My father had a 1987 with the electronic dashboard, which surprisingly never failed. I remember looking at the front for awhile and realizing it looks just like the Chevette.
A true Sport-Utility vehicle. Gate flips up, seat flips down, your two-by-fours slide in right up to the dashboard. Cinderblocks, cement, nail kegs, it's all rubber and plastic back there so load 'er up- it will all clean out with the hose on Friday afternoon. Maybe a little offroading on the weekend? Why not! It's built to take it.
Makes you wonder how we would up with the leather-lined capsules of complexity that pass for sport utility vehicles today...
Amen, Mike! There's nothing very utilitarian about today's SUVs- or even half the pick'em-ups. It's like they're just luxury cars in SUV or P/U shape. Can't even buy a big car anymore that isn't festooned with 97 mileage-zapping, money-sucking luxury features. (Not like that old Plymouth Special, that ya could order without even so much as a radio. Today, ya want something liker that, you're relegated to a Fiat 500 or Stu..err...uh..."Smart" Car.
What about the Studebaker Scotsman for simplicity?
A friend of mine actually used the roof rack on his Blazer and the damned thing just pulled right off and dumped his stuff in the street. He could never get any satisfaction from the dealer or Chevrolet himself. Finally the dealer explained to him that the rack was just ornamental.
Hi guys! Seems to me all they've done since the '90's was to put a station wagon on a truck frame and call that an SUV! You certanly can't haul or pull anything with those suburban plushmobiles today. Now, if you want a real SUV, have a look at the International Harvester Travelall. Now there's an honest SUV for ya'! They were built to work hard all week, then take you and all your family and friends to church on Sunday mornings. Don, you just couldn't ask for anything more simple or powerful than a Travelall. Used to see 'em a lot in your neck of the woods. The tobacco growers prized them for their toughness. If you and mike haven't checked out the Travelall post have a look! You'll be glad you did!
Your friend might've been better off with the Scotsman. A friend of my Dad's used one for his housepainting business. He couldn't have picked a better car! It was simple and reliable, and that chomeless body made a hell of a canvas to show prospective customers what their house would look like painted Azure Blue! But good luck finding one, body rot got most of them. May they rust in peace.
I currently own a '94 S-10 Blazer (last year for the first generation model) and it has been a great reliable truck for me. It has the bullet-proof 4.3L Vortec V6 engine and gets me through snow like its nothing! The mechanics on mine are also very simple on these things (analog dashboard, manual 4x4 shifter, basic AM/FM cassette player)
And Mike, you are spot on about the whole "SUVs used to be way more rugged." This generation Blazer (and it's Jimmy sibling) were made to haul and tow stuff around (I use mine to carry camera equipment to video shoots). The whole "family car" aspect was just an afterthought at the time.
But that all changed when GM re-designed the Blazer in '95 to make it more of a " softer, family friendly grocery getter."Just looking at the 2nd gen Blazers screams "soccer mom!."
But then again, the first gen design was 11 years old by 1994, so a re-design was probably a smart choice on GM's part. At that same time, the definition of an SUV was changing from a bare-bones workhorse to a soccer-mom's grocery getter.
...sorry for the lengthy ramble, just wanted to share my observation of these awesome trucks!
Best of OPC. 
9 comments:
Ugh. The worst little Chevy truck ever. EVER. Only cool thing this vermin has going for it is the interesting way the graphics are deteriorating.
Good find, good post.
My father had a 1987 with the electronic dashboard, which surprisingly never failed. I remember looking at the front for awhile and realizing it looks just like the Chevette.
A true Sport-Utility vehicle. Gate flips up, seat flips down, your two-by-fours slide in right up to the dashboard. Cinderblocks, cement, nail kegs, it's all rubber and plastic back there so load 'er up- it will all clean out with the hose on Friday afternoon. Maybe a little offroading on the weekend? Why not! It's built to take it.
Makes you wonder how we would up with the leather-lined capsules of complexity that pass for sport utility vehicles today...
Amen, Mike! There's nothing very utilitarian about today's SUVs- or even half the pick'em-ups. It's like they're just luxury cars in SUV or P/U shape. Can't even buy a big car anymore that isn't festooned with 97 mileage-zapping, money-sucking luxury features. (Not like that old Plymouth Special, that ya could order without even so much as a radio. Today, ya want something liker that, you're relegated to a Fiat 500 or Stu..err...uh..."Smart" Car.
What about the Studebaker Scotsman for simplicity?
A friend of mine actually used the roof rack on his Blazer and the damned thing just pulled right off and dumped his stuff in the street. He could never get any satisfaction from the dealer or Chevrolet himself. Finally the dealer explained to him that the rack was just ornamental.
Hi guys! Seems to me all they've done since the '90's was to put a station wagon
on a truck frame and call that an SUV! You certanly can't haul or pull anything with
those suburban plushmobiles today. Now, if you want a real SUV, have a look at the
International Harvester Travelall. Now there's an honest SUV for ya'! They were built
to work hard all week, then take you and all your family and friends to church on Sunday mornings. Don, you just couldn't ask for anything more simple or powerful
than a Travelall. Used to see 'em a lot in your neck of the woods. The tobacco growers
prized them for their toughness. If you and mike haven't checked out the Travelall post
have a look! You'll be glad you did!
Your friend might've been better off with the Scotsman. A friend of my Dad's used
one for his housepainting business. He couldn't have picked a better car! It was simple
and reliable, and that chomeless body made a hell of a canvas to show prospective
customers what their house would look like painted Azure Blue! But good luck finding
one, body rot got most of them. May they rust in peace.
That shot of the decaying pinstriping is a-m-a-z-i-n-g.
I currently own a '94 S-10 Blazer (last year for the first generation model) and it has been a great reliable truck for me. It has the bullet-proof 4.3L Vortec V6 engine and gets me through snow like its nothing! The mechanics on mine are also very simple on these things (analog dashboard, manual 4x4 shifter, basic AM/FM cassette player)
And Mike, you are spot on about the whole "SUVs used to be way more rugged." This generation Blazer (and it's Jimmy sibling) were made to haul and tow stuff around (I use mine to carry camera equipment to video shoots). The whole "family car" aspect was just an afterthought at the time.
But that all changed when GM re-designed the Blazer in '95 to make it more of a " softer, family friendly grocery getter."Just looking at the 2nd gen Blazers screams "soccer mom!."
But then again, the first gen design was 11 years old by 1994, so a re-design was probably a smart choice on GM's part. At that same time, the definition of an SUV was changing from a bare-bones workhorse to a soccer-mom's grocery getter.
...sorry for the lengthy ramble, just wanted to share my observation of these awesome trucks!
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