New GM Mid-Size Trucks Coming in 2014: Exec Says
Mid-size truck buyers have something to look forward to next year from General Motors, although it’s probably not what they would expect.
GM North America president Mark Reuss said this morning that the brand plans to bring both a GMC and Chevrolet mid-size pickup to the market in 2014.
“Don’t think of them as Canyon and Colorado replacements because they’re not,” Reuss said during the Dawda Mann annual Automotive Industry Breakfast.
His statement stands in contrast to previous expectations that the Colorado would return — likely in 2014 for the 2015 model year. Past speculation following the Colorado’s unveiling during the 2011 Bangkok Motor Show saw some assuming the truck would return in 2013, but that has proven not to be true.
SEE ALSO: New Chevrolet Colorado Two Years Away for North America
Now it sounds like General Motors might be taking steps to further separate its Chevrolet and GMC trucks.
“We’re going to really target different buyers with these two trucks,” he said after his speech. “We’d love to have a truck like a Chevrolet midsize truck go really attack the West Coast with a lifestyle truck that is really beautiful and fun. It’s a different positioning than a semi serious duty cycle truck that we might do with a GMC Canyon.”
Apart from possibly offering greater brand differentiation, Reuss said the truck will offer much greater fuel economy over the currently-available full-size trucks. It also sounds like a diesel powertrain could be under consideration with Reuss saying the company is looking “at all that right now.”
Finally, the brand is weighing new names for the trucks — a move that could prove to be wise. The Colorado and Canyon were poor sellers that weren’t very competitive. Given that, it might not hurt to disassociate the new trucks.
[Source: the Detroit News]
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Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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I'm concerned that the 2015 GM mid-size trucks will be too be big to be marketed as lifestyle trucks. A real compact pickup would better fill this niche because it would be easier to park in a garage and urban parking spots, and could be made more maneuverable. Nonetheless, I do hope GM offers a pickup with a small diesel option that receives good crash test scores.
I have a 2004 Colorado, which I brought new and it has over 164,000 miles. I love my truck and have no problems with it. However, we are looking toward replacing it and what information I have on the midsize, sounds like it might be what we are looking for. When will they hit show room floors?