Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon - V8 for 2008

dmathews3

Our host have asked you people to drop the propane balony as this is about Colorado and Canyons.
Maybe instead the Host should just drop the couple of people here who aren't smart enough to read.

poncho167

Here is what I saw on GM Insider this morning. It will come out in 2010.

http://www.gminsidenews.com/index.php?page=Future_Product_Guide

Chevrolet Colorado: A major redesign will take place on the Colorado for 2011. The whole truck will be altered in some way or another. Powertrains will stay close to what we currently have, but will be more fuel-efficient and have higher output levels. A 3.0L common-rail diesel is also expected. The platform will remain much the same as the current one.

fueledup

Just read your post. Very interesting. I live in miami.fl, I have a dodge ram 1500 mega-cab. Where would i go for conversion? how much does it cost apprx? what kind of mileage should expect? Currently avg 12.5 city 16 hwy. Love my truck but mileage is killing me.

mark4biodiesel

Poncho, you need another cup of very strong coffee. Wake up. That link you posted is almost one year old and with high fuel prices in 2008 up 37 percent since Jan first, all previous plans have changed.
Even Nissan was going to offer a diesel version of the Maxima next year ( 2010 model ) but since diesel costs double the price of propane at the pumps in North America, they are considering all options. In many countries in the middle east, gasoline is of poor quality and that is why most of them use diesel or propane in cars and light trucks.
As for the diesel, in small trucks, Ford just announced this past week they were going to develop a new small pickup and build it in Thailand. Ford & Mazda both offer the exact same truck as in the USA but it has a different grill and name and only has a diesel in Thailand.
That is where the Chev Colorado is built in the same plant as it's Isuzu twin and uses the 3 liter Isuzu 4 cylinder turbo diesel. The power was boosted for the 2007 model year as it was built for very long life and was underpowered for it's size compared to all the other small pickup diesels there. The smaller 2.5 liter turbo diesel version has so little power that the automatic is not offered with that engine in Asia.
The Isuzu & Chev Colorado pickup is the best selling vehicle in Thailand. They are exported to every other country in Asia. They also offer the gas 2.9 liter engine as standard but the 2.5 liter diesel is only $600 more. As i recall, the 3 liter diesel costs about $500 more than the 2.5 liter in 2004.
In early 2004 a diesel 3 liter Chev extended cab with air, CD and auto was about $14,500. In 2008, since the Thai baht has risen in value so much against the U.S. dollar, that exact same truck now cost about $20,000. The double cab, 4 door, is now ( 2008 ) about 22,500, in U.S. funds. The buck was 40 baht to the dollar then ( 2004 )and now it is about 31 baht to the U.S. dollar. With shipping costs and duties into the USA, it is now cheaper just to build them here.
Since propane is half the price of diesel there in 2008, the gas 2.9 liter version converted to run dual LPG/gasoline is still the better way to go, as the engine will burn cleaner, give the same power and last longer. It runs quieter as well. You can drive all over Thailand, over the border to Cambodia then on to Vietnam and still use propane. So, why use diesel when it cost twice as much? As i have said in previous posts, this is not 1990 anymore. Diesel does not work, it's that simple.

poncho167

I am not sure about the date of the article but this was recently posted on autoblog as well and I was just relaying the info.

If you look back at your posts I am not a diesel fan either and like the propane idea as you described. Diesel does not make sense in this economy for an everyday driver and hasn't in years based on the higher price for the option and the higher fuel cost. How many years will it take to recoupe the price of the vehicle based on these higher costs?

Oh, and the V8 is still expected though that may change with the fuel costs?

asylum575

Edmunds pricing guide has a 5.3V8 for the 2009 model year. Looks like a $1300 option and you have to move up to the the SLE/SLT package. Doesn't say what rear end it will come with. I wonder that the towing capacity will be.