Chevrolet Crushes Compact Truck Dreams With No Remorse
Don’t get excited for a brand-new Chevrolet compact truck. General Motors has put this idea down with an iron fist. Now we know that Chevy won’t have anything to fight the Ford Maverick on the horizon for years.
Chevy says no way to compact trucks
While the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz bring new life to a dead truck segment, Chevy isn’t interested in jumping in on the hot trend. This could prevent Chevy from raking in the cash with something like a new Chevy Montana or Syclone truck.
However, Chevrolet doesn’t care. Mike MacPhee, Director of Chevrolet Truck Marketing shared that Chevy feels as if customers are best served with body-on-frame trucks. The compact trucks that do exist each have a unibody frame.
We get it, body-on-frame trucks do offer higher towing capacities and more suspension travel for off-roading. They can also be easier to repair and more reliable. But what about the people who don’t need that much truck?
For example, the Santa Cruz is smaller than the Colorado and Canyon but still has ample interior space for rear passengers. It can tow up to 5,000 lbs, which matches the larger Honda Ridgeline, too.
It starts at $26,650, while the 2024 Colorado starts at $29,500, offering a few thousand in savings. Don’t forget about the destination fees.
What’s new for Chevrolet trucks?
Without a new compact model for America, Chevrolet did have time to roll the 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500 EV out. However, Chevrolet has decided to push production back until 2025. So don’t expect to see the new electric full-size truck yet.
The 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500 is primarily a carryover model. However, the ZR2 model is now available with the turbodiesel engine and there’s a new Blackout Appearance package to take things to the dark side.
A few features have been shuffled, and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto is standard with each model.
The 2024 Chevy Colorado is also a carryover model. It was recently redesigned for 2023 so it’s still brand new. But the 2024 ZR2 Bison builds upon the ZR2 with more off-road capabilities and enhances features such as 35-inch tires.
Is this enough to keep interest in Chevy trucks alive? Is refusing to build a smaller, unibody option a mistake?
