Chevy’s Answer to the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler

[jjvincent]

I saw concept cars like that 30 years ago, they never made it to production.
If Chevy was smart, they could have made the Blazer a contender, instead of another bland crossover.

What? You mean we are not all driving around in things like this today?

Here's your Blazer:

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[TheRaven]

It's obnoxious how badly they're blowing this. It's so damn easy.

Step 1: Stop calling that shitty soccer mom SUV a Blazer. Reclaim that name.
Step 2: Take the current Tahoe body design, shrink it down to fit on the new Colorado base
Step 3: Apply the ZR2 trim package
Step 4: Profit.

They'd sell the shit out of them.

As a long time GM fan, I can give you a seemingly endless list of these kinds of examples - where GM already had everything it needed to produce a truly incredible vehicle, but either completely whiffed (like a second-gen, LS powered XLR-V, or the last GTO) or decided to go with an insult to the nameplate (like the new Blazer). GM has already ceded the Wrangler/Bronco segment. That ship has sailed. Yeah sure they may create an EV offering, but that's not competition for the Wrangler or Bronco. It will be a long time before we surmount the formidable technical hurdles necessary to create an EV that is truly a Wrangler competitor.

 

[Albertaktm]

This is GM we're talking here, they'll never follow through with something like this.

Exactly. Just a designers rough sketch basically saying, maybe we , GM , should get into this market. Nothing more.

 

[OrneryBear]

Exactly. Just a designers rough sketch basically saying, maybe we , GM , should get into this market. Nothing more.

Ya and there is A LOT of that at GM, and sadly most of what designers come up with gets shot down. Those who do make the call on what actually gets made are not cutting edge thinkers, let alone designers. A close friend of mine is decently high up in GM design and it would scare you what some of these product planners think. They do not live in reality, and it shows based off what GM tries to sell and the consumer just goes, "WTF IS THIS, WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS".

 

[2nd 392]

Ya and there is A LOT of that at GM, and sadly most of what designers come up with gets shot down. Those who do make the call on what actually gets made are not cutting edge thinkers, let alone designers. A close friend of mine is decently high up in GM design and it would scare you what some of these product planners think. They do not live in reality, and it shows based off what GM tries to sell and the consumer just goes, "WTF IS THIS, WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS".

Duntov had to fight Management for the Corvette, DeLorean for the GTO. Look what these icons started. Ford was no different, Iacocca had to fight for the Mustang. Management will never change.

 

[OrneryBear]

Duntov had to fight Management for the Corvette, DeLorean for the GTO. Look what these icons started. Ford was no different, Iacocca had to fight for the Mustang. Management will never change.

Yup pretty much. Management in the auto industry is excellent at screwing everything up when they are given the ability to. I've seen the original sketches for the Aztek (head of my car design program was lead designer on it), and it was REALLY REALLY cool, but management screwed it all up and threw the design team under the bus for it to save their career.

 

[2nd 392]

Yup pretty much. Management in the auto industry is excellent at screwing everything up when they are given the ability to. I've seen the original sketches for the Aztek (head of my car design program was lead designer on it), and it was REALLY REALLY cool, but management screwed it all up and threw the design team under the bus for it to save their career.

Aztec— the original car based “lifestyle” vehicle? 20 years later everyone has small AWD “crossovers” last laugh? Too bad it was a top contender for the ugliest vehicle ever made, and the “concept” didn’t look half bad, if they stuck with it ?

 

[jmccorm]

I gotta be honest, I like the sketch. It looks like a modern, attractive vehicle. But knowing nothing about the specs, that's about all I can say. And, of course, that design aesthetic is subjective.

But if they're going for young buyers, and with a low-cost for an electric vehicle, they may have found a niche that Jeep isn't serving. That vehicle says "youth" to me, for good and for ill.

 

[OrneryBear]

Aztec— the original car based “lifestyle” vehicle? 20 years later everyone has small AWD “crossovers” last laugh? Too bad it was a top contender for the ugliest vehicle ever made, and the “concept” didn’t look half bad, if they stuck with it ?

Even the sketch was wildly different than the concept. It was supposed to be a pretty aggressively styled 4dr lifted fastback. Originally it was supposed to be on it's own platform, not a minivan. Ah well, such is GM.

 

[Thane]

Art Center student sketches some 20 series tires on an "Offroad Concept"...
gets pat on head...

 

[JLUW75]

Remember, not supporting it, just posting the link https://www.topspeed.com/new-rendering-exposes-chevys-answer-to-the-ford-bronco-jeep-wrangler/

this looks like they started with the new trailblazer (FWD with a three banger engine) and chopped the roof. yeah fail!

 

[Traveller128]

If that's Chevy's answer to the Bronco and Wrangler, I'm pretty sure they misunderstood the question.

 

[entropy]

Thats one sleek turd

 

[MarkM]

Well, I do like the concept car, but they are missing the mark, as noted.

There is a reason Jeep has the "1941" logo. Yes, the platform could be considered a bit antiquated with live axles front and rear, but those are the vehicle's roots and they have done a great job of modernizing the JL/JT for today's drivers, all while keeping that old school GI capability. Just take an old CJ out and you'll remember the Jeep's origins. An EV Blazer won't cross those lines like that, it will be the epitome of the mall-crawler.

The new Bronco is a good take on the concept. But, even while it shares a considerable number of parts with other Ford vehicles (and has IFS), it's form follows function. This is a hit from a marketing and cost perspective. They did a good job of getting back to the vehicle's original concept and people are buying them and getting them on the trails.

GM is trying way too hard and way too little on the Blazer. Will there be a new Jimmy as well? You would think that the success of the new Camaro would shine some light on how to modernize an old school vehicle.

The Blazer of a few years ago was not much more than a rebadge of something else. No one has ever figured out what the Trailblazer was. Those vehicles were nothing like the old K series. I get cross-platform models, common engines, etc., but just throwing a nameplate on an Equinox isn't a true Blazer. Rebadging is part of what nearly killed GM in the 80s.

GM can learn a thing or two from Ford. If you are going to add another vehicle to the nostalgia garage, make it a nostalgic vehicle that knows it's roots! No great off-road story started with "I charged my Blazer today", unless it was the main 12v battery... Trying to cater to a fringe element with the EV concept and hoping to sell it on the name alone won't work with purists who would buy the hell out of it if it was really a throw back.

The guys who cobbled their K5s together back in the day now have the means to afford to relive their younger years. They don't want to spend that money on a glorified Volt that gets hung up in moderate snow. They want a tank that, while larger than a Jeep, can still play with one on the weekends.

 

[Sublime]

Did Chevy ever have a suitable competitor to the original Bronco or Jeep?

They still don't.

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