The 2019 Chevrolet Blazer has really stirred the pot in the past weeks. It’s not an awful looking thing, but it certainly pulls an honored nameplate from the brand’s past and maybe, even if just a little, tarnishes it.
This 1972 Chevy K5 Blazer is what we think of when we hear the name. And it just sold on Bring a Trailer for $40,0000. Finished in Hawaiian Blue and equipped with the Cheyenne Equipment package, it’s a testament to the General Motors SUVs of the 20th century.
And with only 65,000 miles on the odometer, the new owner scored something pretty incredible. 15-inch rally-style wheels sit at all four corners with 33-inch Wild Country Radial XTX tires wrapping them. The Hawaiian Blue exterior was resprayed 10 years ago and looks minty fresh today after spending the majority of its life in northern Michigan.
Inside, things are totally stock save for a RetroSound MP3 stereo. Even the leather seats look to be in pretty good shape.
Although this one got away, surely more Blazers will surface for sale. The market is hot for SUVs right now, but the classic-car market is only now starting to fall in love with vintage SUVs.
Comments
I have a gloriously maintained 1978 K5 Blazer. It’s phenomenal. I keep reading this story over and over about tarnishing the nameplate with this new Blazer. It’s a little much. This new Blazer is a much better vehicle than any of the S10/Colorado based SUVs that carried the Blazer name in the 90s and 00s. This new vehicle is incredibly sharp. I think it was a good move by GM. The reality is that GM still has a name for a super capable solid axle vehicle available to them: K5.
Thank you for the rational and honest post.
I have always loved the K5 and always will. The Blazer name was used on a number of vehicles including the Trailblazer that in truth were forgettable.
I would love to see a new mid sized model come but it should have its own name K5 would be fine.
I do not see a full size coming as today’s markets are all 4 doors now and we have the Tahoe to fill that roll. In fact the Tahoe is where the 4 door suv segment really took off.
GM will make a lot of money on the new model and that is what it is all about.
Yes they could have chosen a different name nut that could have gone wrong too. Lumina, Celebrity, Citation etc……
i have a nice 1990 blazer i just love, o can’t get in to the new one, but i think this is what people want https://www.facebook.com/lsowners/photos/a.1399414520334907.1073741829.1398981613711531/2117985368477815/?type=3&theater
That’s a great looking vehicle in the link. Unfortunately, the number of people who would actually lay out the $$ for it would be very limited. It’s not worth developing an entire new vehicle over limited sales. GM may as well just make another 2 door Yukon/Tahoe like they also did in the 90’s(instead of the full size Blazer).
This Blazer will sell well. Our dealership has already had people inquiring about it since it was debuted. This is a mass volume vehicle, which is what every manufacturer wants and needs.
People are linking the Blazer name back to the full size, but more people actually remember the smaller Blazer (last version) which was no prize winning vehicle.
A new Blazer should have been built off the Colorado chassis. They have enough crossovers to take to the mall.
They make one…. its called the Trailblazer and sells in Australia, Malaysia, Brazil, etc. It’s a good looking SUV that looks like it could head to head with a Jeep. If the market demands it, it wouldn’t take much to have it here.
I can’t verify it, but I was told that Chevy is currently working on a body on frame midsize SUV based off of global Trailblazer.
Had a ’79 2w d Blazer. Great blue with white top and white interior. Cousin still owns his new1976 with 2wd and 4speed. Black on black with saddle interior.
Completely ridiculous article. No one wants to buy a 2 door body on frame SUV. Family men can’t have it because their wives won’t let them. Wives won’t ever buy it. Teenagers and under 25 buyers weren’t alive when the K5 was even relevant. Hell if you were born after 1985 the K5 Blazer was not relevant. You only have to look to the success of the FJ Cruiser to understand this move by GM. The FJ Cruiser was a flop. Pure nostalgia purchase. But Jeep has had success! Yes they have. Why? Because the market for body on frame SUVs has finally stabilized. No more Hummers. The Ford Explorer sucks. So what else is there for people who do want a body on frame trail hitting SUV? Jeep. Jeep is finally seeing legitimate numbers because Hummers are aging and people need something new. But the body on frame market is maxed out. As soon as the Bronco is introduced you are going to see a dip in Jeep sales followed by years of recovery for Jeep and years of decline for Bronco. Bronco is another FJ Cruiser flop in making. Another nostalgia purchase. I know women that drive Jeeps now, once a kid is born, I hate my Jeep I want a crossover. This is the way the market is. And for the record I was born in 1981 and I could care less about a K5 Blazer. If I want a Blazer I’ll get a Yukon/Tahoe. If I want a sporty Velar/Porsche/RX looking SUV I’ll get a new 2019 Blazer.
It’s a wait and see sort of situation.. while the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer looks different, it’s target buyer is not someone who may have bought a 1972 Chevrolet Blazer and towards a younger audience.
Right on the money! As much as I love traveling down Memory Lane, too, I realize that times change. Although I’m a boomer, I like the new 2019 Blazer design because it’s a real refreshing take on CUVs and SUVs with the market jammed with plain vanilla generic designs. Frankly, if what I see online even remotely resembles what I see at the LA Auto Show, I’m going to buy one and not give a whit to what theowners of European and Japanese CUVs and SUVs think.
My brother had a blue 72 just like the one above, drives a white Tahoe now.
personally I loved my 1995 s-10 blazer. The new one looks too much like a Jeep
It wouldn’t be historically accurate, but they could call an off-road “version” of this (built on the Colorado platform) the Trailblazer. The Blazer and the Trailblazer. Without considering the history, the name Trailblazer sounds more capable anyway.
By the time I could afford a Blaser and need the extra seats, it was 1986 and bought a white with black bottom stripped 4 door 4×4 4.3 v6. Loved it! It came with black peppered interior. It diffinately served my purpose until I let my eldest daughter take it and someone ran into her…. I had it for 9 years and it ran like a top with 145k on the clock.
I ended up buying a 94 GMC 2 door Highrider same as Chevy ZR2, and a year later they came out with a Blaser 4 door 4×4 ZR2 and wanted one really bad and still do… Now I have a 4×4 5.3 v8 4 door crew cab Colorado with all the trimmings and love it.
I also would have liked GM to make a 4 door Blaser 4×4 ZR2 with today’s Colorado platform rather than have another vehicle in small and crowded market place.
I like the rugged terrain look and drivability of this size vehicle.
The new CUV inappropriately called Blazer will be a smash and it is a great looking vehicle but I think the name” tarnishes” this vehicle as much as the vehicle” tarnishes” the name. I have had three Blazers, two K5’s and one S10. All three were great vehicles and I still own one of the K5’s. But the S10 Blazer (1990 Model, First Gen) was far more comfortable and usable as a daily driver. It was also a better off roader due to it’s size and it was quite capable with the 4.3 V6 it had. it was a “Blazer” in every way and in some ways better. But the new car is not a rugged, truck based off roader and should have been given a sleek, modern name to go along with it’s looks. It will never compare to a K5 or even S10 so it can’t live up to the legend of those trucks but it is entirely different vehicle that is misnamed.
It’s kind of like an Abercrombie model named “Cletus”.
its nice looking but but i would never call it a blazer Chevy could have called it a 2019 or a 2020 equinox