Chevrolet Colorado

For the vehicle of the same name sold in Thailand, see Isuzu D-Max.

Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon

Manufacturer	General Motors
Production	2004–present (U.S.) 2004–present (Thailand)
Assembly	Shreveport, Louisiana, United States Rayong, Thailand
Predecessor	Chevrolet S-10 / GMC Sonoma
Class	Mid-size pickup truck
Body style	2-door regular cab 4-door extended cab 4-door crew cab
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel drive/four-wheel drive
Platform	GMT355
Engine	2.8 L (171 cu in) LK5 I4 2.9 L (177 cu in) LLV I4 3.5 L (214 cu in) L52 220hp I5[1] 3.7 L (226 cu in) LLR I5 5.3 L (323 cu in) LH8 V8
Transmission	5-speed manual 4-speed automatic
Wheelbase	Regular cab 111.2 in (2,824 mm) Extended cab 126 in (3,200 mm)
Length	Regular cab 192 in (4,877 mm) Extended cab 207.1 in (5,260 mm)
Width	68 in (1,727 mm)[2]
Height	65 in (1,651 mm)
Related	Isuzu i-Series Holden Rodeo Isuzu D-Max Hummer H3 Hummer H3T Isuzu MU-7

The Chevrolet Colorado and its counterpart, the GMC Canyon, are mid-size pickup trucks by American carmaker General Motors. It was introduced in 2004 to replace the Chevrolet S-10 and GMC Sonoma compact pickups.

First generation (2004-2012)

Isuzu, which participated in the design of the truck, began selling its own version in late 2005, named the "i-Series". The Chevrolet Colorado was jointly designed by GM's North American operations, GM's Brazil operations, and Isuzu, based on the GMT355, itself the basis for the GMT 345-based Hummer H3. The vehicles are manufactured at a GM plant in Rayong, Thailand, and in Shreveport, Louisiana.

2010 Chevrolet Colorado extended cab

Chevrolet Colorado Xtreme extended cab

GMC Canyon crew cab

The Colorado/Canyon offer both manual and automatic transmissions. GM also offers either a rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive drivetrain with standard, extended, and four-door crew cab body styles. Most models come with the 2.8 L (171 cu in) LK5 I4 engine as standard, but a more powerful 3.5 L (214 cu in) L52 Straight-5 comes with the Z71 package on 4-door versions and is optional on all others. The 4-door Z71s also get the 4-speed automatic transmission standard. This package was later dropped in favor of LT2 and LT3.

A ZQ8 edition is available with a lower and more road-tuned "sport" suspension than the standard Z85 and comes with 17 inch wheels, color-matched bumper and grille, and low profile fender flares. There is also a Xtreme edition of the ZQ8 which has a different front bumper, rear bumper, side skirts, fender flares, grille, headlights, and 18 inch wheels. The Xtreme edition is basically a continuation of a trim package from its predecessor, the Chevrolet S-10.

For 2007, Colorado/Canyon was facelifted and offered new engines, which include the 2.9 L (177 cu in) LLV I4 and 3.7 L (226 cu in) LLR I5, new colors — Deep Ruby (Sonoma Red for the Canyon), Pace Blue (Sport Blue for the Canyon) and Imperial Blue (Midnight Blue for the Canyon), and new tires and wheels. Minor changes to the grille and interior for the LT and LTZ models; the LS models kept the same pre-facelift look, similar to the facelift of the TrailBlazer in 2005 & 2006. In addition, the "Colorado" & "Canyon" badges were phased out from the doors in favour of GM's corporate logo. For model year 2009, the Colorado was facelifted again and a 5.3 L (323 cu in) LH8 V8 is offered, producing 300 hp (224 kW) and 320 lb·ft (434 N·m). For the 2010 model year, the GM badges were phased out from those trucks,^[3] although fewer 2010 models had the GM logo on the doors.

Colorado/Canyon U.S. sales peaked in 2005 at 163,204 units, surpassing the perennial segment leader, the Ford Ranger, Nissan Frontier, by almost 35% and just 3.3% behind the new best-seller, the Toyota Tacoma. In 2006, however, while still leading the Ford pickup by 27.5%, Colorado/Canyon's sales lagged their Toyota competitor's by almost 34%. One 2005 Canyon owned by successful U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown became famous as it was widely featured in his TV advertisements.^[4]

Despite crew cabs being limited to LT trims which most other Chevrolet vehicles only offer front bucket seating with the trim; the LT crew cabs are the only trims of the Colorado to have 6-passenger seating (i.e. with front bench seating).

Engines

Years	Engine	Power	Torque
2004–2006	2.8 L (173 cu in) LK5 I4	175 hp (130 kW)	185 lb·ft (251 N·m)
2007–present	2.9 L (178 cu in) LLV I4	185 hp (138 kW)	190 lb·ft (258 N·m)[5]
2004–2006	3.5 L (214 cu in) L52 I5	220 hp (164 kW)	225 lb·ft (305 N·m)
2007–present	3.7 L (223 cu in) LLR I5	242 hp (180 kW)	242 lb·ft (328 N·m)[5]
2009–present	5.3 L (325 cu in) LH8 V8	300 hp (224 kW)	320 lb·ft (434 N·m)[6]

Chevrolet Colorado being used by Police in Olympia, Washington

Safety

In the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's frontal offset test the Colorado (extended version) is given a "Good" overall score,^[7] however the crew cab is rated "Acceptable".^[8] In the side impact test of the Colorado single cab is rated "Poor" with or without side curtain airbags.^[9][10] Side curtain airbags were made standard on all 2010 models; side torso airbags are not offered.

Yearly American sales

Calendar Year	Colorado	Canyon	Total U.S. sales
2004[11]	117,475	27,193	144,668
2005[11]	128,359	34,845	163,204
2006[12]	93,876	23,979	117,855
2007[13]	75,716	20,888	96,604
2008[13]	54,346	14,974	69,320
2009[14]	32,413	10,107	42,520
2010[15]	24,642	7,992	32,634

Second generation (2013-)

The second-generation Colorado was shown at the 2011 Bangkok Motor Show, and will also be sold in United States.^[16] Both the Thai version and American version will be largely same, except some styling changes and engine range.

References

1. ^ Newbury, Stephen. The Car Design Yearbook 2. Merrell. ISBN 1-85894-196-2. 
2. ^ Newbury, Stephen. The Car Design Yearbook 2. Merrell. ISBN 1-85894-196-2. 
3. ^ "GM to drop corporate logo from vehicles -- Detroit News". The Detroit News. http://www.detnews.com/article/20090825/AUTO01/908250320/1148/rss25. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
4. ^ "Scott Brown drives his GMC pickup to U.S. Senate victory". USA Today. 2010-01-20. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/01/scott-brown-drives-his-gmc-pickup-truck-to-us-senate-victory/1. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "2009 Colorado Pickup Truck - Specifications". Chevrolet. http://www.chevrolet.com/colorado/specifications/. Retrieved 2009-05-07. 
6. ^ "2009 LH8 specs (Excel file)". GM Powertrain. http://media.gm.com/us/powertrain/en/product_services/2009/Spec%20Sheet/Gen%20IV/2009%20Gen%20IV%20Truck/09_LH8_n.xls. 
7. ^ "IIHS-HLDI: Chevrolet Colorado". Iihs.org. 2008-07-24. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=228. Retrieved 2009-05-07. 
8. ^ "IIHS-HLDI: Chevrolet Colorado crew cab". Iihs.org. 2009-11-18. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=985. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
9. ^ "IIHS-HLDI: Chevrolet Colorado". Iihs.org. 2008-07-30. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=938. Retrieved 2009-05-07. 
10. ^ "IIHS-HLDI: Chevrolet Colorado crew cab". Iihs.org. 2010-02-04. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=1263. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries In December". GM Communications. January 4, 2006. http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gmnews/viewpressreldetail.do?domain=2&docid=21738. Retrieved 2009-05-09. ^{[dead link]}
12. ^ "GM Reports 341,327 Deliveries In December". GM Communications. January 3, 2007. http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gmnews/viewmonthlyreleasedetail.do?domain=6&docid=31596. Retrieved 2009-05-09. ^{[dead link]}
13. ^ ^{a b} "GM Reports 221,983 Deliveries In December; 2,980,688 Vehicles Sold In 2008". GM Communications. January 5, 2009. http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gmnews/viewpressreldetail.do?domain=2&docid=51161. Retrieved 2009-05-09. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ http://media.gm.com/content/Pages/news/us/en/2010/Jan/0105_Dec_Sales/_jcr_content/iconrow/textfile/file.res/Deliveries%20December%2009.xls
15. ^ "December 2010 Sales: General Motors - Cheers & Gears Forums". Cheersandgears.com. http://www.cheersandgears.com/topic/74944-december-2010-sales-general-motors/. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
16. ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/10/chevy-confirms-global-colorado-pickup-for-u-s/ |title=Chevy confirms global Colorado pickup for U.S. |publisher=Autoblog |date=October 10, 2011 |accessdate=2011-11-12

External links

• Chevy Official site
• GMC Official site