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Chevrolet Colorado
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Comments
with sucky gas-mileage, but it hasn't been too problematic otherwise. The reason I posted is that I've got friend who's a mechanic at a local Chevy dealership. He's pretty current on what's happening at GM, or at least so he seems to be. He mentioned the other day that Chevy may be considering dropping the Colorado/GMC if sales do not pick-up substantially. I cannot substantiate his claim with any other story or rumor as yet.
I believe that they are not selling as well as can be expected, but are only doing moderately well in sales. The long-term strategy for GM would be to drop the small truck line completely to concentrate on the full-size line which sell quite well in Texas, expecially with the GM Employee discount, as long as it lasts.
He has a full-size 2500 HD 6.0 L. which gets about 14-15 max. on the highway and about 12-13 in the city. Good truck, good for him, but too-big for me
and my gas budget. The gas mileage on the 1500 Silverado models is supposedly
16-20 with better mileage possible. I talked to one owner who says he's gotten
26 mpg on the highway with his 1500 5.3L. GM has plans to increase mileage in
it's new line of 2007 trucks with various fuel-savings features. Could push the mileage to feasibly 20 City/26 Hwy., which is much better than the 5-cyl. mileage
on the Colorado/Canyon is getting at present. Of course the trade-off is price, larger vehicle vs. smaller. However, I do think the Colorado line is a bit overpriced
at current prices.
The bottom-line, what has anybody else heard about the Colorado/Canyon possibly being discontinued, which would be a GM concession to Nissan/Toyota
that GM cannot compete on their turf ? Not trying to cause a stir, just curious about the future of the Colorado/Canyon line if I buy one.
I don't know why people say these trucks are not selling. There are a TON of them up here in Toronto (Ontario, Canada). I see far more of the Canyon/Colorado than I do any other small truck of the same year.
The engine is well proven, and IMHO the truck is better then the old S10 (which was not a bad truck either).
The midsize pick up market is a strange one. It's a very slim piece of the overall pie... people who want functionality, druability, towing capability but not huge power.
I think with the fall of the large SUVs you'll find more and more people switching to vehicles like the Colorado and it's cousins.
At the same time... if you like the Colorado/Canyon... what do you care if they discontinue it? It's a great little truck... The S10 was discontinued... does that man it's suddenly bad? The Colorado is a tough, good looking and other than a silly little problem with the AC on mine (it whistled - TSB) I haven't had a single thing go wrong with it.
His point was simply, why buy a mid-size, 5-cyl.I-6, when I can get into a full
5.3L V-8 for only a few thousand more and with gas-mileage almost as good
on the V-8 as opposed to the I-6. My choice, but I still prefer a smaller package than a full-size that I don't really need for towing or heavy-duty. The Colorado/Canyon seems to fit the bill if I take the plunge once again for all of my needs. Besides, GM usually have most of the kinks worked-out on the first-second year run vehicles by the the 3rd year. Also, they are continually improving or enhancing vehicles to either make them more appealing to buyers. The Colorado/Canyon line would fall in this category too.
I seriously doubt GM has any plans of killing the Colorado. They have invested way too much money on the platform and use it for multiple applications. It's here to stay at least for the next 8-10 years based on GM's past track record of redesigning their trucks. Now, Ford, on the other hand, has announced future plans of killing the Ranger pickup. They have no redesign plans in sight and aren't investing money on it, so I'm sure we will see the Ranger die.
If you are honestly interested in the Colorado, I would give the 2.8 four banger a try. It's got surprising power and great mileage. It's the best four banger truck on the market. I have never wished I got the I5.
My friend does tell me that he can substantiate the fuel numbers quoted for the 5.3 L V8, but so far it's just anecdotal. I do have another friend who says he gets about 23-mpg straight hwy driving on his 1500 5.3 V8 again anectdotal. I do question the 26-mpg hwy. though a bit.
Another issue that a lot of folks have with GM are the confusing rebates. GM needs to simply lower their MSRPs proportionately and eliminate these rebates. When a Colorado is priced at $25000 MSRP and I can buy it for $19500, it is ridiculous to play this rebate game. Too many hoops to jump through!
Conversely, if the MSRP is only lowered by $1K on a Colorado/Canyon and GM expects people to bite, then I think that they are sorely mistaken. I think it's finally sinking in with GM, Ford, etc. that a lot of potential customers really do their homework, and just how accessible information is on the internet and elsewhere. I will be in the market and am definitely keeping the Colorado/Canyon twins on my list for small(er) pick-ups. Toyota and Nissan pricing is a bit high at present. Maybe it'll even-out when the Tacoma and Frontier seem to be less hot.
I must agree. The 4 cylander Colorado (at least in the std cab) is powerful enough for everything I throw at it... and it smokes most smaller vehicles on the hwy for passing. Does it beat my father in law's Dodge RAM 2500 Turbo Diesel? No. But, at the same time, it pulls what I need it to.
I never knew how versatile a truck was until I owned one. I'll never own a car again.
I love my 'rado
I must agree with you on this.
Before I bought my 'rado I only owned Toyota's. So did everyone else in my family. I've owned a Tercel and a Corolla. I was very happy with both. Taking the plunge to a non "import" was a bit scary for me after hearing all the "horror" stories about American cars.
Did I consider a Tacoma? No way. It's WAY more expensive then what I could afford for an entry level truck. For the cost of a fully loaded Tacoma I could've bought a fully loaded Silverado
The simple truth is this... all of the trucks are the same. Some may have human error (ie someone fell asleep at the assembly line), some may have a defective part, but, it's important to remember that if you DID get a troublesome truck, it's not like GM is "out to get you"
Utilize your warranty, that's what it's there for. It's your RIGHT to have YOUR vehicle fixed to the way YOU expect it to have shipped from the factory.
I know GM invested a lot of money into the OLM, but I'm having a hard time adjusting
How many miles (or KMs) are the rest of you getting before the vehicle informs you about oil life being depleted? What kind of driving are you doing? Are you doing any heavy towing?
I'm past 9200kms, but, it still hasn't gone off and I'm getting anxious. On the flip side, the oil is PERFECTLY clean, has no burnt smell, and I typically keep the truck under 2500rpm (as 95% of my driving is hwy).
I'm interested in hearing from the rest of you about your experiences.
On a side note, once the OLM informs me of the needed change, how much oil does the Colorado (2.8L) engine require? I plan on switching to synthetic and don't want to pay dealer prices for oil I can buy for 50% less
I know I am asking alot but if someone knows where I can find this detailed information even if I have to purchase it I would appreciate the help. The very most important thing for me to get going at this time is the deck height and cylinder bore spacing. I don't care if the info comes from the 4 or 6 either, the dimensions should be identical beings it is a modular design. Please correct me if I am wrong,Thank You
Kevin
Yes, there is a BCM on the Colorado similar to the Malibu.
To be honest, your problem doesn't seem all that wierd to me. My business partner has a Saturn ION which also has a BCM. There is a firmware bug in the BCM on the 04 ION that causes similar things to happen. It starts when someone plugs in a cell phone charger. The computer sees the drain as surge and turns off features that cause VERY strange things to happen.
After the 5th time that the weirdness occurred, he finally called Saturn and they told him to put the key in the ignition, and switch it between off and accessories (not start) *quicikly* a dozen times or so. This causes a reset to the BCM and makes everything work properly again.
I'm willing to bet that have encountered something similar on your truck. If you had a severe electrical problem, things wouldn't work properly period... it wouldn't fix itself.
Let us know how it pans out for you.
The Chevy dealer did mention that a wiring harness is normally already present above the spare tire and you just have to pull it back. Is this true?
I have a 2003 Silverado which did exactly what you describea bout 1 1/2 year ago. The problem would occur every now and then at first then it eventually happened quite frequently. I took it in to the dealer here in Ottawa and they replaced a faulty relay. Problem never re-occured.
Cheers
I can't answer this question for SURE as I had the factory installed towing package put in... however, on every other vehcile that I've ever owned, wiring for optional areas (speakers, etc) has ALWAYS been there. For the cost of the wiring versus the cost of deciding which vehicles that are to receive it against those who aren't doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's just cheaper to put the wiring in.
I'm sure that the harness is there on a new 'rado and I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for what happened to yours.
Hehe, yeah, it has been pretty quiet around here. I'm STILL waiting for my OLM to go off. I'm up to 10600km now (not bad for less than 3 months of driving hehe). Oil is still pretty clean. I'm going to let it go the first time - I want to see how far it will really go. Then I'm going to switch to Mobil 1 (full synth).
I had a K&N filter in my Corolla... it helped a bit. My Tercel had one too.... that made a HUGE difference. I'm pleased with the power of my i4 though... not sure why everyone else doesn't think it's peppy.
I also found some interesting information on the OLM and how it works. From some website called "Bob the Oil Guy" I can post it here (it's pretty big) if anyone is interested.
Hmm... suspension questions are hard to answer because it's more of a personal preference to the individual driver.
I have the Z85 suspension on my 'rado. I love it. I like stiffer firmer suspensions. The ride isn't like a car... but that's fine to me, I wanted a truck. My understanding is that the maintenance is somewhat lower on the Z85 which is a "no frills" suspension.
See if you can drive both a Z85 and Z71... see what you prefer more.
Now, as for 4WD.... *personally* I have no use for it. If you are driving into sand, or gravel pits, then yeah, it makes sense. What kind of driving do you plan on doing to justify the 4WD purchase? Remember, adding 4WD adds weight and uses extra gas regardless of whether or not it's engaged.
The stiffer shocks on the Z71 could also be a plus for those who like slightly sportier handling and a firmer ride.