I hate saying this because I love to buy American and nothing is more American than Chevy and Ford. These guys are letting thier engineers kill them. I own a 2005 Colorado with a 3.5 I-5 engine. When compared to a comparable Toyota, it falls short. I have less power, towing capacity, and fuel mileage than a Tacoma. I have a one touch ignition start feature and electric throttle (no cable). This is stupid. I'd rather have an electric fan (to free up some horsepower), a five or six speed transmission (to tow more and get better fuel economy), a floor shifter instead of an old fashioned, out-dated column shifter (so I can actually see and have control over what I'm doing), and for the love of GOD, a truck should at LEAST have a limited slip differential (both tires provide power instead of one). Once again Chevy is good at some things and completely misses the boat on others, and they wonder why they are in trouble...they have no idea what the heck the consumer wants. As soon as I can, I'm trading this thing in for a REAL truck...A TOYOTA.  

Have you looked at the Tahoe lately?  

thats what you get for buying the colorado, all the stuff you are saying now you should have taken into account when you made the purchase. I hate american cars, although I wish I didnt have to, toyota is OG, longest lasting most powerful vehicles all around on the market. A bit more expenseive but well worth it.  

I agree with you.  GM should have never brought the 3.5 I-5 to the states.  The 4.2 I-6 has more power and gets better gas mileage than the 3.5.  I think that they could probably sell more colorados and canyons if they stuck the 4.2 out of the Trailblazer it the colorado.  

The fact of the matter is, the domestic manufacturers, for the most part, have completely abandoned the compact (or midsize) truck sector. The Ranger is freakin' ancient, the Colorado and Canyon are embarrasingly out-classed, and the Dakota is now so big & heavy, it might as well be a full-size. Obviously, they don't think its an important enough segment to invest much R&D.  

Actually, the GMT355 Twins (triplets if you count Isuzu) and the Ranger are the only compacts left in the market.  GM tries marketing the GMT355's as midsize but it's really a compact, a larger one albeit, but a compact.  So, comparing the Colorado to a Tacoma may really be apples to oranges.

However, even that being said, how do the GMT355's not stack up?  You are comparing to the Tacoma.  Atlas engines used in the GMT355's are more of a car engine, than a truck engine, but they perform compact truck duty just fine.  Both the 2.9L 4cyl and the 3.7L 5cyl produce more power than the Tacoma engines.  They may get slightly worse fuel economy, but they are more powerful.

Most of the GMT355 configurations can haul between 1400 - 1550 lbs.  Even the 4cyl 2.9L 4x4 auto is rated for a payload around 1550lbs.  That's close to full-size in a compact truck.  Furthermore, the Tacoma doesn't offer an auto w/ it's 4cyl 4x4, at least not in reg cab form.  Talk about not stacking up?

It is true the towing capacity is down.  But they used 'softer' rear springs to help ride, comfort and handling.  I know ppl using helper springs in the rear and are capable of towing 6000lbs, right on par w/ Tacoma.  So, consider that the 'Towing Pkg' GM doesn't offer.

I currently have a Colorado 4cyl auto Z71 4x4 and I cannot say I lack for power.  It is a solid, capable pickup.  I traded a 5cyl 5spd manual Z71 4x4 for it (wife wanted me to get an auto) and routinely spun tire and got 18.6mpg all local driving.

I can understand the GMT355 bashing to some degree as they could make HD versions or offer better towing pkgs, but to constantly compare the oversized compact w/ midsize trucks is at face value unfair.  I also will agree that the truck is a little more car like to some degree, but it is a compact and it's quite tolerable as a daily driver.  So, it's good at what it was designed for.

Capable truck qualities (for the compact segment especially), good fuel economy, wide range of models, more interior space, better ride and handling, useful truck bed.  I guess they figured if you wanted a full-size, you'd buy a full size.

Another oft overlooked component to the GMT355's is the tuner crowd.  By attempting to appeal to a younger generation who like to mod engines, lower and trick out their rides, they are attempting to appeal to youth (just like the new Cobalt is a capable tuner as well) to try building a young base again who will consider their products as they age (much like Toyota and Honda have done for years).