Well a new Colorado is expected for 2013. Hopefully the new GM will put some effort into this one.

 

Only thing I can think of with the Colorado is that it is too big, or cost too much. I personally hate the Ranger...it's old, bland, and smallish. Recently I saw a Colorado out the corner of my eye..and doble taked because I thought it was a Silverado. I went up and looked inside, and it was fairly decent..no worse than what you get in a Silverado work truck.

It looks like the Colorado starts at $16K and the Silverado at $19K. I am willing to bet that a lot of potential Colorado buyers end up in Silverado's because of the closeness in price and size. I think I would rather have a Silverado V6 work truck more than a base 4 cylinder Colorado.

 

I just bought an 08 Colorado LS (I4, 5 speed manual, extended cab) to replace my old 97 S10 (I4, 5 speed manual) and my 07 Ford Focus Wagon. I changed jobs and my new company provides me with a brand new E150 Cargo van for work, so I didn't need the Focus anymore. The reason I bought the Colorado was because of the 5 speed and the I4. I wanted at least 1 vehicle I own to be able to get good gas mileage, but I wanted something with a bed in case I need to haul something for the house or a car project. I love the exterior appearance and while the interior is rather cheap, it isn't like a 90s Metro or anything like that.

I looked at the Ranger, but it was very outdated and it was impossible to find an extended cab with a 5 speed. The Dakota doesn't offer a manual at all anymore, and I wasn't going to spend $30K on the Frontier or the Toyota (not to mention I wouldn't be caught dead in an import). I would have considered a Silverado if I could get a manual in them still, but all they have is automatics in full size trucks anymore. If I'm going to buy a vehicle, it's going to have a manual transmission. Getting harder and harder every year, it seems.

 

Ironically, from a small sport truck point of view, the Toyota X-Runner has a manual, while the Colorado V8 ZQ8 is stuck with a 4 speed auto. Its V6 vs V8, but the actual accel performance is just about equal.. if anything the X-Runner might be slightly faster..