mmarshall

It is a stereotype of the people, not the vehicle....at least in the sense I was using it. But, if that's the way it came across to you, I want to clarify it.

MattyG

Not at all mmarshall. Not about your posts. But reaction to your posts. They want to talk about soccer mom stereotypes, but won't admit their own hypocrisy about other stereotypes concerning any number of other vehicles/drivers/issues. That was my point.

Toys4RJill

This thread is silly. Talking about how the Blazer names used to be this, but it is now this. Might be that. I think this Blazer name references the last set of mid sized Blazers produced and is quite appropriate. I just find the idea of building the Blazer in Mexico to be quite offensive when GM is closing all of these plants in North America.

mmarshall

I agree.....but I'll also go beyond that. IMO, building any vehicle in Mexico is probably offensive if one has to lay off U.S. or Canadian workers to transfer those jobs, particularly for a corporation like GM or Ford that is American-headquartered and operates under the American and Canadian flags. I'd like to see Trump slap a hefty tariff on American-nameplate vehlcles, sold here, that are produced in Mexico, like he did for Chinese-made vehicles with American nameplates sold here, but the current NAFTA rules (even the recently renegotiated ones) may not allow him to do that.

mmarshall

Thanks, Matty.

tex2670

You are splitting really fine hairs here.

Stereotyping people is fine? That's the rationale?

SW17LS

The bottom line is that the era of the body on frame truck based SUV is largely over. Consumers want carlike unibody crossovers today. Can't fault GM for building what customers want, this vehicle will sell well I'm sure. I wouldn't buy another body on frame SUV today (yes I owned one in the past), when I had that vehicle it was all there was, but that's not the case today and I don't have to suffer with the drawbacks of that sort of vehicle to get the capability and style I might want.

With SUVs/Crossovers replacing sedan ownership, the stereotype of an SUV driver as a "soccer mom who takes it to the grocery store" really is no longer valid. People from all walks of life are driving SUVs/Crossovers as their primary vehicle now.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

not really sure what that’s all about but i was pointing out mmarshall using a stereotype when he’s complained often about them, but i think many stereotypes are true.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

great post.

Right, that’s a minivan.

FrankReynoldsCPA

Are you against the idea of a BOF suv also being offered? Just because you don't want one doesn't mean they aren't appealing to others. I know plenty of people who want an SUV that is actually off-road capable.

SW17LS

Pretty much! Although I've been surprised at the number of people on the Pacifica forum I post on who are guys who drive them and have no kids or their kids are grown.

Of course not, and they do offer such vehicles, its just a niche market. I have no issue with the 4Runner existing, for instance. I would just never buy one. If the market for those vehicles was bigger, you would see more carmakers competing for that market. Case in point, look at the small pickup market.

Also, a vehicle does not have to be BOF to be off-road capable. Range Rovers are unibody. Jeep Grand Cherokees are unibody. HUMMERs are unibody.

My point is, Chevy wants a widespread appeal with this Blazer, hence their decision to make it the sort of vehicle that has widespread appeal. Extremely few of the people who bought 4 Door (or even 2 door) S10 Blazers took them offroad back when they were new. Blazers competition was Explorer, and Pathfinder both of which are now unibody crossovers so it makes perfect sense this Blazer would be a unibody crossover.

My Explorer was BOF and offload capable, there was nothing we ever did with it we couldn't do with a unibody crossover. Snow, fields, gravel and dirt roads sometimes requiring some ground clearance, that was it...as is true of 99% of other SUVs sold. But we lived with a bouncy trucky ride, poor fuel economy, and a heavy ponderous vehicle all the time for capability we never needed...whats the point in that?!

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

yup, my uncle (retired) has a minivan and he and his wife love it for long road trips - just throw everything in the back, or sides, lol...

reminds me of the honda element that honda thought would be bought by hipsters with bikes who could load 'em into the rubberized floors and hose 'em out, etc.
turns out they were bought more by people with wheelchairs or boomers with pets so they didn't care about the inside getting dirty. markets are a funny thing, not entirely predictable by a long shot!

exactly, my ford explorer was just like yours, too trucky. my jeep grand cherokee, while unibody, was still too trucky for me, as we've discussed i didn't have the air suspension plus the 20" wheels made it worse, although the tires on my g90 are very low profile and it still has an excellent ride without air.

exactly right. just more nostalgia for inefficient, heavy, uncomfortable body on frame vehicles which are quickly becoming a thing of the past, like stick shifts!

i predict the next gx and lx from lexus will be unibody!

SW17LS

Yep, exactly!

I sure hope so...

mmarshall

I'm not touching that one...I've lost enough of my own LOL.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/03/...engine-option/