Daily Auto News Report: GM Rethinking Small Trucks
Daily Auto News
If you’re unimpressed with the current crop of small pickup trucks, GM may have a reason for you to take heart.
Pickuptrucks.com reports, “While other manufacturers have announced plans to completely abandon the slow-selling midsize pickup segment, General Motors apparently thinks there’s still life and new opportunity to be found in small trucks. GM is said to be working on a new compact runabout that’s reminiscent of the original Chevrolet S-10, according to our sources.”
GM’s current small trucks, the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, are slow sellers, plagued by sparse interiors and lackluster performance. The class-leading Toyota Tacoma, on the other hand, has a relatively comfortable ride and a car-like interior. Still, other manufacturers face the same challenges as GM. Left Lane News writes, “It’s not secret that the small pickup market has been in decline for about a decade; most automakers have emphasized and improved their full-size offerings to the point where only reduced dimensions are an advantage (to some) on small and mid-size pickups.”
Pickuptrucks.com says: “The key elements of success for GM’s future small truck would be fuel economy that’s greater than its full-size pickups and a window sticker that’s significantly less. It would also be a completely different and smaller platform than the planned next-generation overseas version of the Colorado that will be built in Thailand.” Many small truck buyers moved to large pickup trucks because the prices on small trucks can overlap with full-size models. Plus, recent small trucks haven’t been that much more efficient than full-size models.
Left Lane News says “Fuel economy, light load capacity and tight spaces maneuverability would be the big draws for a small pickup, not cargo hauling and towing. Those virtues would be left to GM’s larger Silverado and Sierra trucks.”
Jalopnik wonders, “Ooh, can we call it El Camino — or is that a non-starter?”
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