GM has issued a recall on Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pick-up trucks produced between September 9th, 2011 to October 19th, 2011 for a faulty driver’s side seatbelt buckle. An electrical connector on the buckle might not have fit snugly with the connector pins which will cause the seat belt warning light to not illuminate when the belt is not fastened.

It’s not exactly the most disastrous of recalls, though NHTSA wanted to remind everyone that the lack of an audible or visual warning that the driver’s seatbelt isn’t fastened could increase the risk of injury during an accident. Either way, GM will rectify the issue by installing a new electric connector terminal with the recall beginning on November 30th.

[Source: LeftLane News]

Several sketches of a pickup truck have been leaked from the U.S. Patent Office, showing what appears to be the next-generation Chevy Colorado. GM filed the design patent on November 23rd of last year and received confirmation from the office yesterday.

Judging from the big grille, the drawings show what is quite obviously a Chevrolet. And while it’s not confirmed that this is the new Colorado, recent spy shots have shown what appear to be a Colorado replacement out testing. Adding to the speculation is news from GMI’s sources that a new Colorado is set to be built at the company’s Spring Hill, Tennessee plant where die kits for a “new small truck” are scheduled to arrive later this year for initial testing.

There is a possibility that this new truck might be a product destined only for South America, especially as several of the designers mentioned on the patent are from Brazil. Our GM-crazed friends at GMI assure us, however, that this the next Colorado.

GALLERY: Chevy Colorado Design Patent Sketches

[Source: GMI]

The small pickup truck segment seems to be a dying category, with the future of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon now in doubt. According to a report by PickupTrucks.com, GM’s product boss Bob Lutz has said that both models may not live on to see another generation. “It’s uncertain at this point,” he said. “They may well [go away].”

GM has yet to announce any plans for the trucks and last year it was announced that production at the Shreveport plant where the trucks are assembled would cease by 2012.

Ford has already said that it will stop production of its Ranger pickup by the end of 2011, and Dodge has decided to kill-off the Dakota pickup around the same time. Dodge is likely to replace the Dakota with a new model, however. Ford is debating several changes, with the potential to bring over the Ranger model currently overseas or offer a stripped-down version of the F-150. Currently, the only automaker having any success in the segment is Toyota with its dominant Tacoma, selling more than double the number of Rangers as last year.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]