Local GMT360 TrailBlazer Fan Shares His Thoughts About the New TrailBlazer

"DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!" (daft-ryosuke)
05/29/2019 at 22:34 • Filed to: None

Chevrolet has decided its best course of action is to expand their crossover lineup with a complete butchering of all we know and love of the TrailBlazer name with this new small, sporty hatchback. As a devout fan of GM’s midsize SUV platform from the mid-2000s, and someone who has had lots of experience with the old TrailBlazer and even owns the old Colorado, a close kin to the old TB, I figure it’s useful if I share my thoughts.

I love it.

Yes, negative commenters will immediately be sure to fly to their keyboards, quickly tapping away that the new TrailBlazer is not worthy of the name, but I have to ask, what exactly does the TrailBlazer name mean? It’s always been an extension of the idea of the Blazer, a differentiating version of said Blazer suffix. The original version was nothing more than a luxury trim, it wasn’t until 2002 when the name was used for the Blazer’s replacement.

Pictured: Perfection

My history with the 2002-2009 TrailBlazer is storied, but doesn’t deserve going into right now. Just know I’ve always had a fondness for them, and they’ve never let me down when I needed them. So, my natural thought when I heard the name was returning was a sense of uncomfortable doubt, but when the new one was finally released, I sat back, thought about it, and ended up finding a way to like it.

You see, I brought up the initial comment about the whole TrailBlazer name just being an extension of the Blazer idea, and this new model evokes that idea perfectly. While this one may not be a bigger version of the Blazer or a more luxurious one, it’s a more compact, pocket-sized version of the Blazer. It’s the Blazer lite. The Blazer Mini. The BlazerU. I quite like the new Blazer, anyway, so this should be a surefire home run for me.

But, things can change the moment I drive one. If it’s anything like the new Equinox, I can accept it, but if it’s like the Trax, I’ll pass. But my hopes are up for now.

The new TrailBlazer is not a stain on the old TrailBlazer’s name, it’s a revision of what it means, and I can respect that.

DISCUSSION (15)

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/29/2019 at 23:06

Is that the new Camaro LT1?

Wacko > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/29/2019 at 23:09

Sorta like what Nissan did with the pathfinder.

Except without a CVT.

I’m surprised it comes with 2 engine choices

Nothing > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/29/2019 at 23:11

I didn’t think the Trailblazer nameplate held any sort of regard. The SS was cool, though, I’ll give you that.

Shift24 > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/29/2019 at 23:14

Just another one bitting the dust in Chevys history of ruining nameplates.

New Blazer should have been named Trail blazer. This should have be called Tracker. Fight me.

If GM ever thinks about taking on Wrangler, Bronco, or 4runner, what the fuck are they going to use?

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/29/2019 at 23:26

did you start the gmt360 forums or something?

I still want an SS. I’ve had an envoy, envoyXL and a TB. I should go buy another one just to fuck with my wife...

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/30/2019 at 00:12

It’s a mid size SUV. Like the Mazda CX-5...of which Mazda sells bucket loads.

Unlike how many of the previous generation BoF version that GM sells under both the Chevrolet and Holden brands .

So one can hardly blame GM for taking it down the soft road. They do actually have to sell cars to be a car company ...

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Shift24
05/30/2019 at 00:22

Nothing. Because they won’t even try to play in those spaces... certainly not in North America anyway . SUVs and full size trucks are more profitable.

Wrangler only exists because Jeep wouldn’t be a brand without it. Bronco only exists because Ford Australia and Asia happened to have a nice new light truck platform that could be adapted to suit. 4 Runner only exists because Toyota rarely throws out a profitable platform...no matter how old it is!

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > itranthelasttimeiparkedit
05/30/2019 at 00:41

I actually got banned from there...I can’t even remember why.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > Shift24
05/30/2019 at 00:42

Jimmy is always still available.

fhrblig > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/30/2019 at 00:55

The vehicles themselves are fine, but they have the wrong names. I think Nomad and Tracker would have been way better choices for the Blazer and Trailblazer, respectively. I t’s the same thing with the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross. I think it would have made more sense to call it Raider, even though that would make some other enthusiasts upset.

Shift24 > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
05/30/2019 at 01:04

You meant the T6 platform? An almost identical use platform as the GM 31XX? Designed as an international platform?

But the 4runner is key. I get Toyota wont fix what isn’t broken. But a 10 year old platform with little to no safety gimmicks keeps picking up sales. It almost sell as much as the traverse which should actually go against the highlander.

http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/toyota/toyota-4runner/

http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/chevrolet/chevrolet-traverse/

Urambo Tauro > fhrblig
05/30/2019 at 06:51

Exactly. B y using the same name as a previously-built vehicle, the not-so-subtle implication is that the new vehicle is an updated version of the same thing. A successive “generation”.

But it’s not the same thing. It’s not simply “new” or “updated”. The FWD architecture makes it a fundamentally different animal underneath, and it’s not even recognizable as a Trailblazer, taking on too many Camaro-esque styling cues.

I don’t hate that this machine exists . It’s just that out of a million naming possibilities, Chevy failed to come up with something new. They lazily abandoned meaningful brand identity, reusing the name just because it was recognizable.

Shift24 > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/30/2019 at 09:59

If it was a GMC that would work, but Blazer has a bit more ad/r ecognition power behind it .

Though thinking about it K5 would be cool alone (for the K5 mountain ) . As tough as a mountain or can climb mountains or something like that?

Probenja > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/30/2019 at 13:05

Strange how we went from the GMT360 to a BOF three row SUV for emerging markets and a small crossover for the US.

Kinja'd!!!

Josh - the lost soldier > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
05/30/2019 at 23:19

My fondest memory of the old TrailBlazer was that my roommate had one and it was big enough to fit a lot of stuff into. Seriously, we moved couches and mattresses with that thing. It was awesome. That being said, the old TrailBlazer wasn’t an off-road monster and neither will the new one be. It’s a small crossover for people who need a little more space than the Cruze hatchback and is high enough for the boomers and old Gen-Xers who’ll buy them. It’s a money grab, but a damn good one.