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Should Chevy import the Ute? No, not that one, this one........

21K views 154 replies 65 participants last post by  F14CRAZY 
#1 · (Edited)
The South American market Chevy Montana. Roughly based on the Gamma architecture and with a base price of $12K. Nicely loaded for $17K. GM would probably need to up the ante from the 1.4L and 1.8L I4s it currently offers. A 1.6T or normally aspirated 2.5 with 6 speed manual and nicely tuned suspension might make this a fun, affordable piece.






 
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#111 ·
The blogs and magazines would bitch too much about how "it isn't a real truck" and "lolz its fwd what a pos this is"
 
#112 ·
Please leave the Chevy Montana in South America. It doesn't look like it can anything that you couldn't fit into a car trunk - I doubt you could haul a 4 x 8 sheet. I'm guessing that it's a FWD vehicle, which is worthless for sizable hauling because front wheel traction decreases as the load in the bed increases. FWD is good for driving with an empty load but for heavy hauling you need RWD or AWD. A compact pickup that was around the size of the S-10 would be much more practical.
 
#113 · (Edited)
134 168.

I sued Google translation and the Mexican Chevrolet site on the Tornado which appears to be the same as the Montana...

Bed is 134 cm wide and 168 cm long, which comes out to 52.8'' and 66'', which is 4.4' and 5.5'. With the gate down plywood would fit fine.

This pickup is just big enough to be capable while mileage would certainly be on target.

Again, I would buy one SIGHT UNSEEN long as it was under $20k. I've had to look up laws on Japanese Kei trucks in the US (luckily in Michigan you can make just about anything street legal including those)

Note: wiki says a Yamaha YZ is 84'' long, so as thought the dirtbike in the bed is not full sized but I'm certain you could carry one with the gate down
 
#121 ·
Bed is 134 cm wide and 168 cm long, which comes out to 52.8'' and 66'', which is 4.4' and 5.5'. With the gate down plywood would fit fine.
It'll also hold about a dozen Mexicans if you add some wood side rails.
Yes, I have seen this.
 
#120 ·
those complement each other rather well...you have a compact and full-size utes...could be an entire new product line.
 
#115 ·
Trust me the Zeta Ute is an awesome vehicle (I was looking forward to the G8 ST). I'll take either actually. I see the Montana getting mileage in the mid-high 30's and realistically selling for under $20k though
 
#119 ·
why not? 1500 lb payload, 2k pounds towing, and an updated interior i think it could sell. could be an alternative for a lot of businesses as well as a good entry level truck. kinda like the idea of graduating from a chevy to buick to cadillac....instead you start with this, which is good for a few years until your "fleet" expands and want/need something bigger. building good small trucks will lead to future large truck sales as well as pad cafe numbers.
 
#122 ·
MONARO...I would seriously love to see a Sonic four door sedan Photo Shopped into a small truck like this. I think it would make an awesome mini truck! Monaro, are you up for making this rendering? If you do, please make it a two door and present it in a new thread so it will get fresh eyes on it :)
 
#131 ·
I have thought for a year or so that the sonic H/B front doors forward would make a good MCE to this truck both inside and outside

This would be a cheap, entry-level fun utility vehicle. The Zeta Ute is a muscle coupe that happens to have a bed. They have almost nothing in common except the bed. The little guy has little competition -- maybe the Transit Connect, the Kia Soul and other funky, cheap and useful vehicles. The Ute also has little direct competition -- really it's more a specialty vehicle that provides an alternative to something like a Camaro, but also provides an interesting alternative to the kind of buyer who might consider a SRT Jeep mainly for the ability to tow and performance.

In fact, the only thing giving the little guy 270 hp and AWD does is shift it closer to the UTE ... otherwise, they're completely different markets.
I also think the 2.0T and AWD reduces the POINT for a car like this as it is supposed to be cheap and economical and AWD and an oversized engine would do neither
IMHO FWD and the 1.4T is sufficient and the Cruze needs an upsized engine more than a mini-ute
 
#124 ·
I get the sense that a few folks here want to automatically reject this product because they have the feeling that it blocks any hope of a Holden Ute. That's probably not the right way to view it.
 
#129 ·
One way to test the water would be offering it their commercial vehicle fleet and then let smaller industries and Mom & Pop type companies introduce it into the market. The Napa's cap mini delivery trucks still do a good job of advertising S10s...the ones who's bodies haven't rusted away. In fact make it with a totally composite body and you'd have an instant niche market.

No way would this compete with folks holding out for traditional V8 El Camino return.
 
#154 ·
The Granite-based pickup truck looks like a styling exercise based on the Montana. I still wished that the thinking of "it doesn't fit in the theme of the brand" would disappear. I would have rolled that little GMC, especially if it was given a small turbo diesel engine. That truck, 2.0L TD from the Cruze (way more than the truck would need, which makes it just about right) & a sub-$20K price tag would equal a nice chunk of sales & perhaps a runaway hit since there is no market for it now.
 
#152 ·
If the car can pass US emissions and crash standards, I don't see why, like the Spark, it wouldn't carve a solid market for itself. It is the sort of thing the light duty commercial sector like say a auto parts store, small ebay vendor with frequent USPS or UPS small parcels or deliveries in a city would jump all over, along with someone who maybe has a CUV or SUV and just wants a small vehicle to do the home depot or plant nursery runs. Like say a retiree who doesn't want a fullsize or even medium pickup. It isn't going to steal sales from the Silverado, nor Colorado nor even the Ute if that ever made it Stateside.

If Chev South of the Border got some more volume, then they have the impetus and justification to make it better.
 
#155 ·
I'm not much for high beltline designs but I would definitely purchase a properly priced Granite
 
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