You wouldn’t have been alone if you thought that if the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado would have been a solid runner-up to the 2015 Ford F-150 for Motor Trend’s 2015 Truck of the Year honors. Truth be told, we fully expected the 2015 F-150 with all of its aluminum body revolutions and fuel economy, towing and payload evolutions in its segment to walk away with the W here. Which would leave the 2015 Colorado, and 2015 GMC Canyon for that matter, empty handed.
It seems the editorial staff from Motor Trend didn’t see it that way.
Instead, Motor Trend unanimously voted in favor of the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado over the 2015 Ford F-150 based on the magazine’s six evaluation criteria: design advancement, engineering excellence, efficiency, safety, value and performance of intended function. Chevrolet entered both the 2015 Colorado WT and Colorado Z71 into the test, while GMC entered a 2015 Canyon SLT. Ford submitted the 2.7L EcoBoost 2015 F-150 and 3.5L EcoBoost 2015 F-150.
Some of the features of the 2015 Colorado that won the Motor Trend jurors over were its looks, handling, optimal combination of size and capability, and returned best-in-class fuel economy numbers based on the magazine’s “Real MPG” testing. Other contenders included: the Ford F-450, 2015 GMC Sierra Denali 2500 HD, 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD, along with the Ford Transit 350 HR and Transit 150 MR.
The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel won the award last year.
Comments
Next year it’ll be the baby Duramax!
Wow, this is going to cause some controversy on the internet. I recall last year being furious at MT’s decision to give it to Ram over the ’14 Silverado. Ford fans are not going to be pleased.
Congrats GM on this one!
Ford guys are up in arms over there on motortrend. Still think the F150 is overly hyped. Anywho… congrats to GM, keep making great products.
Now they just need to start making and shipping. I have yet to find a 6 cyl. extended cab to even test drive. Once I decide I want it I can wait for one the way I want it. I am looking for a smaller more manueverable truck that still has higher end class so obviously I want it loaded.
You got to give GM some credit for this two truck strategy. There were plenty of doubters, but it sure looks like they called this one right.
Issue with the Ford is that the buyer really does not care if it is aluminum. They want capability and MPG. Going aluminum gave it some MPG and some more capability but not enough to make up for the lukewarmness of the rest of the vehicle.
Remember last year when all the folks complained that GM did not change the appearance enough from the old one? MT says Ford did even a poorer job of styling revision.
“Burgess found the exterior redesign less of an advancement than that of last year’s Silverado. Lieberman concurred, lamenting that it didn’t look “nearly enough like the stunning Atlas Concept.””
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/truck/1502_2015_truck_of_the_year_contenders/#ixzz3Kqujtkpl
Isn’t MT based in Cali? Sport truck country. Don’t any of you remember the small, yellow trucks in Baywatch?
It is puzzling that they would choose this warmed over old (international) design without a diesel at launch, that is only marginally better than the import midsizers’ decade old designs, over the ground breaking half ton advancements made by FoMoCo.
I do think you can buy MT opinions with money, unlike C&D.
And a half ton with a 2.7 T gets the same MPG as the cheap, gutless 2.5 midsizer? And the midsizer wins?? You gotta be kidding.
Well then I guess all,,, the reviews are wrong, marginally!!!
Haters are going to hate, trolls are going to,,,
I’m not seeing where there was any significant MPG improvements to justify all the expense of the aluminum. Yea, you hear a lot about the 2.7’s great mileage ratings, but the other engines are only about 1 mpg better in the new body. The 2.7 takes a big hit with the addition of 4wd…
It’s nice to see this truck beat out the much(over)hyped new Ford.
Here is the deal these award do have some influence from the MFG and are not always straight up. It has been documented in Autoweek and other publications. I also see it at work with the magazines we work with and the more we spend in advertising the more influence with have with content. That is a proven known thing and I am not going to pretend it does not happen.
But with that said even with some influence being possibility they also do make some fair choices too. In other words the fix is not always in.
The fact is Ford has done a hell of a job marketing the Ecoboost and this bear can truck to the point they make it sound like it is the new Lockheed SR72.
If you take the new Ford at face value it is a good truck and to be honest the last truck was good too but it suffered from being the biggest porker on the market. GM had 300-400 pound advantage on Ford with only careful engineering and high strength steels. So whole Ford is marketing it is 700 pounds lighter than its own last truck the net gain over GM is only 300-400 pounds. The truth is the numbers are better but not as much against the Chevy or Dodge. The same on the MPG where it has gotten better than what they had but compared to the GM and Dodge not as much of an improvement.
While Ford can fool some people they are not fooling everyone. So while I will call them on the truth I will still give them credit for building a good truck.
Now here is the challenge. Ford has to deal with cost of materials and repair issues. Both will work out with some time but being the first it will prove to be a challenge. This will help Chevy and Ram once they get their products out as more than 10% of body shops should be better able to handle repairs and do it cheaper.
As for the Colorado GM is taking a bigger risk as they are trying to re establish a old segment again. This is a big risk and they had to make a very good truck as they have. The pay of is if this works they will own the segment and dominate it for several years with no immediate response for several years.
In the end they all will have aluminum trucks and smaller trucks. The end will be the same even if they start in different places. The Ranger will be here at some point and I expect Fiat will follow once they figure out what they are doing.
The thing I see is the Half ton class will dry up as MFG try to get people in these smaller but still large trucks to meet future CAFE. Even all the aluminum will not save the half ton full size as mass is an issue. Now the larger truck focus will be on the 3/4 ton as we are already seeing with all three. We have never see so much attention to 3/4 ton as now and more in the future. The fact is the CAFE affects them less so they will be able to serve those who want a larger truck.
The one wild card here that is going to hurt GM and Ford here is cheap gas. When gas is cheap MPG and all these advancement mean little. This will be the challenge to their advancements to more efficient trucks. At GM people will buy more full size and at Ford many will buy more V8 and 3.5 vs. the 2.7. Now if gas goes up that all could change in a month.
So for now I congratulate Ford and GM both for some very good trucks and a big thumbs up to GM for a very good job and win with the Colorado.
Note all the Magazines C/D, MT and Automobile are all owned by the same company and often will let a different car win similar test. They are out to sell magazines and people who like the story will buy one of the magazines.
So do your homework and learn the details and you will find the truth in all of this. I just wish GM would market like Ford as while they may not be all that much different than GM physically they are worlds ahead in their marketing. Cadillac is not the only marketing issue.
I sat in a new crew cab 4×4 Colorado about a week ago. Leather, remote start, all the options and I will say it was very, very nice. I just loved that interior and plenty of room in the back seat for a person under 6ft. Loved the dash, way nicer then that odd shape of the full size Silverado’s. But it was $36,000. Dealer claims they cannot keep them on the lot, but have yet to see one on the roads.
Never seen such a bias award in my life. Truck was gone because ranger put them out now that ford gets rid of it Chevy tries to slide in and these idiot girl judges are picking the Colorado nice, go get your girl truck Chevy guys
Girl Judges?
Maybe they secure do not have to compensate for other things that are small like some Ford fans do. LOL!
While I am happy that the Colorado won, I think Chevy still has some work to do.
1) Fuel economy is not where it needs to be — it must be significantly better than the full size trucks.
2) I am probably wrong, but I think the Colorado is too big. Without a simple cab option, it won’t fit in many people’s garages. That’s a big deal, especially if Chevy wants to win over the weekend warriors who don’t really need a truck at all.
3) Don’t think that Ford’s aluminum body isn’t a big deal. All of Chevy’s trucks need a 300 pound diet just to keep competitive. With the 2016 Tacoma around the corner, it’s not clear that Chevy will stay ahead for long. The Colorado should have had an aluminum hood and tailgate at a minimum.
4) No manual transmission with the V6 or 4WD !?!??! Carmakers don’t offer manual transmissions with the vehicle configurations people want — and just watch as Chevy tells the world next year that there aren’t enough orders the stripper 2WD manual model to justify offering the manual on popular selling configurations. Stupid self-defeating strategy, especially with Chevy’s long track record of making its automatics so wonky (fast to upshift, slow to downshift, poor manual shifting, no flappy paddles). Chevy needs to get that manual transmission implemented across the entire model range.
5) Diesel value remains to be seen, especially as oil prices are temporarily depressed.
6) Too much electronic junk. Why can’t a person buy a truck without this stuff?
You can whine all you like about a manual but the take rate on them is real. If it is not a Corvette or Camaro it is a tough sell. Just ask around and see just how many people have never driven one or can drive one. Also the emissions issues is real too and that is why even companies like Ferrari make it difficult to get a gated shifter in anything anymore.
Fords aluminum is good but not as much of an impact as some would like you to believe. It is just the next step and in Fords place they were already behind. When Chevy makes their move and loses 700 pounds they will be 300 up on Ford in 2017-2018.
As for electronic junk that is what sells the most things and it is cheaper to make much of it standard vs. mixing it up. Things like Electric windows and locks are lighter in many cases and for sure cheaper to install in everything vs. offering a small selection on cranks on some cars. Some want to believe it is marketing but so often it comes down to pure economic.
You are correct the Colorado is a large truck. It is for a reason as they are trying to move people to a smaller truck in steps. Make it too small and few will bite in todays market.
Now with that said there is still talk of GM looking at a smaller truck that could be sold globally. Something S10 size or even a little smaller. We already have seen a GMC with an expanding bed concepts so there is some progressive ideas in the works.
Again a lot of this as to why and how to make sense is not told to us and you have to understand what is going on inside GM to know why they are dong as they do or see where this is all going.
Like I have said the next 10 years will bring some radical changes to the truck market and the Aluminum is just the start but 700 lighter Fords and 2.7 Turbo engines are still not enough to get any MFG were they need to be.
Sales rate of manual transmissions has been driven down by automakers intentionally. There are never any manuals on the lot. People buy what is available, even though the automatics are less reliable, costlier, and heavier — and in the real world, not really any more fuel efficient either. GM could price the manual exactly the same as the automatic, which would easily double the profit margin on their transmission, and 5-15% of trucks will sell with manual transmissions. If GM continues to restrict manuals to the 4 cylinder 2wd trucks, then obviously it will sell more expensive product now and more services later.
Claim whatever you want about Chevy rolling out aluminum vehicles, Ford beat GM to the punch and there is no guarantee that GM is going to do that much better at aluminum bodywork than Ford. I expect to be waiting a long time for GM to reduce the weight of its vehicles. Mulally’s last hurrah at Ford was to drive some aerospace engineering down into cars. Sadly, GM leadership just doesn’t have that same engineering-first mentality. This isn’t to say Ford’s new F150 is as good as it should be, but a realistic assessment that in structural engineering, they just leapt ahead. Don’t offer promises and excuses for GM. GM just needs to get on with a better product. 15 years ago GM had an all-composite pickup bed that was superior in all measures to the stamped steel bed. But beancounters at GM decided not to take any risks. It’s time to put engineering leaders back in charge at GM.
Electronic junk does _not_ sell cars or trucks. Functionality sells cars and trucks. Wake up and realize that a simple iPhone dock has infinitely more functionality than the most expensive GM dashboard electronics. As automakers chase their tails to make the “features list” as complicated as possible, the end result is that simple functions no longer have the reliability that they should, and owners are forced to bring back their vehicles to the dealer for repairs. That completely undermines automaker reputation. One way or another, the automaker takes your money, but since electronic reliability has always been a sore point, those high-dollar service charges only cost the automaker in future sales. Look at Mercedes as evidence of that. Too many electronic problems drove them down in reliabilty ratings, and so now Audi is eating their lunch.
If Chevy sold the new Colorado with 2 door cab, Work Truck trim, with V6, manual, and 4wd with dual lockers, then i’d put down $35k for it today. Since Chevy will not, i’ll wait to see what Toyota has to offer next year.
We have “Truck of the year”, “New truck of the year”. “North American truck of the year”. These awards are kind of useless.