After 40 years on the market, the Chevrolet Blazer’s trail ended (mercifully) in 2009 after its target market—and Chevy itself—became infatuated with unibody crossovers. Two years later, the nameplate is rising from the sands of Arabia at the 2011 Dubai auto show. This time, it’s attached to a vastly less dowdy vehicle than the 2001–2009 generation. A production TrailBlazer bearing a very strong resemblance to this concept will be in GM’s worldwide portfolio within a few months—alongside a sweet new Colorado pickup, which lends its platform to the body-on-frame SUV.
In the case of the TrailBlazer, however, “worldwide” does not mean here. Although the Colorado will be sold in the U.S. and spy shots of TrailBlazer development mules fueled speculation that it, too, would return, GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson tells us that Chevrolet’s current U.S. SUV/crossover portfolio is sufficient for American buyers. The new TrailBlazer, he says, could cannibalize sales of existing vehicles and do more harm than good. “We’re excited to have it back in the GM portfolio, but here, it would be priced right on top of Equinox and Traverse. At this point, we have no plans to bring it here.”
That’s too bad. The show truck makes promises that the production TrailBlazer shouldn’t have a tough time keeping. The broad-shouldered design is neither overly geometric nor remotely feminine, conveying more strength than any GM sport-ute currently available here. LED lighting details add pizzazz, and the seven-seat, two-tone interior features modern treatments and a load of comfort and convenience features. We imagine some of these, such as the overhead video screens for the second- and third-row seats, would be quite a shock in developing markets.
For power, the TrailBlazer concept relies on a 2.8-liter turbo-diesel inline-four. The concept is all-wheel-drive, and, as a body-on-frame truck, boasts the ruggedness that is a virtual requirement in emerging markets where not all of the roads are as smooth and well-maintained as ours. Indeed, despite our crumbling infrastructure, roads in the U.S. are veritable silk-covered ribbons compared to those in many parts of the Middle East, China, and South America. So, for the time being, GM feels it has America covered with its bevy of trucks and other truck-like things. Much of the rest of the world, though, is about to get a cool new SUV.
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