Perhaps all true, however in the marketing print ads I posted, it was just called the "Blazer" And the second gen was a K1500 Blazer I believe

 

It takes a village lol

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure where the reverence for the Blazer name comes from. I've always found the S10/smaller Blazer to be a crappy vehicle when compared to similar Explorers, 4Runners, etc.

 

It is important for people with the Blazer name, as the original name was from a truck based type of vehicle which kind of appeals to a different segment than the new model. The new Blazer is just like any other cross-over whereas if they made the Blazer off the Colorado/Canyon design, it would be more fitting.

 

And? So? The Explorer was a truck based product and now is a unibody crossover. The Pathfinder was a truck based product and now is a unibody crossover. Both the Explorer and the Pathfinder had/have strong followers of fans that don't like their new models.

A Blazer off the Colorado/Canyon platform wouldn't be the sort of vehicle buyers today want. I drove BOF SUVs for a long time, I don't want one again. Give me a unibody crossover any day, I can go more "off-roadey" with a Grand Cherokee, I can go more "on-Roady" with an Explorer, all while having a vehicle with much better space efficiency and driving comfort than I would with a BOF design.

Modern SUV buyers want crossovers by and large. Can't blame GM for building what buyers buy.

 

For sure.


And you are right about the bold names, which would apply to the Blazer. But it just does not seem like a Blazer to me, based on what I remember what the Blazer used to be.

 

And everybody said the exact same thing about the Explorer and Pathfinder at the time. BUT, hundreds of thousands of people bought them. What matters is that people buy the product, not what people on some forum who drive examples 10+ years old say.

 

Gm has used the "Blazer" name every which way. It shouldn't be any surprise that is was reborn as a crossover when crossovers are the #1 segment. I think it depends perhaps on how old you are that determines what comes to mind when you hear "Blazer". I'm 40 and the model that first comes to mind is actually the Trailblazer (2002-). Then there's the S-10 Blazers I remember. The original K5 Blazer doesn't come to my mind at all. "Blazer" is whatever GM says is a Blazer in any given decade.

What is inexcusable is Mitsubishi using the Eclipse name for their latest crossover.

 

I do agree with everything you are saying.

 

Got tired of bouncing around with that kidney-pounding ride?

Some BOF SUVs, today, though, are quite comfortable...particularly the long-wheelbase Expedition, but you obviously won't buy one for chump-change.

My next-door neighbor came home, a few days ago, with a new regular-wheelbase Expedition Limited....but I have another thread going on that.

 

As was part of the discussion earlier in the thread, I would see the Blazer name more intended to refer to the original Blazer from the 70s and 80s, which competed with the Bronco. Maybe it's just an age thing; the name "Blazer" to me, without this discussion, never made me think S10 Blazer.

 

Just because you don't like body on frame SUV's for city driving doesn't mean that they don't have a place. They are far superior to CUV's when it comes to off-roading.

Ford bringing the Bronco back as a body on frame SUV is an answer to a loud call for it.

Resurrecting a nameplate and using it for an entirely different kind of vehicle is pandering. It's the automaker trying to appeal to the nostalgia of the old vehicle without delivering what actually made that vehicle a fan favorite. The Dodge Charger, the Chevy Blazer, the Mitsubishi Eclipse(now a CUV), the 2011+ Ford Explorer, etc. They are all examples of this. Imagine if Toyota said "We're bringing back the MR2" and it ends up being a 4 door midsize sedan.

The excitement for the Blazer name mostly dates back to the older K-10 blazer, which was based on the 1500 truck platform. It was a 2 door, short wheelbase monster that was well loved in the off-road community. GM later replaced it with the S-10 blazer(my parents owned the GMC Jimmy version of this).