford/GM deal ?

BTW, from 16 to about 31 years of age, I drove nothing but manual transmissions, both in personal vehicles and work trucks. I liked shifting, I like manuals, but manuals are scarce. Even a number of class 8 trucks have automatics with manual modes now.

BTW, although the new Colorado is a great mid size truck, the previous generation Colorado was no slouch. My son bought a new 2008 Colorado Z 71 in 2008, drove it till April 2014. He put on almost 130K in that time period and had very little difficulty. He had a leaking power steering hose and a broken speaker wire...that was it.

His job required him to leave his truck outside with no plug for a block heater for up to 10-11 hours at a time, in -30 weather or worse. It always started up.

We live in a Canadian province that has long, extreme winters. Vehicles take a beating in this inhospitable climate.

It was comfortable, relatively powerful ( 5 cylinder 242 hp) and an all around rugged vehicle.

Can't beat that.

...heh, heh....y'all can call me a Neanderthal if you like, but I still prefer a manual gearbox !! :)

There's a reason why we used to call automatics, "his and hers transmissions" ;) all those guys that wanted a four speed in their Corvette of Camaro, had to get an automatic to keep momma happy :R
Yep...you guessed it.... I had four speeds in both my Corvette and my Z28 back in the day.

EDIT: I suspect the whole automatic vs manual debate is like a lot of things in our modern society. "Most" people want a "push-button" life. Ben and I are are from an older generation...a generation where people still did a lot of things for themselves. I still make furniture and props in my woodworking shop for my daughter's photo studio . She could buy these props commercially by simply pushing some buttons on her computer and have it delivered. I prefer to do it the manual way, by building stuff myself. Same with a horse... I still prefer a horse that needs a "lot of manual control" to get him to do what I want.
Others like doing things the easy way. For them, there are automatic transmissions...and a lot of other automation as well. To each his own.

All opinion (AKA personal choice) and know I'm in the vast minority when it comes
to an auto vs manual...

Am almost 70 and still prefer a manual for my TRUCKS. Especially off roaders

As for my 'car', sure thing...prefer an automatic

The biggest/best invention for an automatic is the TC lock up...okay toss in
external ATF cooler to that

Soooooo many of the bells and whistles are fads...some do make it into standard
accepted stuff for TRUCKs

When ordering my Suburban back in 95...all the sales folks were pitching some
of the latest...how many cup holders vs the others was the biggest...with the
"oh my gosh...no 4x4 shifter on the floor"... :R

When my 1980 Silverado dad gave me goes...would consider one of these,
but then for that kind of money...I could cruise the Calif Central Valley
looking for a 1950's pickup and rebuild it from the ground up to my liking

No smog anything, no smog checks, etc. Keep it simple but with
a turbo and updated junk yard suspension/etc...but the pickup won't
be used to tow anything other than a utility trailer and haul stuff

AND still have tons of $$$ left over for other hobby stuff...like looking
for a used Henry Big Boy 44mag right now...about wet my pants every
time see a picture of one :B

ricatic wrote:
The "what...no manual" crowd reminds me of the HD crowd back when Ford and GM decided not to spend many millions of dollars to develop a new manual that could handle the high torque numbers of the modern diesel HD pickup...oh, how they cried foul...but they ignore the simple truth...If there was a market for a manual transmission in these trucks...and I mean a real market, not just the handful that post here, these manufacturer's would be offering them

I don't know the what the take rate for a manual Colorado/Canyon might actually be but my guess is it's the same ridiculously low "less than 1.5%" take rate" on the HD trucks...no market so no availability...

Now before all the manual fans get all upset with me, I have over a million miles of manual transmission driving...in everything from small cars to semi tractor trucks...I was driving a 13 speed International a couple of weeks ago personally, I hope to never own another manual transmission truck...but I respect the manual fans right to ask for one...

Regards

The modern day automatic is superior in every way. For pulling in my 1 ton I prefer a auto. But for a small run around vehicle I prefer a manual. You are right we are a dyeing breed and not enough demand for most mfg to offer a manual. Most young people have never even seen a clutch and stick shift.

The "what...no manual" crowd reminds me of the HD crowd back when Ford and GM decided not to spend many millions of dollars to develop a new manual that could handle the high torque numbers of the modern diesel HD pickup...oh, how they cried foul...but they ignore the simple truth...If there was a market for a manual transmission in these trucks...and I mean a real market, not just the handful that post here, these manufacturer's would be offering them

I don't know the what the take rate for a manual Colorado/Canyon might actually be but my guess is it's the same ridiculously low "less than 1.5%" take rate" on the HD trucks...no market so no availability...

Now before all the manual fans get all upset with me, I have over a million miles of manual transmission driving...in everything from small cars to semi tractor trucks...I was driving a 13 speed International a couple of weeks ago personally, I hope to never own another manual transmission truck...but I respect the manual fans right to ask for one...

Regards

I think there is a lot they can do yet to expand the appeal of this line of pickups. Making the Dmax available across the entire line, adding a manual, adding a regular cab to the mix, make an SUV off that platform, bring back the ZR2, add some higher end content such as sunroof. Bringing in the Denali version hopefully will provide the higher end content. I wish they could check all these boxes at once, but I get it I guess. Right now they are selling like hot cakes, perhaps once supply and demand get in line they can work on expanding it. I think the entire midsize pickup concept has great promise as long as they don't drive it into the ditch. Seeing this head to head comparo holds great hope. I was really waiting to see how the Twins would do when Toyota released the new Taco. Regardless of who you think won, I think it is safe to say that GM is very competitive.

gmw photos wrote:
The Toyota has one huge, major, game changing advantage for "me": you can still get a six speed manual gearbox with the V6 engine.

It's a shame GM decided to go with only an automatic transmission in the Colorado/Canyon.

I wonder if that Toyota can be towed 4 down yet?