Chevrolet S10

The Chevrolet S10, also known as the S-10 or S-Series, is a midsize pickup truck marketed by General Motors since 1981 primarily across the Americas. The S10 was introduced for the first time in North America as the S-10. A variant of that model launched several years later in South America.

After two generations spanning 23 years on the market, the Chevrolet S10 was discontinued in North America in 2004, as GM ceased manufacturing and marketing the vehicle on the continent. At that time, the vehicle was replaced by the Chevrolet Colorado. Meanwhile, the S10 has enjoyed an uninterrupted production run in Brazil from 1995 to present.

Currently, the Chevrolet S10 spans a total of three generations.

First Generation

1982 Chevrolet S-10 for North America

The first-generation Chevrolet S-10 was introduced in the United States in late 1981 calendar year as a 1982 model. Its name was officially spelled as S-10, with a dash between the letter “S” and the number “10.”

The vehicle was the first compact pickup truck developed and manufactured entirely by an American company. As such, the model was fully designed and developed by GM’s Detroit Development Center, unlike its Japanese-rooted predecessor, the Chevrolet LUV truck .

1989 Chevrolet S-10 Extended Cab for North America

The first-generation Chevrolet S-10 was based on the GM GMT325 platform shared with various other vehicles, including:

Chevrolet S-10 Blazer, later renamed to Chevrolet Blazer
GMC S-15 Jimmy, later renamed to GMC Jimmy
GMC Syclone
GMC Typhoon
Oldsmobile Bravada

The GMT325 platform also derived the Grumman LLV postal carrier.

The first-gen Chevrolet S-10 was initially sold in a single variant with a regular cab. Later in its lifecycle, an extended cab model was added. In addition, the pickup served as the foundation for the industry’s first compact SUV: the Chevrolet S-10 Blazer (later renamed simply to Chevrolet Blazer).

The first-generation Chevy S-10 was produced for 12 years until 1993, achieving very healthy levels of popularity and recognition, both in the United States and internationally.

Second Generation

1994 Chevrolet S10 Extended Cab for North America

The second-generation Chevrolet S10 reached the North American market in the 1993 calendar year as a 1994 model. Unlike the first-generation, this second-gen model deleted the dash between the “S” and the “10” – resulting in an official name of “S10”.

The second-gen model rode on the same GM GMT325 platform but was characterized by a much more aerodynamic exterior design. This model also generated a region-specific variant for South America, which was sold for some time in North America as the Isuzu Hombre.

2004 Chevrolet S10 Crew Cab for North America

2005 Chevrolet S10 Crew Cab for Brazil

In 1995, GM began manufacturing the Chevrolet S10 in Brazil, where it caused a significant disruption by becoming the first pickup produced locally in the country while also adding a double cab.

The second-generation S10 ended production in the United States in 2004, as it was replaced by the first-generation Chevrolet Colorado. Meanwhile, Brazilian production of the second-generation S10 spanned 17 consecutive years, ending in early 2012.

Third Generation

2012 Chevrolet S-10 for Brazil

The third-generation Chevrolet S10 debuted in February 2012 in Brazil. Its name is officially “S10” in some markets, and “S-10” in others.

Riding on the GM GMT31XX platform, this model was developed as a collaborative effort between the GM engineering teams in Australia and Thailand. As such, the third-gen S10 is identical (mechanically and otherwise) to the Chevrolet Colorado that debuted in late 2011 in Thailand, and was sold in Southeast Asia as well as in Australia and New Zealand (as the Holden Colorado). In other words, the third-generation Chevrolet S10 is a rebadged second-generation Chevrolet Colorado sold in South America and Southeast Asia. The second-generation Chevrolet Colorado sold in North America differs in various ways from this vehicle, including mechanically, and on the exterior and interior.

2020 Chevrolet S10 Crew Cab High Country for Brazil

2020 Chevrolet S10 Crew Cab LT for Brazil

The third-generation Chevrolet S10 was sold in a dozen countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. It was sold in Mexico as the S10, but was replaced by the U.S.-market Colorado starting with the 2018 calendar year.

GM gave the third-gen S10 two styling updates throughout its lifecycle in order to stay relevant in South America’s competitive midsize pickup truck segment.

Similar to the second-generation model, the third-generation S10 served as the foundation for an SUV variant called the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, otherwise known as the Holden TrailBlazer and Holden Colorado 7.