Just like the days of Mini Vans. Mini Vans are going extinct as well.
Chevy Blazer --- Bronco Wrangler fighter?
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In my neck of the woods, probably SUVs (crossover-flavor) are the minivan of today, but there are a lot of 4 door Wrangler Unlimiteds being driven by the soccer moms of the affluent.
3 of the soccer moms by me switched to 4 door broncos from jeeps.... I don't think cars are necessarily dead but that the people that buy them end up keeping them a while. New sales might outpace but there are still way more sedans on the road around here albeit older models.
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My dealers head salesmen when I asked if GM was going to come out with something to compete against the Maverick, he said "no but it is a nice little truck"
then I google and see the car pundits saying they are going to import the small South American Truck, thing is, that truck has a 1.3 ltr motor, with 1,000lb tow rating, kind of like the Hyundai truck-let...where the Maverick has a 4,000 tow rating
then I google and see the car pundits saying they are going to import the small South American Truck, thing is, that truck has a 1.3 ltr motor, with 1,000lb tow rating, kind of like the Hyundai truck-let...where the Maverick has a 4,000 tow rating
I did, that's where I got the numbers.
Pretty much what I was thinking. Small, midsize and large. You could also throw in an economy hatch back and call it a crossover (what the Trax kinda is) and an offroad oriented SUV, possibly based on the Colorado (what this thread is about). What you don't need is a Trax and Trailblaser SUV or a Blazer and Traverse. You could even rename the Suburban the Tahoe XL or something, they really are the same thing other than length.
I'm not sure car sales are dead. For sure trucks and suvs dominate the US market, but a lot of other manufacturers have a wide range of cars available. In the near future, maybe dead, but for now it seems performance or muscle or sporty is associated with cars. What surprises me is that people still buy so many cars like Honda Civic/Accords or Toyota Corolla/Camrys. Those seem like the perfect boring utilitarian vehicle to be replaced with a crossover or SUV.
You mean like GMC did with the Yukon? I think Cadillac did something similar with the Escalade.
Exactly. Doesn't change what is really offered but it simplifies the lineup and makes for less confusion. Like when you could buy a coupe or liftback version of the same car, not a separate model (does anyone still do that?).
The green one at the bottom is a friend of mines Blaze. It is very nice. He even rigged up a hoist to remove the top in the garage by himself.
I first saw they were going to replace the Blazer with the Tahoe I thought that will never work. Well the Tahoe sales proved me wrong.
Some where along the way people started to chose 4 doors over 2 for ease of entry. Same today applies to the Wrangler.
GM needs a life style vehicle like the Jeep. A removable roof and doors. These models are the new pony cars as they can be modified but not touch the emissions. Women love the removable tops. It just is cool with the younger buyers. We sell Jeep parts today like Mustang parts in the 80’s.
I would love to have a 72 Blazer.
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GM changed the body style with the 73 model and while I loved mine, it was a real POS. The tops cracked in the rear along a seam due to the body flex. This wasn't limited to a few, literally every one of them cracked, even if you didn't go off-road, although off roading certainly exacerbated the problem. I had mine fixed 5 times. The last fix kind of worked, it that it limited the crack to a joint that at least didn't spread or leak. To "fix" the top issue, GM redesigned the truck making the the cab portion metal and permanent with just the back half removable. This change happened with the 75 model, IIRC.
Then there was the sheet metal. GM bought the steel from Japan and it literally started rusting within a year. With poor drain designs that quickly clogged with leaves and debris, fenders were rusting through within 3 years, whether the truck was rustproofed or not. Within 5 years of introduction, you couldn't find a 73 model in the "salt belt" that wasn't a rust bucket.
Lastly was the under powered V8. The muscle car era was definitely over and the Blazer 350 had something like 165 hp rating, making it a real dog.
Still, the body lines were iconic, the short wheel base helped with weight distribution, the removable top made for great good weather driving and the tried and true straight front axle made for easy lifting and gear swaps. Plus the engine bay had plenty of room to hold any engine you wanted to drop in with ease. Increasing tire size was relatively easy and removing the rear seat (4 bolts) gave reasonable storage area.
Shots of mine:
I never got to own one but I had three friends with them. I got to drive there’s and had wished to buy one one day.
One was a 72 that even had air conditioning. Another a mid 70’s then my boss bought the last year of the square body in the 80’s.
The 72 was my favorite. It was clean and had the full removable roof. It leaked but that top off on a nice day was fun.
I had a co worker who had a first Gen Bronco back in the 80’s. I drove it often. 4 speed 302. But it was like a bad Jeep and Jeeps were already bad in that era. It was clean and back then it was seen as odd.
The Bronco was oddly rust free and un modified. Back then most the bodies were gone and they were jacked up some how.
I still would like to find a clean 70’s short bed GM truck and put a LS in it. Just a slight lift like the one Rocky had on Rockford Files.
I am not a fan of the removable door thing. I work at GM in Global Vehicle Safety and I would be worried about a side intrusion accident. Side doors have beams in them for a reason. I have never liked the removable roof either. Had a couple of F bodies in the 80's, 78 T/A and 80 Z28, with T Tops, I didn't like the open feel above my head. I probably would not like a convertible either. I am not sure why all the excitement about the Bronco, as mentioned earlier, the old ones weren't very good. I am not sure they were as bad as an old Jeep but they were close. The new one is not the same. It is aimed at the upscale crowd and price. Old Broncos were relatively cheap when new. They were not a status symbol just a utilitarian vehicle.
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