Roughly a quarter century after the discontinuation of the K5 Chevy Blazer, General Motors resurrected the Blazer nameplate for the 2019 model year as an all-new midsize crossover. Almost immediately, a subset of outspoken K5 Chevy Blazer fans spoke out against GM’s decision to reuse the nameplate for this new unibody crossover, chastising the automaker and characterizing the new crossover as an unfit successor to the K5. The question is – is the hate for the Chevy Blazer crossover justified?
We should start with the K5 Chevy Blazer. Produced over the three generations between the 1969 and 1994 model years, the K5 Blazer is considered a legend in the off-roader space, with a body-on-frame design, a range of V8 engine options, four-wheel-drive, and a spacious and versatile interior. However, the K5 Blazer’s true off-road capabilities were realized by the aftermarket, which added all manner of lift kits, off-road tires, suspension upgrades, and more to transform the rig into a whole new beast when the pavement ended.
Which is to be expected. If you modify a vehicle for a certain activity, such as off-roading, it should be good at that activity, no? That said, one could argue that, stock to stock, the modern Chevy Blazer crossover is objectively better than the standard K5 Chevy Blazer ever was – in just about every single way, too. Engine power density, cabin noise levels, fuel efficiency, ride quality… the list goes on and on.
“Back in the ‘70s, the K5 Blazer represented a ‘typical SUV.’ Five decades of engineering and development later, the Blazer crossover is today’s ‘typical SUV’,” explains GM Authority Executive Editor Alex Luft. “It’s not all that capable off-road, but that was never its intended purpose. That role would have been reserved for the now-cancelled GMC Jimmy.”
The buying public, it would seem, tends to agree. Chevy Blazer sales figures show the crossover’s best sales year in 2020 at 94,599 units sold, with consistent annual performance between 60,000 and 70,000 units.
There’s also the fact that the Chevy Blazer complements the Bow Tie brand’s utility vehicle lineup in a meaningful way.
“The Blazer allows Chevy to offer a complete spectrum of crossovers, ranging from subcompact (Trax, Trailblazer) to compact (Equinox) and midsize (Blazer) to full-size (Traverse),” Luft states. “No other automaker offers a broader crossover lineup than Chevy does today, and the Blazer is a big part of that.”
In the end, though, the outspoken K5 fans throwing shade at the new Blazer crossover don’t really care about sales, or profits, or measurable things like engine power density, or how quiet the cabin is, or fuel efficiency, or ride quality. What these fans care about is the K5 Blazer, and simply put, the Chevy Blazer crossover ain’t it. Nor will it ever be.
There could be other things tied in as well, such as a broad distaste for modern vehicles, from the design, to the technology, to the complexity. GM’s move to EVs could be a sticking point as well. As such, anything new with a name steeped in tradition could become a target, and the Blazer crossover would certainly fit that description.
So maybe you love manual transmissions and big V8 engines and gnarly off-road tires and body-on-frame construction. And we think that’s awesome – hell, we love that stuff too! But in the end, if it’s a K5 Blazer that you want, there’s really only one solution – buy a K5 Blazer, because the new Blazer crossover is a different animal entirely.
Of course, we want to know your opinion. Is the hate for the Chevy Blazer crossover justified? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy Blazer news, Chevy news, GM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
No, of course not. It’s the use of the name that may deserve the hate. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the Blazer, except that it’s getting long in the tooth.
It’s rather like how it was trendy a few years ago to hate on four-door coupes, when really it was calling the coupes that people objected to. Do enthusiasts seriously hate sleek four-door sedans?
Because every sedan has turned into a 4 door coupe, with no headroom and horrible entry/exit.
Judging by sales of “sleek 4 door sedans”, yes.
The name is the issue, not the crossover itself. GM should have seen the problem using a storied nameplate of a well known truck based SUV on a crossover would elicit criticism.
Exactly, and they’re going to run into the same thing if they try the Camaro name on some goofy design.
The crossover is an also-ran at best. It doesn’t excell at anything, and it doesn’t sell very well. It’s just more proof that GM dropped the ball here.
Going after Bronco was the right thing, not going after Murano and Edge, both of which have been in steady decline.
The above comments nail it. The Blazer name is associated with a body on frame SUV. RWD based, available 4WD, rugged looks and reasonable ground clearance. I like the current Blazer among current FWD based crossovers, but not the name they chose. It’s just salt in the would that Ford got it so right with the Bronco. GM should have resurrected the name for a vehicle to compete directly with it.
I would challenge that rhetoric.
Only a select few (a minority) actually associate the Blazer name with a body on frame SUV. What they do associate the Blazer name with is an SUV that could haul their family, looks good and is somewhat comfortable. Those are all things that the current Blazer also delivers. Body on frame was never all that vital on the Blazers of past, and it’s irrelevant today.
Obviously GM didn’t learn their lesson after bringing back the Nova nameplate. What used to be synonymous with muscle cars was now a name used for a less than robust econo-box.
Why didn’t they just bring back the 2-door Tahoe/Yukon again and catch the growing retro desire. Bring them back as the K5 and the Jimmy and make them in a ZR2 and AT4X version.
The Nova name was synonymous with the bottom of the line Chevrolet, it might have had a hot SS model a few years but the Nova in reality was more closely related to the Toyota based commuter sedan than the “muscle car legend” it is in some peoples heads.
Most Novas were 6 cylinder grocery getters not 396 SS’s.
My Nova was a 69 SS350. Bought it brand new. My first new car.
Good For you, there were 251,849 basic Novas made vs only 17,564 that were SS models, meaning that the majority of Novas in 1969 as in all other years of the Nova were grocery getter sedans with a 6 or small V8.
Point being … next to nobody remembers/cares the lesser Nova models. The fact that you had to remind people proves my point. The re-introduced Nova had NO performance variant whatsoever, and was in my opinion, was more laughable than the Chevette! Although less than 20% of previous Nova models were the performance version, that’s what people remember most from the 60’s and 70’s nameplate. When I was 5, I was super excited to find out my babysitter had a Nova … until I found out it was a 4-door 6-cylinder Nova. Not a car I desire to have today … but a 350 or 396 powered Nova, THAT would be nice to have!
Most people don’t remember the Nova at all….
I love my 2023 Blazer!! I used to drive the K5, but I really like how moveable and easy to park the new Blazer!
After having 2 S10 Blazers and a Trailblazer ( you know with a straight 6 ) why would anyone want the current ones. Give us back a small pickup the ones they sell are too big ! You’re pushing us away.
We have a ’22 Blazer and really like it. Obviously it’s not a K5. We still like it though. And I love the K5, up through ’91. But, if you want to get into name calling, today’s SUV’s, are nothing more than modern day station wagons. I would exclude models built on a truck frame. One last thing. Is anyone else experiencing the sponsored link ad crap that keeps popping up at the beginning of the reports? Or is it just me? When I scroll down it just pops up. It’s especially irritating when I’m reading GMA on my phone, partially blocks my screen.
I have a 2023 Chevy Blazer Premier with the 22″ tires and wheels, red tint coat paint, it’s b!tchin’. I love the vehicle. Why all the negative $hit on these forums? Is there any basis for a lot of these contrary comments?
The K5 Blazer name needed to be represented properly, this Chevy Blazer design missed the mark by a mile! Simple things like the roof line, rear quarters, rear end and the Camaro interior knock off. I’ve owned GM products on and off and if they continue their China influenced designs and Corporate control won’t end well. Our last two new purchases were a GMC Acadia and a Chevy Traverse in the last 10 years. GM is 5 years behind the curve, here’s hoping they make the correct decisions in 2024-25‼️🇺🇸
If I had gone with GM/GMC I would have picked the Acadia as the Tahoe was just priced too high. Same thing with the Yukon & Ford Expedition. Went with 4Runner due to the history/longevity, & still on frame construction.
I think gm should respect it’s die hard fans and not use a name like Blazer on a modern crossover. There’s many good sounding names in the dictionary that could be used for the Blazer of today. Besides we can see by Bronco’s success that GM could use a good mid size off roader.
Wayne
I bought a 2024 Blazer RS 3.6L. I bought it because I like the looks. the size, the features, the options, and the build quality.
I dont know what all yhe fuss is about ,Its named Blazer not K5 Blazer as the original was
The vehicle is fine I guess, just boring and ugly. I just wish they would’ve used a different name. Even a 3 letter name would’ve been better.
The Blazer name should’ve been left alone to rest in peace.
J.A.F.S.U.V.
What?
I loved the posts. I thought of a thousand things to reply. Simply put, there is no comparison between classic cars on road,off road, muscle or luxury and new vehicles. Classic cars have character and faces. What’s in a name ? All sounds like mental bubblegum, but what do I know.
Why isn’t anyone complaining about the C8 Corvette? The C1 was around before the K5 Blazer.
Times, technology and tastes change, roll with it.
The naysayers sound like Henry Ford, he wanted to make the Model T forever.
I believe sales are down because the interior looks cheap and is ugly following the Camaro interior. Additionally it’s really noisy, you can hear every pebble you run over.
GM has completely abandoned the bronco and maverick end of the market. Of course the raptor and mustang and challenger and everything else in the market.
Just Mary being a greenie.
Good luck to the employees.
I have owned 2 K5 Blazers and currently a 2023 Blazer. I loved both for what they were designed to do. I used the K5s for off roading as they were loud lumber trucks on the highway. The new Blazer is a great highway cruiser delivering great comfort and fuel economy. I love the new Blazer.
It’s not called a K5 so why K5 fans mad? The blazer name was use on s10 in past which is smaller then current blazer so I feel they just paying homage to that. G.M.A. needs to let readers know facts like this so people can understand why they may have used it. Now if it’s was called a K5 blazer I’ll be mad too.
I don’t care if they call their current mid-size Crossover the Chevy Kumquat.
What is amazing is the jaw-droppingly gawd-awful release of the BLAZER EV.
I bet tens of thousands of people think twice investing their hard earned monies on such a disgraceful initial release…. At Least the late 50s FORD EDSAL was a fairly decent car at its release.
And people thought the almost Identical LYRIQ release was horrific. At least my LYRIQ worked for 7,000 miles before I started having troubles.. We’ll see if the over $20,000 GM spent to fix it will make it somewhat more reliable.
Edsal is a line of steel shelving. Edsel is a car (and a Ford family name).
Ah! Spelling was never a strong point for me, I stand corrected.
What Ford did with the Branco is more truthful to the name and history of the badge, no this “soccer Mom” BS.
The “hate’ for the Blazer is stupid. Somehow those that have a nostalgic thing for the large off road Blaser body on frame chassis conveniently have memory loss that there was a S-10 compact Blazer for 29 yrs! No outrage when that hit the market. Todays Blazer is a great ride, handling with real V6 power. I am looking forward to replacing my 2020 with another AWD RS 2025 when ordering begins.
The compact Blazer was BOF and available with 4wd, it could definitely go off-road.
This is a pathetic FWD that isn’t even good in the segment its in. It does nothing well but give Chevy Z71 buyers something for their wives to look at, before they go buy something else. It sells poorly and gets terrible reviews by people who’ve driven more than just it.
If the Blazer returned as a midsize BOF SUV to compete with Wrangler and Bronco, GM wouldn’t be able to build them fast enough. Instead, they dump these with discounts and into rental fleets, hoping someone who doesn’t know any better comes along and actually pays retail.
The fact that Chevy used the name Blazer for this one really has upset you….LOL!!
GM blew it with the naming for the true chevy fanatics. Just remove the B, call it a Lazer! That would work pretty well in my opinion.
i PURCHASED A 2020 BLAZER AWD IN 2020 IT HAS BEEN A GREAT VEHICLE I AM VERY PLEASED WITH IT IN ALL AREAS.
I HAVE BEEN A CHEVROLET SERVICE MANAGER AND I CONSIDER THE BLAZERONE OF THE BEST UNITS AVAILABLE.
AND IM SURE YOU COMPARED IT FAIRLY TO ITS COMPEDITORS AND DROVE THEM ALL BEFORE DECIDING ON THE WORST VEHICLE IN ITS SEGMENT.
Please tell us what dealer you work at so I don’t accidentally go there and get an all-caps, barely readable service report. Thanks, impartial Blazer owner, you’re a sport.
Built in Mexico doesn’t help with the super fans, or the UAW. I see more Jeep Wranglers in GM parking lots than I do Chevy Blazers.
I don’t have nearly as much of an issue with calling this a Blazer compared with Ford calling the crossover lumpy frumpy thing they made a Mustang. Lets be real. The one major thing that changed between the old Blazer and the new one was the RWD truck like architecture that underpinned the 80’s to 00’s version versus the FWD based one on sale today. Even the size is similar and both have V6 engines and seat 5 passengers.
And one can go-off road, the other has to be towed when it jumps a curb at Starbucks.
Boy, you sure do know how to rattle the cage!
I have a 77 K5, now that’s a Blazer!
I’ve owned a 84 S10 Blazer, 19 Blazer and currently driving a 2023 Blazer, all been great vehicles. Never bothered me about them not having anything to do with the K5
The Tahoe IS the Blazer, direct successor, they never stopped making them, they just dropped the 2 door. The last 4 years the 2 door “K5 Blazer” was available it was already badged as a Tahoe.
Get over it.
No matter how hard they try, GM will NEVER EVER come close to Bastardizing a name the way Ford did the ’70 thru ’78 Thunderbird.
There is nothing storied about the Blazer name. It was used for two generations (and a partial 3rd for a few years) and constantly watered down. The S10 Blazer was added and both full size and midsize versions became softer on road focus models and eventually spun off in to the trailblazer name. This wasn’t some iconic 6 generations of use name, it was a short period in time that a few elders want to hang on the name. The Blazer is completely ok and fitting. If GM had tried to enter the Wrangler market it would have been overly saturated. That is one of the markets with the highest turnover of buyers. They buy because they think it is cool and after realizing it sucks every day if it isn’t used for what it is designed for they trade it in a few years later. Sales will slump and have shown signs of it. You can’t enter a silo’d market and expect long term solid sales with competition, especially when the vehicle is unique and needs a ton of separate R&D and parts which drives up the cost. Same with the Raptor/TRX, there is a ton of separate things done to those vehicle that don’t justify the 15kish in sales they generate for the money and time involved.
Speaking of name rage, what will be the response when the 4 passenger Corvette comes out?
The end of an era.
I don’t understand why GM couldn’t go after Ford and Jeep, with a body on frame 4×4 from the current Colorado, just like they did with the Hummer H3. With the current engine choices from GM, another H3 would be a hit or even a ZR2 Midsize K-5 Blazer.