4 photos
It’s being reported that the Chevy Blazer will beat Ford’s resurrected SUV to market — as soon as 2019. Originally a body-on-frame SUV in a sweet-spot, mid-size silhouette, the Blazer was sold for other 30 years before its demise in the 2000s. It was rugged, handsome and capable, like any good truck-based fun-mobile should be.
Rumor has it, though, that the new Blazer will return as a crossover, and not a Wrangler competitor, like the now hotly anticipated 2020 Bronco. I’m inclined to think that’s a mistake, if only because I prefer my trucks be, well, trucks. What’s a guy gotta do to get a simple, wrench-able 4×4 around here? The answer is, of course, not living in these troubled car-platform times — we all have a front seat to the demise of the overlander in mainstream manufacturing as the crossover quickly devours every last bit of market share possible.
Expect the new Blazer to slot in between the Equinox and Traverse, and to be parked in happy suburban driveways from here to the horizon. It’ll be a great, reliable car, no doubt. But I’m already sad it won’t go rock-crawling. No official word from Chevrolet yet, but keep your eyes peeled.
