Photo: KDesign AG / Behance
Not long ago, the American pickup trucks were quite well defined – and not just by class, but also by region. Nowadays, though, things are starting to get a little blurry at the (segment) borders.
As far as the pickup truck realm is concerned, North America was not long ago dominated by scale. The Ford F-Series has been for decades not only the top-selling pickup truck but also the best-selling series overall, and it is composed of both the F-150 models as well as the separate Super Duty siblings. And, of course, the Detroit peers are following closely with GM’s Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra or Ram trucks – plus their heavy-duty offerings.
The only other interest was for mid-size trucks – where the Americans have had to give up the crown to the popular Toyota Tacoma. Alas, not long ago, someone at Ford decided that Hyundai’s desire to introduce the posh little Santa Cruz compact unibody was perilous – and it needed a measured response. Well, that was a stroke of genius as the affordable and electrified Ford Maverick has swiftly taken the throne and revealed the customers still had a fling with the base segment.
The latter had been known for years in South America, meanwhile, where stuff like the Chevy Montana, Fiat Toro, and Renault (Duster) Oroch has thrived and where coupe utilities were more common than larger trucks. Interestingly, some of them – like the latest Montana - are also growing into larger four-door compact pickup trucks. And Chevrolet also has its sights on bigger segments, thanks to the S-10 model. Wait, what?
Indeed, the Chevrolet S-10 nameplate – which belongs to a bygone era of North American compact pickup truck love (production took place between 1981 and 2004), has not been sent to the greener pastures of car Valhalla everywhere, only in the United States. Over there, the S-series was succeeded by the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, but in Brazil production of the second generation continued until 2012. And even after that it still did not retire – GM’s South America division just switched manufacturing to the second-gen Chevy Colorado and kept the S-10 badge for continuity.
As such, today we have the Colorado for North America and the S-10 for South America, but they’re essentially the same. Or, at least, they were until the third-generation North American Chevy Colorado was introduced last summer for the 2023 model year with a feisty 2.7-liter turbo inline-four shared with the full-size Silverado. Thus, even though some compact unibody pickup truck fans might crave a revival of the nameplate in the United States to fight the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick, this is not it.
Instead, Kleber Silva, the Brazil-based virtual artist using the KDesign AG label on social media, has decided to digitally portray the South American 2024 Chevrolet S-10 in High Country trim, and use the North American Chevy Colorado as the virtual base of CGI operations. The design proposal seems quite fit to compose the look of the next-gen Brazilian mid-size truck, right?
The only other interest was for mid-size trucks – where the Americans have had to give up the crown to the popular Toyota Tacoma. Alas, not long ago, someone at Ford decided that Hyundai’s desire to introduce the posh little Santa Cruz compact unibody was perilous – and it needed a measured response. Well, that was a stroke of genius as the affordable and electrified Ford Maverick has swiftly taken the throne and revealed the customers still had a fling with the base segment.
The latter had been known for years in South America, meanwhile, where stuff like the Chevy Montana, Fiat Toro, and Renault (Duster) Oroch has thrived and where coupe utilities were more common than larger trucks. Interestingly, some of them – like the latest Montana - are also growing into larger four-door compact pickup trucks. And Chevrolet also has its sights on bigger segments, thanks to the S-10 model. Wait, what?
Indeed, the Chevrolet S-10 nameplate – which belongs to a bygone era of North American compact pickup truck love (production took place between 1981 and 2004), has not been sent to the greener pastures of car Valhalla everywhere, only in the United States. Over there, the S-series was succeeded by the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, but in Brazil production of the second generation continued until 2012. And even after that it still did not retire – GM’s South America division just switched manufacturing to the second-gen Chevy Colorado and kept the S-10 badge for continuity.
As such, today we have the Colorado for North America and the S-10 for South America, but they’re essentially the same. Or, at least, they were until the third-generation North American Chevy Colorado was introduced last summer for the 2023 model year with a feisty 2.7-liter turbo inline-four shared with the full-size Silverado. Thus, even though some compact unibody pickup truck fans might crave a revival of the nameplate in the United States to fight the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick, this is not it.
Instead, Kleber Silva, the Brazil-based virtual artist using the KDesign AG label on social media, has decided to digitally portray the South American 2024 Chevrolet S-10 in High Country trim, and use the North American Chevy Colorado as the virtual base of CGI operations. The design proposal seems quite fit to compose the look of the next-gen Brazilian mid-size truck, right?
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