Why would Chevy do this?

They are looking at making a competitor to the Raptor, Thats a great idea. I love GM trucks and think they can do it. But why would they be looking at using the colorado for that rather than a fullsize? the ZR2 s10 was cool I really enjoyed driving them but Chevy needs to build a fullsize to compete with the raptor IMO.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/17/chevy-colorado-raptor-fighter-poll/?ncid=edlinkusauto00000016

They may think a smaller performance truck would be cheaper and sell better. Probably be better for everyday use. I bet that price tag will be smaller than the Raptor...

Maybe they don't want to compete with the Raptor, but offer something different.

I'd buy a 30k offroad fighter a lot sooner than I'd buy a 50k one......

Does Ford sell enough Raptors to justify GM producing a direct competitor? I suspect not.

So this wont be a direct competitor to the raptor but a new ZR2, most likely

In reply to Zomby Woof:

I'm a little bit amazed at the number I see on the road in central AR. Knowing how expensive they are I sometimes am a little shocked. Then I remember how much all the LOADED, King Ranch, Laramie, High Country, Denali trucks I see on the road even more often sell for and kind of get over the Raptor price tag shock.

Smaller size, less weight, lower cost...why WOULDN'T they do it? Sounds like a good alternative rather than a direct competitor. This smacks of a "new" GM that is chasing the best option and not just responding to everything the other guys do.

Zomby Woof wrote: Does Ford sell enough Raptors to justify GM producing a direct competitor? I suspect not.

Absolutely. They are the mall crawler of choice out here in California. They are like belly buttons, Ford has to be making a ton off them.

Maybe GM thinks the smaller version will fly better.

Also might just be a fuel economy, HP thing. Drop a LSX in a mid-size truck and wax the Raptor while knocking down 25+mpg.

There's no reason not to use a mid-size truck as a pre-runner type vehicle. There's tons and tons of Rangers and Tacomas setup that way.

maybe they learned from all the bent frames on the raptors and realized that jumping a 5k lb truck isn't the best idea.

My BIL has a Raptor. It's a nice car. It's not really a great truck. It's probably got less bed space than a Colorado and about the same capacity for weight. When we go camping the generator and quads go in my truck because:
1) They fit without stacking them
2) It can handle the load without doing wheelies

Maybe Chevy understands that smaller useless trucks can actually go places in the woods that big useless trucks cannot? Also they are easier to maneuver in the mall and grocery parking lots where they will spend their whole lives.

When I saw the new Canyon/Colorado, I really felt GM had a winner making them look like mini-Silverado/Sierra's. I don't require a full size truck, my 02 Tundra is way more than I need. Although a performance oriented small truck, that's an idea I could get behind! It doesn't need to be as intense as a Raptor if it helps keep the costs down. One of these would look sweet next to my s2000!

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:

You sir are describing a jeep.

I actually think this will be better than the Raptor. So much less breakage, cost and it doesn't have to have 600hp to be really fast in the dirt.

In reply to fidelity101:

I don't want one for myself but I cannot figure out why there isn't a new CJ-8 from Fiat. The engineering work to get that change to the line should cost about as much as a good burrito and I would think the public would love to have an open trunk like that on their new car.

The latest Colorado is about the size of what I consider to be a full size truck, so there is that.

They want to draw attention to the new Colorado. Everybody already knows about the Silverado. They probably don't give a crap about selling a Raptor fighter. They just want to sell Colorados.

Woody wrote: They want to draw attention to the new Colorado. Everybody already knows about the Silverado. They probably don't give a crap about selling a Raptor fighter. They just want to sell Colorados.

Yeah, that's not a Raptor fighter. They are trying to use any Buzz left from the word "Raptor". Anyways, it's a good looking truck with some good offroad capabilities, and people will buy it. My dad had an H3 (same chassis and probably the stock parts for the new ZR2) and it would literally drive around the stuck CJ-5s in our little mud pit.

ryanty22 wrote: Why would Chevy do this?

How many Tacoma Baja's did toyota sell, obviously not enough.

Baja discontinued

I wonder if the Colorado version will suffer a similar fate.

Zomby Woof wrote: Does Ford sell enough Raptors to justify GM producing a direct competitor? I suspect not.

Second what Wearymicrobe said. I'm pretty sure all the market research for the thing was done in southern California. I see them everywhere around here. There's at least 5 at one facility I work at and several at the other 2.

The0retical wrote:

Zomby Woof wrote: Does Ford sell enough Raptors to justify GM producing a direct competitor? I suspect not.

Second what Wearymicrobe said. I'm pretty sure all the market research for the thing was done in southern California. I see them everywhere around here. There's at least 5 at one facility I work at and several at the other 2.

Around here(Western NC) a raptor will sit on a dealer lot for at max 1 week before it sells, they are usually sold within 3 days.

jstand wrote: How many Tacoma Baja's did toyota sell, obviously not enough. Baja discontinued I wonder if the Colorado version will suffer a similar fate.

I've never seen a baja version and I haven't seen a x-runner in years I thought they stopped making them a long time ago lol