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Workhorsese come in all sizes from
ponies to giant Clydesdales, so why shouldn't the vehicles that emulate them?
Apparently
vehicle makers see the relationship. If not, there wouldn't be so many variations
of those utilitarian trucks around from so many different companies.
While
pickup wars have been raging in the full-size segment (witness Nissan's Triton
and Ford's new F150 for example), there's another whole dimension getting attention
from General Motors. GM's upcoming Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsized
pickups for 2004 are a totally new design that could rekindle a war in the smaller-sized
pickup category.
The Colorado/Canyon is a tad bigger than the aging four-wheel-drive
S10 pickup it eventually will phase out. But that's by design. The size gives
those new pickups a little more usefulness and a bit more room for distinctive
differences without pitting them against GM's full-size Silverado/Sierra pickup
models.
It's doubtful the Colorado/Canyon would be your local contractor's
workhorse vehicle covered with layers of mud at a construction site. And it's
probably not first choice for the country cowboy who counts on it the way his
predecessor a century ago would have depended on the four-legged variety. Something
less than full size probably wouldn't fit either image.
Today's midsize
buyer is more apt to be someone younger and less likely to choose a full-size
pickup, but who still wants a "real truck," according Colorado's marketing
director, Janet Eckhoff.
Long gone is the barebones pickup that a few decades
ago might have rattled down the road with little more than windshield wipers and
a running board as amenities. Like other models in its class, the Colorado/Canyon
has gone far beyond the basics as pickups increasingly become car substitutes
similar to their sport utility kin, wearing the same kinds of appearance packages,
luxurious interiors and high tech amenities.
The Colorado/Canyon, for example,
has a number of comfort and security options depending on the model, including
heated leather seats, remote locking system, XM Satellite Radio, a driver information
system and GM's OnStar safety communications system. Safety features include fold-in
side view mirrors and front dual-stage air bags. Battery save and antilock braking
systems are standard. And available options include side curtain air bags, automatic
locking differential, traction control (a first in the segment for rear drive)
and shift-on-the-fly four-wheel-drive.
GM calls its new midsize pickup
aerodynamic, smooth and quiet, and credits its "superb torsional rigidity"
for some of that effect. This one isn't meant to be a show-only vehicle. Its underpinnings
include a ladder-type frame to give greater stiffness and strength plus durability
that underscores its design as a true work truck.
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For
those who need to do hauling, there are built-in resting points above the wheel
wells and on the two-stage tailgate to accommodate a full, 4 X 8-foot sheet of
construction material. And for traveling off-road, a high-ride Z71 model adds
an inch-and-a-half more ground clearance.
Families seem to be a big factor
in the decision to purchase a midsize pickup truck, according to Eckhoff. Women,
she said, buy about 13 to 15 percent of those vehicles. But they account for about
33 percent of the crew cab models, the style with four car-like doors and a relatively
roomy back seat. "It's sort of like a sport utilty with a truck bed on the
end," she said. Less popular among women are the extend cab models, with
a small "clamshell" door for rear seat access or the regular cab version
with only one row of seats.
Midsize pickups have become more friendly for
families. The Colorado and Canyon models include federally mandated child seat
anchors, four door child locks, front seat airbag "off" switches for
regular cab models and the same three point safety belts found in automobiles.
Both
the Colorado and Canyon versions have two available inline powerplants, the base
Vortec 2800 2.8 liter I-4, with 175 horwsepower, and the optional DOHC Vortec
3.5 liter I-5, that pumps out 220 h orsepower at 5600 rpm and 225 lbft. of torque.
It also comes standard with a stick shift and optional automatic, plus two-wheel
or four-wheel drive versions.
GM expects to make about 185,000 of those
midsize pickups a year, and should reach full poduction in the first quarter of
2004. Eight-two percent will be badged as the Chevrolet including its ZQ8 "low-rider"
version not available as a GMC, while the balance will be sold as Canyons. Pricing
was to be announced in mid-August.
A lot of women now buying pickup trucks
aren't abandoning automobiles to do so, said Eckhoff. Instead, many are leaving
their sport utilities behind. As women take on more heavy duty tasks in their
daily lives, it's not hard to understand why.
Eckhoff, herself, checks
off a multitude of typical errands she encounters when time allows -- including
ones that require a lot of space to move things. That could include trips to the
local home improvement warehouse, hauling picnic or school supplies, or picking
up plants at the local nursery.
"I love it when I have a pickup at
home and I can run off and do that kind of stuff," she said.
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