Just last month, we brought you spy shots of what looked to be the replacement for the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon. However, General Motors seems to have a certain strategy in mind for U.S.-market small pickups wherein it places increased emphasis on simplicity and compact design. This plan, which calls for selling the actual next-generation Colorado/Canyon pickup everywhere except in North America, is very much akin to the old-school Chevy S10 and GMC Sonoma haulers.
So with talk of the next-gen Colorado and Canyon most likely not to be available in North America, its leaves to ponder what The General has in store for the U.S. market when it comes to small pickup trucks. Today, photos have been discovered of yet another small camouflaged pickup truck undergoing testing. Interestingly, this one appears to be even more compact than the truck that was caught last month.
From the looks of it, the diminutive truck pictured above resembles patent illustrations that emerged earlier this week. While many thought it to be the next-generation Colorado/GMC Canyon, it actually looks to be a replacement for the current Chevrolet Montana (Chevrolet Tornado in Mexico) sold in Latin and South America.
2010 Chevrolet Agile - Brazil
According to reports, the truck will be held together by GM’s Gamma II global compact platform and – as you can see from the pictures – wears the same face as the Chevy Agile – a higher-riding Gamma II-based hatchback sold in Latin America. The current-generation Montana is based on the original Gamma platform and shares its looks with the outgoing Chevy Corsa. To make things even more interesting (or confusing), Jamie Ardila, President of the newly-established GM South America division, has recently stated that “if you are interested in the U.S. market [for this truck], by all means place your order.”
But is the U.S. really interested in a Gamma II-based pickup truck?
The GM Authority Take
In my opinion- no. The Montana will not and should not be sold in the U.S. How come? The next generation Chevy Montana will be a Gamma II-based pickup truck, meaning it will be driven by the front wheels and will have a very wimpy powerplant. This setup may work in countries like Brazil and Mexico, but not in the U.S.A., where trucks are as serious as they come.
Perhaps the next-gen Colorado and Montana are actually vehicles that are destined for the rest of the world (outside of North America) while the Colorado/Canyon will be the larger (and more capable) choice. At this point, the small pickup truck that is destined for the U.S. market to replace the Colorado/Canyon remains unseen.
[Source: Pickuptrucks]
Comments
I will bet you there is one person at GM who is thinking this is a great idea.. We shall call it El Camino.
(Please note this is sarcasm. Lets leave it south america, mmkay)
Could use some serious work on cosmetic body styling so it at least looks like a truck a guy would drive. 🙂
But I think the idea would work if 180hp, 3000lb towing and 25mpg city.
I don’t mind a short bed and bigger cab. Would like it be stepside and have bed rail storage. The Fiat strada with that bed rack looks pretty good to me.
I beleive that there is a market for a SMALL truck in the US. but I think like cyberpine plus it should be all wheel drive. Great for young kids and comuters that need to haul small things on the weekends. If they were in the US right now I would own one. At my age I have less need of a truck(full size/mid size) but still would like a small truck with easy mpg. for back and forth to work and for picking up larger things for around the house!!!!!