[AWHoden]

He summed up the Blazer's purpose, that he said he can't find, pretty quickly. First sentence, second paragraph: "it's been quietly racking up plenty of sales over the last few years,"

Same purpose as every other vehicle on the market. Sales. Chevy must be doing something right.

Does anyone really see a Blazer and think, "Boy, that looks like a Camaro!"

Or...."Gee, that looks like a Camaro...it should drive like a Camaro!" There are a LOT of them in the area I live, mostly driven by mid-40's and older couples with no kids or older kids that can drive themselves and don't want to be seen with mom & dad. I like it. I love the look, the room is fine for me (and I'm a little thicc), if I didn't place so much importance on higher fuel economy, I'd buy one. My kids are all out of the house and I'm over 50. LOL Hmmmm sounds like they're trying to sell it to ME too!

 

[AWHoden]

You would think, but GM is content where they sit at current pricing I guess.

...and yet it still sells well at that price.
2018 - 27
2019 - 58,115
2020 - 94,599
2021 - 70,325
2022 - 67,246

 

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

And with all the black trim (rocker moldings, window moldings, wheel opening moldings, wheels, lower bumpers, and mirrors) - it looks like all the other small to midsize 4-door vehicles with a hatchback that are now called a CUV or SUV (not not a 4-door or a hatchback!).

Bland, bland, bland.

 

[snizzle]

...and yet it still sells well at that price.
2018 - 27
2019 - 58,115
2020 - 94,599
2021 - 70,325
2022 - 67,246

How does that compare to competitors in the mid size segment? I seem to remember not well compared to Explorer, etc.

 

[AWHoden]

How does that compare to competitors in the mid size segment? I seem to remember not well compared to Explorer, etc.

I myself wouldn't cross-shop Explorer and Blazer, just based on the history of the Explorer, to me I think Blazer and Edge are more closely comparable. Both are FWD based 2-row crossovers. Explorer and Tahoe are closer in purpose. To be honest, I don't look at sales much when I shop for cars. I like what I like, I buy what I like, don't really care how well something is selling as long as I can buy one. hahaha If it looks good, I fit comfortably, the driving dynamics aren't "Is that your grandfather's Buick" or "gee, I should've bought the Camaro instead for the ride quality" and the fuel economy is decent and the price is reasonable, I'm good. I can't see myself ever owning a Toyota because I'd rather take Lunesta, KIA/Hyundai product, a Stellantis product or putting down far, far too much for a Cadillac or German car so I guess I'm basically Chevy's target audience.

 

[Greg Burr]

They make sound as if the car needs to find Jesus. Just a joke, not a religious discussion please.

 

[AWHoden]

They make sound as if the car needs to find Jesus. Just a joke, not a religious discussion please.

LOL

 

[AWHoden]

I don't get comparing naturally aspirated V6 to a turbocharged 4-cylinder (or again, against a 3-row SUV like the Telluride). Of COURSE the V6 fuel economy numbers don't look good compared to a smallish 4-cylinder....until you drive them in the real world. Trust me, as the owner of a small displacement turbocharged engine, you have to flog them hard in the real world which does NOT do well for fuel economy. Meanwhile, the V6 hasn't broken a sweat and is far more likely to get the fuel economy numbers it is rated at because you don't have to drive it like you stole it just to keep up with traffic.

 

[wallus13]

I got to say i have a good friend who bought a new Kia and paid less than what an rs blazer would cost, the thing is far more spacious, looks can be opinion based but he does have the blacked out version which looks pretty good, but interior wise lol i feel like I'm looking at a yugo vs. a bmw. GM just needs to do better than this imo...

My girlfriend has a Blazer (not an RS) but the interior is attractive and quite functional. Ironically her mom has a new CRV and says that interior is crap versus the Blazer but her husband made her buy it because of resale...

 

[snizzle]

I myself wouldn't cross-shop Explorer and Blazer, just based on the history of the Explorer, to me I think Blazer and Edge are more closely comparable. Both are FWD based 2-row crossovers. Explorer and Tahoe are closer in purpose. To be honest, I don't look at sales much when I shop for cars. I like what I like, I buy what I like, don't really care how well something is selling as long as I can buy one. hahaha If it looks good, I fit comfortably, the driving dynamics aren't "Is that your grandfather's Buick" or "gee, I should've bought the Camaro instead for the ride quality" and the fuel economy is decent and the price is reasonable, I'm good. I can't see myself ever owning a Toyota because I'd rather take Lunesta, KIA/Hyundai product, a Stellantis product or putting down far, far too much for a Cadillac or German car so I guess I'm basically Chevy's target audience.

I guess it's doing fine if you narrow to midsize crossover w/two rows. 2022, it was behind the Edge and the Sante Fe. Then again, it's hard to take any of these sales figures seriously given all the recent constraints over the past few years.

My comment though was in the context of GM adjusting the pricing to be more in line with competitors. They clearly don't feel the need to do so.

 

[ksr]

ksr said:

Same purpose as every other vehicle on the market. Sales. Chevy must be doing something right.

Is it though? compared to the competition?

From multiple sources that I've read, the Blazer sales are reported as strong. It seems to be considered a success for Chevrolet. People like it. So, yes, they're doing something right.

I don't know what the sales are of competing vehicles. Placing such importance on winning the sales race as a measure of success is something that I've never really understood. If it's selling well in its own right and making profits for Chevrolet, what does it matter how many units competitors are selling?

 

[AWHoden]

I don't know what the sales are of competing vehicles. Placing such importance on winning the sales race as a measure of success is something that I've never really understood. If it's selling well in its own right and making profits for Chevrolet, what does it matter how many units competitors are selling?

Well said, bravo! I never understood the "Ford sold two more than Chevy....Chevy is a LOSER" mentality. Profitability of a company is a better indicator of being well run than selling "X" number of products versus someone else.

 

[snizzle]

I'm not sure I said Chevy is a loser, but, they're in this business to sell cars. They want to sell a lot of them. They want to be 1st in every segment. Tell FoMoCo that constantly runs ads that the F150 holds the crown every year that it doesn't matter (even though FoMoCo and GM both know the twins often outsell the F150 series). That is not to say profit is irrelevant.

 

[ksr]

You want to be #! in every segment. But profitability is all that matters. If you're #1 in addition to that, great.

Ford is rightly proud of the F-150's track record. And pickups do seem to engender more feelings of loyalty than other vehicles. It's probably the last significant segment where you're a Ford Man, A Chevy Man, Dodge Man, etc. The advertising there does make sense.

 

[AWHoden]

I'm not sure I said Chevy is a loser, but, they're in this business to sell cars. They want to sell a lot of them. They want to be 1st in every segment. Tell FoMoCo that constantly runs ads that the F150 holds the crown every year that it doesn't matter (even though FoMoCo and GM both know the twins often outsell the F150 series). That is not to say profit is irrelevant.

I wasn't implying that you said that Chevy was a loser, it was just hyperbole aimed mostly at automotive sites and magazines that turn everything into a numbers game. Wasn't aiming it at you.

 

[BlackGTP]

I guess it's doing fine if you narrow to midsize crossover w/two rows. 2022, it was behind the Edge and the Sante Fe. Then again, it's hard to take any of these sales figures seriously given all the recent constraints over the past few years.

My comment though was in the context of GM adjusting the pricing to be more in line with competitors. They clearly don't feel the need to do so.

A different way of thinking of this, per the post above, the Blazer sells pretty decently. Say they drop the price $5k, how many Blazers does GM now need to sell to make the same profit? Maybe double or more? I'm just guessing, but if I'm right I don't know if a $5k drop will spur a doubling of sales. And if they double sales, does the plant have the capacity or do they have to take away production from something else that might generate more $$? Do they have enough chips?

I myself am fine with the pricing. The Blazer has something that most of the other vehicles in the segment lack - style. I think ~300 hp is sufficient for what it is.

 

[AWHoden]

The Blazer has something that most of the other vehicles in the segment lack - style. I think ~300 hp is sufficient for what it is.

Exactly. Let everyone else make the "Two Brick" CUV's, give me something that looks great over something that looks utilitarian. How much power do people in this segment really need? It's not like we have an autobahn here, it doesn't take that much power to do 75mph, not every drive to Costco needs to be a NASCAR qualifying lap.

 

[BlackGTP]

Exactly. Let everyone else make the "Two Brick" CUV's, give me something that looks great over something that looks utilitarian. How much power do people in this segment really need? It's not like we have an autobahn here, it doesn't take that much power to do 75mph, not every drive to Costco needs to be a NASCAR qualifying lap.

Even if the chassis can handle it, I suspect it can't, by the time they are done adding real performance chops to it this will become a $70k vehicle....

 

[wallus13]

Do sales numbers really mean anything until every company can produce as much as they want? I mean each company is picking and choosing what models they are producing with the chips they have.

Honest question.

 

[ksr]

Do sales numbers really mean anything until every company can produce as much as they want? I mean each company is picking and choosing what models they are producing with the chips they have.

Honest question.

Probably only someone on the inside can answer that question. Since 2020, I'd say that sales numbers don't mean as much.

The Camaro is a good example. 6th gen sales were always somewhat disappointing, but from 2016-2019 respectable enough. They suddenly fell off the cliff starting in 2020. But a lot of that had to have been the ship shortage. It's not like Camaros are piling up on dealer lots. Whatever is built gets sold.

The Camaro will be entering it's 9th model year, so it would have been approaching its end no matter what. But it's a shame that no new model is planned; with the CT4 and CT5 shaing that plant, it seems a waste of capacity not to build a 7th gen. A new Camaro without chip constraints would probably hit at least the early 6th gen numbers. Maybe significantly new styling rather than more evolutionary styling like the 5th-->6th gen cutover could possibly boost interest.