[Music] welcome to Auto chatter today's episode is on the Chevy S10 and GMC S15 later called the Sonoma I've already done the ranger Toyota and Nissan compact trucks so might as well work on completing the set right these trucks had a successful run and there were several special editions including a Ferrari embarrassing model and you may have even seen one disguised as a Japanese truck at one point ironically the most expensive one made you likely didn't want lots to chat about here for sure as always facts opinion and speculation will be given please give a like if you enjoyed it and consider subscribing if you haven't yet now let's see how the general did with their compact trucks by the early '70s GM was noticing a trend in the US markets small compact trucks mainly from Japan were starting to gain more of a presence on us roads the domestic automakers helped Lobby for a Proviso to their benefit in the chicken tax that was enacted in 1963 with part of it punishing foreign trucks this tax had initially been imposed after Europe started imposing higher tariffs on the US exporting chickens here the response was aack the US put on imported European potato starch Brandy and light trucks this tax basically killed the VW transporter pickup sales as VW couldn't stomach a 25% tariff into their profit margins VW was becoming a viable threat to Detroit in the 60s but these little Nissan and Toyota trucks had a workaround to this tax the Tariff dropped from 25% to only four if you imported a cin chassis vehicle which is basically a pickup without the bed couldn't do that with the VW as the bed portion wasn't a separate piece like on a traditional truck but the small Japanese trucks could be and they did just that final assembly would be done in America and then to the dealerships they go GM wanted to compete in that market and get their foot in the door fast easiest way to do that is look if you already have anything else selling outside the US and then bring it over GM owned a 34% stake in a Japanese company called the suu back in 1972 and they made a small truck called the faster they imported the truck without a bed bolted it back on after going through customs and to the Chevy dealerships they went Ford did a similar move with their Courier also arriving for 1972 these were Mazda trucks with a restyled grill in front end to resemble an F-150 at the time the new for 72 Chevy Love truck were Lu V stood for light utility vehicle gave GM a compact truck fighter and even spawned a second generation for 1981 which again was an Isuzu pickup unfortunately for General Motors their workaround of the chicken tax wouldn't work after 1980 as the cabin chassis loophole was blocked this made the latest Chevy Love trucks more expensive to import but GM was already hard at work creating in-house compact trucks that would replace the love by then for the 82 model year GM debuts the Chevy S10 and GMC S15 trucks early on body style and drivetrain options would be more limited like today both trucks were pretty much identical aside from trim and GMC versions usually started at a slightly higher amount as it was considered more upscale engines were a standard Isuzu built 1.9 L 4 with 82 horsepower or optional GM 110 horsepower 2.8 L V6 you had a choice of short or long bed with either and no four-wheel drive was available yet for 1982 you could still buy a Love truck for one more year however and they had a four-wheel drive version since the late '70s Chevy had the first four-wheel drive compact truck sold in the US with love transmission choices for the new S10 or S15 was a four-speed manual or optional 3-speed automa aut atic with either engine Chevy's S10 had several trims starting with the base model for $ 6,660 or 21,300 today a few hundred bucks more got you a Durango trim and you thought of Dodge had those Sporter Tahoe trims were the highest being closer to 7500 bucks then or a little over 24,000 another name that would be used years later for a different vehicle these trucks then could be equipped to tow up to 5,000 lb which was better than what Nissan or Toyota trucks were rated at then production numbers for first gen S10 and s15s are stubbornly impossible for me to find which irritates me but GM sold a lot of them and literature in the 1980s proclaimed they outsold the imported compact trucks so that tells me more than Nissan and Toyota but less than Ford Ranger sales with that being said let's check out the next year 1983 had some big additions for the GM compact trucks you had new body style now with the extended cab models now available GM called it a maxi cab if it was a Chevy or Club Coupe for GMC versions Nissan beat everyone to the punch with those as far back as 1977 but GM had one before Toyota by a model year and Ranger didn't get one available until 1986 for four-wheel drive also became an option for the GM compact starting for 1983 there were some new engine options as well as the 2 L similar to what the Cavalier and friends had but lacking fuel injection was available alongside the Isuzu 1.9 L still both had horsepower about the same as their model year if you wanted less horsepower than that a 2.2 L non-turbo Isuzu diesel was an option and had about 60 horsepower GM also launched the S10 Blazer and GMC S15 Jimmy sport utilities for 1983 they were based on the trucks and came out a model year before the Bronco 2 Jeep Cherokee and Toyota 4Runner 84 launched heavy duty and off-road suspension options for their trucks and manual transmission models hydraulic clutch pedals were being phased in replacing cable operated ones by 1985 only the cheapest regular cabs had the 1.9 L Isuzu 4 but the GM 2 L was replaced with the Pontiac developed 2.5 L Iron Duke with 92 horsepower and they had throttle body injection a truck was probably a good fit for these engines as they didn't really like to rev and were not the most refined 4-cylinder ever made the 2.8 L V6 was still an option and horsepower is up slightly to 115 if you really like the Isuzu engines and you other either gas gas or diesel this was your last year to get them in an S10 or S15 with the Isuzu power plants gone you're left with the 2.5 L Iron Duke or 2.8 L V6 for 1986 the 2.8 are now up to 125 horsepower 87's basically carried over but 88 would finally offer more potent V6 for the compact trucks a 4.3 L V6 with around 160 horsepower the 2.8 was still available too though four-speed manuals were also Now history in favor of five-speed ones and Chevy offered a Backcountry addition that was kind of a predecessor to the Baja later for 1989 all four-wheel drive versions had either the 2.8 L V6 or optional 4.3 and the trucks came with anti-lock brakes but only on the rear the body style was getting a little older by this point point so maybe some more special editions will spice things up Chevy had the Baja S10s made from 1989 to 1991 this package was available on any four-wheel drive model in regular or extended cab you got off-road suspension lots of underbody skid plates off-road tires tow hooks blackedout trim Baja Graphics a roll bar off-road and fog lights and a red bow tie in the grill you could add more to the package if desired adding stuff like Outlaw rims or a bed Mountain spare too Chevy must have not just one of the four-wheel drive guys to have all the flare so they started offering an 89 and S10 Cameo package basically it's just an appearance package with a full lower body kit or you can get a cameo e where you just got the front and rear bumpers as opposed to the whole package still they are supposed to be rare and not many of those were sold reminds me of something GMC offers later but uh we'll have some more performance to back up the looks The Cameo trim package was also available like the Baja from 1989 to 1991 by 1990 all 4wheel drives had the 4.3 L V6 standard and 2.5 Iron Duke owners got excited as they were now only about 6 horsepower shy of 100 under the hood for 1991 the GMC S5 name is no more and now called a syoma the name change is nice but the big news at GMC for this year was the outrageous hot rod version of this humble compact truck GMC started with a regular cab pickup added the awheel drive system from the Astro and Safari Vans upgraded the engine internals of the 4.3 L V6 a throttle body added from the Corvette and the engine was turbocharged with an intercooler a four-speed automatic was the only transmission option GMC teamed up with the production automotive services or pack to create this vehicle and pack was also responsible for the 1989 Pontiac turbo Trans Am the Cyclone would also be the first truck made with four-wheel antilock brakes visually it kind of resembled The Cameo S10s from before to me anyway uh with the ground effects package and had nice saw blade style wheels the only color available wasn't black but was it fast well what they created was a 3500 lb vehicle with 280 horsepower and 350 lb of torque this was at a time where a standard Corvette had about 250 an all-wheel drive system allowed it to launch quickly where if it didn't have it the rear wheels having less weight over them would likely to spin until a tire popped Car and Driver tested one and got a 4.3 second 0 to 60 and4 mile was in the mid1 13s that's still quick by today's standards so you can only imagine what people thought in 1991 that would beat a Corvette ZR1 Dodge Viper anything Ferrari had street legal that year and even a 911 turbo to 60 with the all-wheel drive system even a launch on wet roads would embarrass a lot of sports cars times on dry pavement the drawbacks of the Cyclone were few but notable one was as a truck it was kind of useless with only a 500 lb payload capacity and the tow rating was rated at 2,000 it was also basically a GM compact truck that came out in the early 80s and when you sat inside you knew it the biggest drawback maybe was the price 91 Cyclones had an MSRP just under 26,000 that's about 59,6 today a Porsche 911 Turbo that year started around 96,000 then so maybe it wasn't that pricey after all but the fanciest trim SLE extended cab four-wheel drive somoma in 91 started about a third cheaper than a cyclone still they were rare beasts and technically only available for two model years 2,998 were produced for 91 and two and 92 technically three but one was crash tested by the Department of Transportation GMC did create the similar typhoon for 1992 and '93 it was heavier so a little slower but still 5.3 seconds to 60 was nothing to sneeze at GMC sold almost 4700 of these over two model years and they came in different colors for 1992 GMC offered a GT Model it resembles a cyclone and is actually a more rare truck is only 86 six were made these also came in regular cab only and were loaded up equipment wise standard power was a beef up version of the 4.3 L V6 with 195 horsepower 342 gears and a limited slip differential so no turbo or all-wheel drive its truck capabilities were more like a normal one they were also available in several colors but about half of them sold were in Black these were about 10 grand less than Cyclone at around 177,000 or 37,800 today 93 would be the last year for these first gen Chevys and GMC's and not much changes as the all new models are coming well all new looking anyway for 94 GM decides to update its compact Trucks gone as the boxy shape it stayed pretty much the same since the truck launched the new rounde one debuts the do battle again with its Archer rival the Ford Ranger that was also redesigned a year earlier for 93 the GM trucks retained the platform they had before and many of the basic components were similar but some were beefed up and the suspension was improved engine options were simplified as there was now only two the old 2.5 L Iron Duke was history in favor of a 118 horsepower 2.2 L similar to what the Cavaliers had the 2.8 L V6 was also dropped leaving the 4.3 as the only V6 choice but it did come in different versions most 43s then had 165 horsepower that year Chevy offered an SS version starting in 94 that would kind of be like what GMC had in '92 with the Sonoma GTE you got a more powerful 180 horsepower 4.3 standard aluminum wheels fog lights and a 342 rear end appearance-wise they had bodyc colored bumpers SS Badges and its own Grill these were only made in regular cabs S10s and sonomas still had the same body styles with regular cabs and short and long beds and extended cab versions you could get a four-wheel drive in any body style just like before transmission options was still 5-speed or automatic with either engine GM new airbags were coming soon but held off putting any in the 94s in '95 all the trucks got a driver side airbag and daytime running lights 96 gave us the Stepside bet option for GMC's and S10s and V6 versions had up to 190 horsepower now depending on trim extended cab models had a third door option available now too there was also another version of these that started for 96 at Uzu dealer has kind of a roll reversal from the original Love truck in the' 70s Isuzu was now offering a domestic truck with a Japanese badge this new truck was called an ombre and used a lot of its front sheet metal Grill and bed from the Brazilian variant of the S10 the pooru versions were kind of gimped when it came to options though 96s didn't even have four-wheel drive or extended cabs available for example they did get an extended cab 1 for 97 and four-wheel drive finally as an option for 98 ombr were only about uh they only around to about the year 2000 and they were never good sellers Isuzu faithful didn't necessarily want an S10 and the more limited options compared to the GMC and Chevy versions hurt the truck too Isuzu did offer a better warranty though so a Savvy buyer committed to buying an S10 anyway may have took advantage of this for 97 GM starts to offer one of the rarest S10s ever made it only came in regular cab one color and it was pricey did Chevy make a cyclone like GMC did in 91 hardly this was the S10 EV it was an electric vehicle with 114 horsepower and front-wheel drive the motor used was similar to GM's ev1 electric vehicle but with a little less power 97s used traditional lead acid batteries and the giant battery pack weighed about 1,400 lb you had about 45 Mi of range which probably makes Tesla owners today chuckle lugging around 4200 lb not counting passengers 0 to 60 was over 13 seconds 98 offered an optional nickel metal hydride battery pack same battery type your rechargeable devices may have had before lithium hit the scene the range for ones with this battery were around 72 Mi these were marketed primarily for Fleet buyers and unlike the GM ev1 you could actually buy one versus a lease that you were given no option of owning it later but before you break out the checkbook take note of the price of 97 it started at 33,300 then which is about 65,000 today for what amounted to a 4,000lb golf cart with a bed the upgraded battery that came for 98 jacked it up even more only about 1,00 of these were made and some still exist if you have one let me know in the comments 98 models got a refresh the front end was the most notable exterior change but the interior was completely redone and all trucks now had dual airbags Chevy also had a ZR2 four-wheel drive that was uh off-road package with 31in wheels fender flares suspension lift beef your rear differential and a locker so it's set up for more severe off-roading right out of the box 99 S10s replace the SS versions with the extreme models the new name was probably to attract Gen X Mountain Dew drinkers like myself unlike the SS you could get a regular or extended cab version and just because it set extreme on the outside didn't mean there was much of that under the hood a 120 horsepower 2.2 L 4cylinder was standard or you could get the 180 horsepower 4.3 as an option Now by 2000 only one compact truck was available in the US with a crew cab and that was the Nissan Frontier but they didn't hold that title for long as the GM twins started offering it for 2001 both versions only came well appointed and with four-wheel drive and an automatic standard prices for the Chevy started around2 5,500 or 45,000 today the GMC version's base price was only a few hundred more Ford also started offering the Explorer sport track for 2001 nowadays it's more rare to see a truck with less than four doors the twin compacts carried on after 01 with minimal changes and 03 was the last year for regular and extended cab body styles the replacement trucks the Colorado and Canyon were here in 20 4 only offered the crew cab S10s and sonomas these trucks had a great run and their Replacements are still made to this day you may still catch one on the road here and there especially second gen's I don't mind diving into the Colorado and Canyon at a later date if you like so let me know in the comments but anyway this has been my S10 S15 Sonoma ombre and Cyclone chatter and I do do hope you liked it please give it a like if so to let me know and consider subscribing if you haven't yet thanks for watching and until next time chat her out
