If small is the new big, someone forgot to tell the car companies that build and sell pickups. Where have all the smaller pickups gone?
Ford, for instance, used to sell hundreds of thousands of compact Rangers every year, but no more – not in Canada and the United States, at least. If you want a Ford Ranger in 2014, head to Australia or Thailand where a recently re-engineered version is for sale.
Chrysler used to sell a mid-size Dakota pickup just big enough to do many of the useful chores of a full-size truck, but small enough to fit in a shopping mall parking space. We said so long to the Dakota years ago, however.
Toyota makes the Tacoma – still a good, reliable pickup. But it's not particularly compact. In fact, it's big enough to be built in the same Texas plant that spits out Toyota's full-size Tundra.
Nissan has the mid-size Frontier, a useful pickup but not a compact one by any means. The Frontier, in fact, is big enough to have shared a basic platform with Nissan's full-size Titan when development was first done.
Honda is readying a new mid-size Ridgeline, so we'll need to wait to see if the 2016 Ridgeline is more of the same – a nice Honda car with an interesting pickup bed in back, one with a hidden storage space that's really useful.
Other auto makers, from Volkswagen to Mazda, have either abandoned compact and mid-size pickup buyers or never bothered with them. Mazda is an interesting case because at one time Ford sold a Mazda-designed B-Series pickup wearing a Courier badge, one exported to North America from Thailand. Later, the companies switched places; the Mazda B-Series became a re-badged Ford Ranger.
Given all this, what does General Motors know that these others do not? Why is GM defying convention with its 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and 2015 GMC Canyon, a mid-size duo that GM says has the best fuel economy in its class?
The answer is obvious: lots of people want a smaller pickup. There's a market out there, GM officials say, for a pickup that is functional, but manoeuvrable in traffic, fuel efficient and easier to park in those shrinking spaces at the mall and hockey rink.
GM thinks it can make money selling Colorados and Canyons for many reasons, not least of which is that these made-in-America rigs are not subject to the duties and tariffs slapped on imported pickups from non-NAFTA countries like Thailand.
Orders suggest GM may be onto something. GM says it has taken orders for more than 40,000 Colorados and Canyons since the order bank opened. Sales forecasts by various consultants and researchers suggest GM might sell something close to 100,000 Colorados and Canyons a year – versus more than 700,000 full-size Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras last year. That means a new line of smaller pickups might turn into big business for GM.
GM thinks so. The company announced plans to add a third production shift at its Wentzville, Mo., assembly plant., where its new mid-size pickups and commercial vans are made. GM predicts it might sell as many as 130,000 of the pickups in 2015. Impressive. GM has had the Colorado and Canyon on a two-year hiatus. The market is ready and waiting for something new in this segment.
Here's rundown of GM's offerings, along with the competition.
2015 Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon
Pricing: $22,800-$36,050
Size: These trucks are not the compact pickups of 10, 15 or 20 years ago, but they are more city-friendly than a full-size Chevy Silverado. GM has a number of choices for cab and bed configuration, including an extended cab model with a long bed and a short bed, and a crew cab with a long bed. The long-bed trucks can haul a full-size sheet of plywood.
Power: The standard four-cylinder engine is rated at 200 horsepower/191 lb-ft of torque; the 3.6-litre six-cylinder is rated at 305 hp/269 lb-ft of torque. A small diesel is expected next year.
Fuel economy: GM says these rigs boast the best fuel economy in the segment using regular gas. The thriftiest truck gets 11.9 city/8.8 highway litres/100 km, while the four-wheel drive Colorado with the V-6 and automatic is rated at 13.5/9.8.
Function: The bed has two-tier loading, 13 tie-down locations, movable tie-down rings, a locking EZ Lift tailgate and the CornerStep bumper design first seen in the Colorado. You can get a factory-installed spray-in bed liner and the max tow weight is 3,175 kilograms. Unless you really need a big pickup for towing and hauling, this smaller rig is big enough for almost all your chores.
Verdict: The base price is lower than GM's bigger pickups, but price won't sell these trucks alone. They'll appeal to buyers who want a pickup, but don't want to be locked out of the city, where parking spaces are small and roadways are tight.
2015 Toyota Tacoma
Pricing: $23,735-$30,120-plus
Size: The basic Tacoma seems urban-friendly, but if you jump up to the double cab four-by-four this is an imposing mid-size truck. Not too big for your garage, however, and not as massive as the biggest Tundra from Toyota.
Power: You can choose a 2.7-litre four (159 hp/180 lb-ft torque) or a 4.0-litre V-6 (236 hp/266 lb-ft). Both of these engines are ancient by today's standards. Toyota offers manual or automatic transmissions and like the others, 4x2 or 4x4 drive trains. The five-speed manual seems from another time.
Fuel economy: Toyota boasts that the Tacoma had won the best in class fuel efficiency award from National Resources Canada for the fourth consecutive year. That will change for 2015 now that the Colorado and Canyon have arrived.
Function: Toyota says it offers the Tacoma in 23 different configurations over eight models. Access cab, double cab, 1.5-metres or 1.8-metres cargo beds – and Toyota dealers will show you all sorts of upgrade packages. The Tacoma has been the best-selling rig in this class for good reason.
Verdict: This truck has remained essentially unchanged for many years. However, that's Toyota's formula across the lineup and it results in spectacular quality which, in turn, translates in to high resale values. This is a reliable pickup.
2015 Nissan Frontier
Pricing: $22,498-$37,598
Size: The Frontier is on par with the Tacoma, Colorado and Canyon when it comes to size. You can get a king cab or a crew cab and long and short wheelbase. Not as big as a Nissan Titan, and that makes sense given the larger truck's name. Reasonably roomy and comfortable.
Power: The 2.5-litre four-cylinder (152 hp/171 lb-ft) is a laggard in this class, and the 261 V-6 is not the stud of the group, either. Like Toyota with the Tacoma, Nissan has invested minimally in the Frontier and it shows.
Fuel economy: The thirstiest Frontier is rated at 15.7 city/11.3 highway litres/100 km. Not great.
Function: The Frontier will perform the tasks you want of a mid-size truck, but the bed is not as adaptable as the Colorado/Canyon's.
Verdict: Nissan offers racy versions of the Frontier and they're cool. But make certain to dig up all incentive offers. You will get a deal if you push hard.
2016 Honda Ridgeline
Honda has said a second-generation Ridgeline, a 2016 model, will hit showrooms early next year, perhaps as soon as January.
Dealers say the Ridgeline has had its loyal fans, but the long life cycle between redesigns has hurt.
Sales of the first-generation Ridgeline ended in the summer. To tease future potential buyers, Honda released a silhouette rendering to whet the market appetite.
It suggests that Honda is moving to a more traditional truck design with its new Ridgeline – a mid-size that will ride on the latest MDX/Pilot platform.