Currently, General Motors is not engaged in the feisty rock-crawling and dune-bashing mid-size SUV wars. But what if that were subject to change, even if only virtually?
As passenger cars are slowly but steadily out of favor both with consumers (as if they had a choice) and OEMs (who love the higher MSRPs and profits, above all else), there is ample choice for whatever crossover, SUV, or truck fancies your budget and needs. Virtually every major automaker is striving to find balance in the area – although some can be seen as being more sedulous than others.
Let us take General Motors, for example, and from top to bottom. Cadillac is as ritzy as always and aligned itself to the fashionable trend of CUVs and SUVs with the $36k+ XT4, $44k+ XT5, and $48,595 XT6 (as counterparts to the CT4 and CT5 sedans), the $63k Lyriq, and $80k (and above) full-size Escalade flagship. GMC plays well here, too, with the $30k Terrain, $36,500 Acadia, and the mighty Yukon and Yukon XL (starting from $57,400).
There is also the GMC Hummer EV SUV but for the time being that one is priceless because of delivery constraints. Anyway, even when order books are in the clear, it still will not be cheap, judging by its GMC Hummer EV pickup truck sibling. Meanwhile, Buick has forgotten that it was once a proud passenger car brand and is now a bland CUV marque with stuff like the $26k Encore and Encore GX small crossovers, the $37,500 Envision and $45,660 Envision Avenir compact CUVs, and the Enclave plus Enclave Avenir mid-size crossover SUVs at $44,800 and $57,100, respectively.
And so, we get down to Chevrolet, which should give anyone the largest field of play with the MSRP and the most comprehensive CUV and SUV lineup. And it does, up to a point. The Trax ($21k), Trailblazer ($22k), and Bolt EUV ($27,800) represent the smaller options. The middle ground is the home base for the $26,600 Equinox, $34,520 Traverse, and $35,100 Blazer, while the higher echelon starts with the $54,200 Tahoe and does end after many inches of wheelbase with the $56,900 Suburban. Quite a powerful mix, right?
Photo: KDesign AG / Behance
Well, as it turns out, the competition is even stronger in the mid-size department because aside from family- and road trip-oriented crossover SUVs they also have something for the more adventurous bunch: off-road-focused, truck-based SUVs. And here, we could easily mention the iconic Jeep Wrangler 2- and 4-Door, plus the Toyota 4Runner, or the reinvented sixth-generation Ford Bronco. And what does GM have to show for them? Nothing, I am afraid, and I am even ashamed (for the company) to say the myriad of fans hoping to see a K5 Blazer revival might forever remain uncomforted.
That is even when other brands that have nothing to do with the legacy of tough American SUVs like Volkswagen have noticed the opportunity and are working to bring back to life the Scout nameplate, for example. Anyway, that OEM stubbornness has never stopped the imaginative realm of virtual automotive artists from doing their bidding – even if sometimes the results are nothing but a shameless rip-off instead of an elegant flight of fancy.
And there is no need to take our word for granted, as we have an eloquent example stemming from the fruitful imagination of Kleber Silva, the Brazil-based pixel master better known as KDesign AG on social media, who has decided to have a CGI go at imagining a modern, tough Chevy SUV, no matter the hurdles. As such, here is the digital expert’s “design proposal for the future Ford Bronco SUV competitor that Chevrolet is set to unveil in the coming years.” Wishful thinking at best, this idea for both two- and four-door variants has obviously used the modern Bronco as the base of CGI operations.
Then, probably just to say there’s something new in the mix, the front and rear styling was reinterpreted and directly inspired by the Silverado RST EV for the bigger Chevy SUV and by the Silverado 1500 Z71 for the nimbler version. All in all, I feel that it is clearly a bad effort, and it easily goes to show that Chevrolet and Ford have truly distinctive design languages that do not mix well at all. So, that begs the question: why on earth is GM refraining from giving us a modern K5 Blazer after waves of fans have hit the company with tsunamis of love for the vintage tough SUV?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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