Filed under: Trucks/Pickups, Chevrolet, GMC
V8 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon delayed until 2009
Bad news V8 fans. The Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon won't be available with the 5.3-liter V8 that powers the new HUMMER H3 Alpha. Instead, buyers bent on getting their hands on one of the few remaining small-sized pickups will have to rely on either the Vortec 2.9-liter four or 3.7-liter inline-five for motivation until the 2009 model goes on sale late next year.
The story originated on a thread over at GM Inside News, and our man Mike Levine followed up with Chevy truck spokesman, Brian Goebel, who said that delay is due to "a cost and engineering issue that resulted in a decision to postpone the introduction by a few months."
[Source: Pickuptruck.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
rar 8:14AM (11/13/2007)
If you want a V8, just get a full size truck. I thought the point of a small truck was to get good mpg. Why put a V8 in a small truck?
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A54 8:49AM (11/13/2007)
It's an option. You like options? Right?
You want the 4 cylinder, it's still available.
You'd think this thread was on autobloggreen.
FThorn 12:15PM (11/13/2007)
Vettes get good gas mileage with a strong V8. Yes, it's an option. If the market does not bear it out, it will fail to be an option.
P to the C 8:23AM (11/13/2007)
I was all excited there for a minute. I somehow read into this this that GM was going to redesign these dungheaps for 2009 but it's only for adding the V8. Dangit. Just what the world of $3/gallon gas needs: A small pickup with a 5.3l V8 in it. Maybe this is too radical, but how about a competitive design with a world class 4 banger/6sp combo making 175hp and getting 30mph hwy instead?
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cowboy bob 8:42AM (11/13/2007)
A small v8 in a small pickup may get better milage than you think. It's all a balance between feeding the appropriate sized egnine vs the work required to move the vehicle. It is no surprise that some small engine vehicles do not get significantly better milage than the same vehicle with a larger engine because the power produced by the motor at it's optimum efficiency may not be enough to accelerate the vehicle in a sufficient manner most of the time. Solution- push harder on the gas, which takes the engine outside the highest efficiency range. It's like two men running track. One guy is 5'5" with short stubby legs, and the other man is 6'8" with long legs. To maintain the same speed the little guy has to run faster, using more energy. Same with engines. The problem is that it is hard to keep your foot out of a vehicle with more power, and the RATE of acceleration is what uses the fuel faster. Torque, horsepower, and engine design, along with hundreds of other factors, ( variable valve timming, 4-8 cylinder shutdown, etc. etc.) will enter into the equasion as well. But, when the "race" is all said and done, usually the "big" guy has less wear and tear, as well as more races left in him. (RPM, piston velocity, equal engine wear ratios). Used right, an engine sized right for the job is the best solution. Bottom line- GM knows, and WE know, the H3 and the Colorado are simply underpowerd right now. Fix it, or drop it.
rem83 9:01AM (11/13/2007)
Not sure I'd call a 305 a "small V8" It's no big block, but it's still pretty large. I don't think this truck has the chassis or weight to be able to handle what that V8 can do, its a waste to put it in a compact truck.
The Luigiian 2:51AM (3/01/2008)
Agreed with P to the C on this one. Why doesn't Chevy put a 6spd auto in the Colorado and get better efficiency out of that crew cab? I know I might be in the minority but I'll only buy the Colorado if it gets around 20mpg city/24mpg highway or so, and I can't see it doing that with a V-8. Leave it alone, but replace the 4 spd automatic with a 6 speed. And keep the crew cab/4cyl combination optional.
motorman 9:07AM (11/13/2007)
my 430 HP 6.2 liter C-6 corvette get 20 MPG every day driving and 28 on road trips so a V-8 will get good milage.
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Dave 9:44AM (11/13/2007)
Highway mileage is largely based on aerodynamics and gearing.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that your vette is a bit more aerodynamic than a truck. And it is geared to run 170+ mph, unlike a truck, which is geared to pull stumps.
psarhjinian 10:15AM (11/13/2007)
Your Vette also has a very slippery body, weighs not very much, and _skips three gears_ on the first upshift. It's also unburdened by the need to tow boats and such.
GM has played some very canny tricks to get the Corvette's fuel economy up. That these tricks do not work if you drive the car moderately hard isn't the issue--the Vette's highway and EPA numbers are an interesting fiction in anything other than a specific set of circumstances, perhaps as much so as the numbers a hybrid can put up.
This isn't to diminish what GM's achieved--they've done neat work to make a reasonably economic sportscar--but the Corvette isn't nearly as fuel efficient as it's billed to be, and comparing it to the powertrain of the Colorado is disingenuous.
FLR 10:25AM (11/13/2007)
My LS2 Vette gets great mileage as long as you shift early and stay out of the throttle.
I'll do that for a few days to see how high I can get the average MPG and then I'll say...screw it, I bought this car for a reason and it wasn't for gas mileage! ;-)
motorman 10:29AM (11/13/2007)
my 08 vette is my 11th new corvette and i am not quoting the window sticker i am stating the MPG it get while i am driving it. with a V-8 in the truck it also can be geared for mileage.
Zerk 9:40AM (11/13/2007)
I'd prefer a diesel. I have no issue with an optional V8. More options is better.
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Sam 9:44AM (11/13/2007)
there was a kid i went to highschool with, had an H3, thought it was super and turbo charged, had an V6 and was a manly vehicle. (H3's are associated by being the girl's hummer) I told him the real facts, and he was in total shock for the next week.
He was also a spoiled brat so don't feel anything for him.
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Jason 10:00AM (11/13/2007)
I see way more women driving H2s here than H3s.
Guenther 10:07AM (11/13/2007)
Sam- I call SHENNANEGENS! What V-6? Super AND turbo charger- seems foolish. What real facts did you tell him??
Sam 10:17AM (11/13/2007)
i told him he had in inline-5 H3 with a top speed of 99mph (he thought it was somewhere in the 150mph ballpark) I also told him it was a girl car. He thought it was something more manly, but this is off-topic, so lets leave it at that.
MGBYG 10:18AM (11/13/2007)
Why a V-8????
V-8, RWD, 6-sp manual, fairly light, simple, crude...sounds like classic muscle car but with the ability of grabbing 4x8 sheets of plywood at the Home Depot now and again.
Ugly, but 300-ish HP and RWD isn't too bad.
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MikeW 11:30AM (11/13/2007)
Hopefully they will reconsider, and skip on the V8 all together.
Just put a 6 speed auto in the truck.
Since Chrysler doesn't have the 4.0 V6 in the dakota, a souped up 3.7 I5 (250hp, 250ft-lbs) coupled to the 6L45 or 50 would be way faster and get better mileage than the 3.7 dakota.
It would also be faster than the 1gr-fe Tacoma, and at about parity with the V6 Frontier.
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Guenther 3:10PM (11/13/2007)
Mike- because of the final gearing and the over-all piggy-ness, the Frontier is kind of a pooch. Plenty of midrange punch, but slow off the line- although, that VQ 4L sounds sweet. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=104774/pageId=62752
Then again, it's probably time for another comparison, since the Gm and Dodge trucks have made some improvemnts since then.