All About Japan Autos

Daily Auto News

As if taking Ted Kennedy’s seat for the Republicans wasn’t enough of a feat, it appears that newly elected Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has sold a lot of GMC Canyon pickup trucks. Politico reports, “Bay State auto dealers are seeing an increased interest in pickup trucks like the one belonging to the newly-elected senato.

The Detroit News reports, “Scott Brown, the Republican state legislator who this week won the U.S. Senate seat of the late Ted Kennedy, got a lot of political mileage out of his 2005 GMC Canyon. The green Canyon, with nearly 200,000 miles on the odometer, co-starred with Brown on the Massachusetts campaign trail and in TV ads.”

The truck even became the subject of political gamesmanship. Brown used the truck “as a point of contrast with” his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley, “who drives a Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicle.” President Obama noted the contrast, appearing at a campaign rally for Coakley, when he told a crowd, “Forget the truck. Everybody can buy a truck. I’d think long and hard about getting in that truck with Martha’s opponent. It might not take you where you want to go.” Brown replies “Mr. President. You can criticize my record, you can talk about the positions I have, but don’t ever start criticizing my truck.”

That bravado apparently attracted some car shoppers, not just to Brown, but to his ride. Al Cerrone, owner of an Attleboro GMC dealership, told The Boston Globe, “We’ve gotten eight to 12 phone calls from people asking, ‘Do you sell trucks like that?’” He added, “It prompted inquiries, and when you’ve got inquiries, you’ve always got sales.” The GMC dealership that sold Brown his truck is also “cashing in on the frenzy, and plans to put an identical used Canyon in the showroom adorned with Brown signage.”

Buyers probably aren’t attracted to the Canyon on its own merits. The Globe calls it “an underpowered, ho-hum truck that hasn’t seen a serious upgrade since launching in 2004.” It currently ranks 6 out of 7 trucks in our Best Compact Pickups Trucks list.

If you’re in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year’s best cars as well as this month’s best car deals.

Related with this news Japan Auto Store's other car news