Chevrolet is about to pump up the heat in the midsize-pickup market with its all-new Colorado. The bowtie brand unveiled a version of the Colorado, which it dubs a Show Truck—meaning it’s quite close to the production model. The venue of the debut is Bangkok in Thailand, already the midsize-pickup capital of the world. As tens of thousands of pickups are sold in Thailand, with most carrying Toyota and Isuzu badges, Chevrolet will take the fight to the market—it reportedly designed the Colorado with strong input from Thailand and other Asean markets.
The Show Truck features sculpted sides, an attractive new face, and snazzy details including 20-inch wheels—key to attracting new customers. The front features the new corporate Chevy look, with a split grille and large upswept headlamps. The doors and side panels leading up to the tailgate feature sculpting to break up the monotony. The front doors of the crew cab pickup open conventionally, with rear-hinged rear doors—a feature which may or may not make it to production. The Show Truck was done up in a gleaming silver paint called Pepperdust Metallic.
Other exterior features are LED running lights and taillights, integrated side steps, a hard tonneau cover resulting in a “cab collar design” (can you say “El Camino?”), great-looking 20-inch wheels with Cooper 285-section tires.
The interior features low-gloss and soft-touch materials, a large covered center bin, and dual gloveboxes. Leather seats and wood trim add a touch of luxury. The infotainment system is operated via a 7-inch LCD display in the dash; it can provide music, phone, navigation, and internet access functions. The truck has dual-zone airconditioning.
Chevrolet plans to produce several variants—flavors, if you will—of its tasty-looking Thai dish. There will be workhorse and recreational models, and one meant for offroading. Martin Apfel, president GM Thailand/Southeast Asia says “The next-generation Chevrolet Colorado will carry with it the heritage of almost 100 years of award-winning Chevrolet trucks. We are proud to build it here in Thailand and confident that it will be tailor-fit for Thai consumers.” And Indonesian, Malaysian, and Philippine customers, too, he later added.
The final drivetrain is still to be decided, but the show Colorado carries a 2.8-liter turbodiesel engine. There will be four-wheel drive versions, as the Show Truck is. The first-generation Asean Colorado was co-developed with Isuzu and carried Japanese powertrains, but the Chevrolet executives clarified that that arrangement has expired and that the new truck will be “100% Chevrolet.” Isuzu will apparently not receive a version of the Colorado for its next D-Max.
To reinforce the message that Chevrolet produces durable, dependable trucks, the company displayed a dozen of its classic models, from the 1910s onwards. Chevrolet is celebrating its 100th year in 2011. Some headturners include a 1956 step-side pickup, and a truck assembled in Brazil.
Thailand is set to receive the new Colorado sometime in late 2011, with the Philippines and other left-hand-drive versions getting theirs by 2012.
Watch the reveal and walkthrough of the new Colorado:
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