Well for those still holding out hopes that the Chevrolet Orlando will be sold in the US, you may have reason to still be hopeful. After a year of saying "nope, no way, never, not for US sale", we're getting the new global Colorado truck in 2013. Might even have diesel power, at least Chevrolet has decided to stay in the midsize truck business now that Ford and Chrysler are abandoning ship.

Click the link below for the story and press release from Autoblog....

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/10/c...u-s/#continued

 

This is good news. It will be coming to the States in a similar-to-this form, but it won't be that soon. I have inside info as a GM employee doing some work on this, but I can only back up what was in the release. Production ends in Shreveport in 2012. It doesn't say when the new one begins production.

I personally hope a diesel alternative survives, and they do something to separate it from its full-sized brethren in its MPG numbers. That was what killed the Colorado more than anything else. A customer learns that he can get a full-size for the same price and get within 1 MPG of the smaller truck, and guess what he buys...

 

I'm guessing that they are thinking of importing them at least until Shreveport is tooled up to build them. But they are pretty quick at retooling plants these days, sometimes they'll have the lines for the new model running while they close out production on the old model in another part of the plant. They did that at Lordstown when the Cavalier changed body styles in 1994, the old ones were being assembled on the "rectification line" while the '95 models were rolling off the normal line.

 

I think there are federalization (crash test standards and such) issues with the Asian trucks that would make that difficult to do on the fly.

I work in tooling on this program, among others. I can't say much, but there is a plan, and it will be built in the US for the US. The UAW's press release says Wentzville, MO. I think that's a pretty credible source coming out of negotiations. There's some capacity in an existing plant, though the products are not that similar.

 

Production of the current model ends in Shreveport in 2012, and at that point the factory is shut down. The new model will be assembled somewhere, anywhere, except Shreveport.

 

The truck will show up in 2013 as a 2014 and will be built in Wentzville Mo. This has not been too big of a seceret it was going to Wentzville and the UAW contract all but confirmed it.

I would not expect a V6 is what I am hearing and they will go for MPG. A turbo 4 is more than not going to be the power engine. Also I suspect we also will get the Diesel but GM will have to put some effort into marketing it. People will not just come to it unless they are shown how much torque and MPG it has.

This truck has been in the works for a while and it was intended for here for a good while. Like stated they need MPG out of this truck and they need to keep the price down as the Colorado got too high in price that the full size was a better truck and deal.

I just hope the quality has improved like on the other GM cars as I would not have traded my Old Sonoma even for a new one.

I drive a HHR today because I could not talk myself into a Colorado no matter how hard I tried to like it. Add to that I did not want or need a full size truck. It is time for GM to get back to what a small truck really is and stop playing this mid size truck game. The Ranger was the smallest and best selling for a reason and it was not quality or state of the art. It was the cheap price, Size and 4 cylinder that got MPG.

 

Looks like a pick up made in Japan to me , Jus sayin. I'll pass.

 

I hate the front end. It looks way too much like a Traverse to me. I wouldn't buy it!


Dave

 

It is a global truck each market had a part in it not just one. GM for the most anymore has truly become global and is doing vehicles for the most for all markets with input coming from North America, Europe, Asia, South America and OZ.

Before anyone gets to judgmental on it I would advise to wait till you see it. Too often anymore many people have had to eat their words.

I had one web site that dissed the Cruze as ugly, too heavy and too expensive. Today it has been a best seller in 3 markets.

As for the styling I am not a fan of the Crew cab as it looks odd on the short frame and the bed is a waste. I would rather have this nose and styling than the last Colorado. Talk about uglyville.

 

In my opinion, looks like a Brazilian-piece-of-junk truck. No thanks.