GM hopes to rekindle pickup love with new Colorado, Canyon
By Anita Lienert
The Detroit News

I love the photos of my mother-in-law standing next to her jaunty orange-and-white GMC pickup. She was one of the first women I knew who had the guts to buy a truck -- and she says she regretted the day she got rid of it.

Later, we bought my oldest son a blue Ford Ranger pickup as his first vehicle. On my nightstand is a photograph of him sitting on the tailgate with a big grin -- one of my best memories of his youth.

But lately, with the exception of big trucks like the Dodge Ram, Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado, the all-American pickup so beloved by my family seems to have fallen out of favor with buyers -- a fact acknowledged by auto executives.

''It's not cool to drive one,'' said Janet Eckhoff, marketing manager for the 2004 Chevrolet Colorado pickup, talking to me across the bed of this newest General Motors Corp. truck.

''There are more contemporary alternatives. But we think the Colorado will rejuvenate the segment, especially when a big manufacturer like us introduces a new product. It will help everybody to sell pickups.''

The Shreveport, La.-built Colorado and its sister vehicle, the GMC Canyon, are expected to arrive in dealerships in November. The new midsize trucks supplement, and eventually will replace, the compact Chevrolet S10 and GMC Sonoma pickups.

The Colorado starts at $16,200, including a $635 destination charge, for the base two-wheel-drive regular cab version. Chevrolet's pricing chart for the Colorado includes 25 entries, ranging in price from the base model up to $26,995 for a four-wheel-drive Z71 crew cab model.

The base price is considerably higher than the stickers on many competitors. The 2004 Toyota Tacoma, for instance, starts at $12,800, including destination, while the 2004 Ford Ranger starts at $14,385.

On the Colorado, there's a menu of trim levels, cab styles and available suspensions, including a tuner-ready, low-rider version.

Buyers can order a regular cab Colorado that fits two or three passengers, an extended cab with two regular doors in front and two access doors for the rear that seats up to five, or the four-door crew cab version that seats six.

There are three suspension choices that include a Z85 standard suspension in rear- or four-wheel drive, a low-riding, rear-wheel-drive ZQ8 sport suspension or the Z71 off-road suspension, which is available in two- or four-wheel-drive.

Chevrolet executives say this wide array of choices means they have not neglected the needs of any potential pickup buyer, from the guy who wants basic transportation for his landscape business to the family man who will use the Colorado for everything from school carpool duties to personal use.

''We have a lot of regional differences in America and the Colorado gives us a lot of regional flair between the different body styles, from regular heights to low-riders, which are big in the South and a booming trend for the youth market,'' explained W.W. Brent Dewar, general manager of Chevrolet.

''We're excited to bring the two-wheel-drive crew cab to market, which we think is going to be a plus for Colorado and Chevrolet.''

It sounds like rearranging the features on the Colorado will be a bit like playing with the old peel-and-stick Colorforms toy.

The new Chevy truck is aimed at a male audience of ''tech-collar'' workers who tend to have technical or vocational education jobs. They range in age from 25 to 40 and earn $45,000 a year. Half of them are married and have children under age 12.

On a Colorado drive starting here at the foot of Mount Mansfield, the tallest peak in Vermont, with a $16 per vehicle dirt toll road, I was eager to do a side-by-side comparison between the new GM trucks and tough competitors like the well-established Toyota Tacoma.

The Tacoma model I drove was a four-by-four double cab version with a 3.4-liter V-6 engine that makes 190 horsepower.

The Tacoma had a number of options including power accessories, a bedliner and an off-road package that brought the $22,420 base price up to $27,206.

I tested that against several versions of the Colorado, including a $24,170 two-wheel-drive crew-cab ZQ8 and a couple of four-wheel-drive models.

I found Colorado to be more contemporary looking than the Tacoma. If you compare the Colorado to the old S10 pickup, you'll notice a styling shift.

The smaller S10 has a more feminine look with rounder headlights. The Colorado is more aggressive looking with its slab-sides, cat's-eye rectangular headlights and more prominent chrome.

The overall styling effect says conservative, classic and handsome. Colorado appears to be a truck that will age well, even if you hold onto it for as long as 10 years.

However, it does not have as much towing capacity as the S10. A Colorado with the biggest engine and an automatic transmission can tow up to 4,000 pounds. The smaller S10 could handle upward of 5,900 pounds. A V-6 Tacoma can tow 5,000 pounds.

But the Tacoma still beats the Colorado --and the rest of the competition when it comes to interior trappings. I was disappointed that the cabin of the Colorado looked like a cross between old-style GM and Tupperware.

GM uses the old radio in its new truck and I found that disappointing. I was hoping for a clean slate with the Colorado.

I was also surprised to see that the Colorado did not have adjustable pedals, although GM engineers say they are coming, but not at launch. Adjustable pedals go a long way toward giving the driver a custom fit behind the wheel.

The modest interior of the Colorado even lacks a driver's-side vanity mirror.

Colorado has standard roll-up windows and manual locks. Expect to pay an extra $500 for power accessories and remote keyless entry. But air conditioning is standard on the GM truck and part of a $1,505 options package on the Toyota I drove.

It was reassuring to see that GM did make side-curtain air bags an option on the truck, something that is a rarity in this segment. They protect the front- and rear-seat passengers in a collision and start at $195.

Both Tacoma and Colorado have standard four-wheel antilock brakes, another good safety feature. You can also get $325 XM satellite radio and a $695 OnStar communications system on the Colorado.

Buyers get two engine choices on Colorado, a 2.8-liter DOHC inline four-cylinder that makes 175 horsepower and 185 pounds-feet of torque or a 3.5-liter DOHC inline five-cylinder that makes 220 horsepower and 225 pounds-feet of torque. Both engines performed well going up Mount Mansfield.

However, buyers who are really hungry for power should know that the optional supercharged V-6 on the Tacoma gets 260 horsepower.

Colorado and Canyon don't offer a six-cylinder option, despite the fact that nearly every one of their competitors does.

A two-wheel-drive Colorado -- the volume model -- with an extended cab and an I-5 engine with automatic transmission will get an estimated 18 miles per gallon in city driving and 24 mpg on the highway.

My Tacoma test vehicle got 16 miles per gallon in the city and 19 miles per gallon on the highway.

The Tacoma seemed noisier than the Colorado, especially at highway speeds, and had an awful turning circle.

It also had the shift-style four-wheel-drive, while the Colorado had an easier-to-use push button-style four-wheel-drive with big buttons and big letters.

Colorado had better visibility with a low beltline and lots of glass.

In short, the Colorado holds up well against the Tacoma in many respects.

With the potential to customize the Colorado to suit just about any family's needs -- and with its competition like the Ford Ranger and Nissan Frontier getting pretty long in the tooth -- the newest GM pickup should help rekindle America's love affair with trucks.

How the 2004 Chevrolet Colorado measures up

2004 Chevrolet Colorado (regular cab, two-wheel-drive)

• Wheelbase: 111.2 in.
• Length: 192.8 in.
• Width: 67.6 in.
• Height: 64.8 in.
• Base engine: 2.8-liter DOHC I-4
• Output: 175 hp
• Fuel economy: 18 mpg city, 24 mpg highway
• Base price: $16,200, inc. $635 destination charge

2004 Toyota Tacoma (regular cab, two-wheel-drive)

• Wheelbase: 103.3 in.
• Length: 184.4 in.
• Width: 66.5 in.
• Height: 64.1 in.
• Base engine: 2.4-liter DOHC four-cylinder
• Output: 142 hp
• Fuel economy: 22 mpg city, 25 mpg highway
• Base price: $12,800

2004 Ford Ranger

• Wheelbase: 111.4 in.
• Length: 187.5 in.
• Width: 64.9 in.
• Height: 69.4 in.
• Base engine: DOHC 2.3L I-4
• Output: 143 hp
• Fuel economy: 24 mpg city, 29 mpg highway
• Base price: $14,385