On the Road Review: GMC Canyon 4X4 Extended Cab Pickup - The Ellsworth American
A shift took place from heavier, rear-drive cars to more space-efficient and lighter front-drive cars — in all sizes. GM imported the foreign-built truck and slapped a Chevy bow-tie on the hood and casual pickup buyers gravitated to this lighter truck with the slow pace but higher gas mileage. When it became evident that the Luv could actually sell here, against the Toyota and Datsun (now Nissan) small trucks, GM pursued its own, domestically designed small truck. The result was the Chevy S-10 and GMC S-15 series trucks in 1982. These trucks in turn spawned a compact class SUV called the Blazer and Jimmy, respectively, which helped lead a burgeoning segment, ahead of Ford and Chrysler. These trucks were decidedly smaller than their full-size brothers. buyers knew these compact offerings were light-duty trucks with smaller capacities, smaller cabs, yet more miles per gallon at the end of the day. Today, that distinction is less clear, as the current small truck offerings are really midsize pickups. In some corners, you might even say that the brand new GM trucks, Canyon from GMC, Colorado from Chevrolet, are four-fifths scale pickups when compared to their Sierra and Silverado. Source: www.ellsworthamerican.com
