GM's ramping up production for Co and Canyon

rv bill-e wrote:
Sat in a Canyon at the car show. It felt about the same size as my ten year old Silverado. Whereas the new Sivlerado, and every other truck, felt huge.
As for the new Tacoma, got in, felt like I was sitting on the floor with my legs straight out in front, got out in twenty seconds with no further interest. They build those for small people. The Canyon was the truck I would have gone home with if buying that day. But the price, as with all truck prices these days, was shocking.

Last year we were looking for a new vehicle. I'm an old geezer, with a bad back, 6' 3", wide shoulders and 240 lbs and have a bad knee, as a result of too much hockey (defenceman) when I was young. I need a big, wide seat with a lot of legroom. I tried a number of cars, Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, Ford, Jeep and GM.

Of all the vehicles tested, only the Ford Explorer, Jeep Cherokee and Chevy Impala (new style version) gave me the room I need.

A salesman at the Nissan dealer in fact, told me, that my best fit would be American vehicles.

dodge guy wrote:
Until the brake pedal falls off.....then everyone else really needs to look out!!!

I`ve seen the 2 parked next to each other, the size difference isn't much. I see this new truck as a hit at first because it`s new, and then it will fizzle out. there is no need for a truck 7/8`s the size of the Silverado!

Quite right. :) I recall our neighbour's 7/8th scale Dodge Dakota....actually it was a very serviceable truck, useful, very nice vehicle.

I saw a GMC Canyon today, while I was out at the mall. Beautiful looking truck. Found myself checking it out quite a bit. Think GM has a hit on their hands with this and it seems to be garnering a fair amount of positive views and awards.

I like the Colorado/Canyon as well, especially the diesel. Right now the diesels seem to be really rare, and dealers don't even have many of the gas versions in stock compared to full size trucks. I'll be in the market for a daily driver in about 18 months that gets great mpg and can easily handle a travel trailer in the 4-5K dry range. The Colorado diesel fits that bill, but if I can get a Ram Ecodiesel for $5K less, that's more truck for the money. We will see how pricing goes once more Colorado diesels are available, but due to the way they are packaged, MSRP will be about $40K, and if they are in short supply the dealers won't be dealing. I can get a Ram Eco Tradesman equipped the way I want for around $35K.

Sat in a Canyon at the car show. It felt about the same size as my ten year old Silverado. Whereas the new Sivlerado, and every other truck, felt huge.
As for the new Tacoma, got in, felt like I was sitting on the floor with my legs straight out in front, got out in twenty seconds with no further interest. They build those for small people. The Canyon was the truck I would have gone home with if buying that day. But the price, as with all truck prices these days, was shocking.

I have a Silverado Duramax 2500HD crew cab. It fits in my garage, barely. I no longer need a truck that big. I bet a Colorado would fit nicely in the garage, and be just fine for my needs.

This size/class of truck is a very handy truck indeed. I have a '06 Frontier that I bought new. Daily driver, I use it around the horse farm when at home, and I use it to pull my small ( 19' funfinder ) travel trailer on average 6 months a year.
Honestly, this size truck would likely be a better fit for many of of the buyers of F150 class trucks, considering they way many use them. I suppose the "smaller" trucks just don't have the same macho appeal though, so we'll probably continue to see rather lackluster sales in the class.
I like the looks of the Colo/Canyon, but the deal stopper for me is they don't build them with a manual transmission with the V6. The Frontier and Tacoma still have manual 6 speeds available.

Dadoffourgirls wrote:

As for no need for 7/8s of a full-size, I can hardly wait for the other OEMs to start selling theirs in the US and watch the skepticism change.

I totally agree. Many people just simply want to drive something a little smaller than a full size pickup, even if the price and fuel economy are similar to the full size trucks. Ford offers many different SUV sizes (Escape, Edge, Flex, Explorer, Expedition), so what is wrong with offering two different sizes of pickups? I really like the Colorado/Canyon, and if I could get a new pickup today, that would be my choice.

Just got back from 4 weeks in the Philippines.

Saw the new Ford Ranger all over, but only saw 2 of the Colorado's. If Ford doesn't change the Ranger too much here, I believe it will give the twins a real run in sales. Probably leave them in the dust.

Having said that, I may trade for a Canyon, if I'm satisfied with the 2.8 Diesel. Would love to have one with the 5.3, or even the 4.6 gas engine. Just don't like the 3.6.

The other big sellers there that we will not see here are the Toyota Hilux, the Isuzu D Max and the Mitsubishi.

I believe I saw more Rangers than the Toyotas.

I don't like the way they look, which I know is superficial on my part. I'd prefer a Tacoma if I was in the market for a little truck.

A coworker had a Colorado Crew Cab Diesel for the weekend and loved the vehicle. They liked it so much they spec'd one out in the order system.

And yes, sales were down last month, by 434 vehicles. I could not find one the way I want it in dealer inventory. So I believe that their is still demand for this vehicle.

As for no need for 7/8s of a full-size, I can hardly wait for the other OEMs to start selling theirs in the US and watch the skepticism change.