…At least those were the words that the man at the dealership said to my dad when he was buying it to haul God-knows-what to God-knows-where. I was far more interested in him purchasing a white Chevy Monza that was on the lot at the time. Thankfully, I failed.
I wish I had been older than five at the time this shindig happened because I would’ve loved to see the salesman versus salesman showdown that happened when my dad walked into REASA Chevrolet one day in 1997 with the intention of buying a new car. My dad had experience in his favor while the salesman had superior knowledge of the product. It wasn’t a fair match really. At least it wasn’t until we take into account that my dad had a serious handicap: He needed the car ‘now’ and he was a GM Man.
Brand Families aren’t that much of a thing around my neck of the woods. Certainly not to the point where they would fight if someone didn’t bought the brand the family was used to. But my dad has always had an unnatural admiration for the bowtie. So much so that when he looked at a Chevrolet Aveo he deemed it good looking and nice, even after I had showed him that all the plastics inside were made from discarded Cozy Coupes and the seats would make cement stadium seats feel like a massaging La-Z-Boy. And when I explained to him it was a Daewoo, he told me that because it had a Chevrolet badge it would surely be built to a superior standard than the ones that had a Daewoo badge. I facepalmed. I had to concede to him that the Chevrolet Prizm is a superior buy than the identical Toyota Corolla, but that’s because you can pick a Prizm for much less than a Corolla and they’re exactly the same car.
So you can see why we came home that day with a bog-standard 1997 Chevrolet S-10 Short-bed finished in Light Autumnwood Metallic and with absolutely no options on it whatsoever for the low low price of $11,000. It had air conditioning and an AM/FM Radio, what else could you need? Later I discovered that the only other option was the exact same car, but in white. It’s a good thing that they didn’t have a red one. He loves red. I’m sure if they’d say “Well, we have a fully-loaded 4×4 extended cab red one for about twice the price” he would’ve man-mathed it to reality.
So what did he actually pay for? Well.. A very, very, very old car for one. Underneath its ‘all-new’ 1994 image lived the same GMT325 platform that had underpinned the S-10 since its inception in 1982. The A-Frames had first seen duty in the G-Bodies. What was different, quite thankfully, were the engines. Instead of the Iron Duke we got an all new multi-port fuel-injected 2.2-liter four cylinder engine. Named Vortec 2200, it developed 120 horsepower and 140 lb-ft of torque. The Vortec 4300 (no guesses about its displacement please) V6 was a development of the 90-degree V6 and developed 175 horsepower and it was not an option my dad ticked. From dad came reinforced leaf springs so he could go beyond the standard 1571 lb. payload.
Despite being a base model, everyone started praising the old man. So naturally, about three days after he bought it there was a scratch that ran the entire length of the car. Praise usually comes with the veneer of either loathing or people thinking about how many crimes you committed to get it. Someone tried to imply that to my father’s face once and the verbal beatdown that ensued (in a completely calm and amicable manner) was so comprehensive its ingrained in my brain. Someone broke the back window once so for a while we had to cover it with clear plastic until we replaced it. At which point someone broke the passenger side window. Someone peeled the ‘C’ sticker from the bed. *This* is why we can’t have nice things.
And it really was nice. Although I’m sure the fact it’s the first car I have a memory of may be rose-coloring the memories, as the most I remember is that the air conditioner blew so cold I damned near froze (good luck telling my dad to turn it down a notch). And rare, but that was mostly due to the color. Everyone seemed to prefer the darker Smokey Carmel Metallic or anything but the light metallic brown. I went on adventures with it. All the adventures someone in the ages of 6-11 can go on at least. One day, the road to church was closed to build a highway pass and we had two options to get to it: go down the track to the highway and drive about twelve miles to turn around and cross, or go straight through the mountains of sand and gravel that blocked the way. Turns out the S10 has some good sand capabilities.
One day out of nowhere, my dad insisted I sit on his lap and drive. It was the most fun and nerve-wracking 25 miles per hour I’ve ever had. Then when I was older, mum and I spun it out on a rainy night in an off-camber curve. That one was more scary than fun though. Then one Sunday night, it was gone. The lease was over and some men came to pick it up. I think it would’ve been nice if they had notified my folks first and not left them carless.
If my memories seem a bit fuzzy and all over the place well, they are. I was very young and there were a lot of things competing for a spot in my memory. But almost everything I can remember about the S10 is lined with a tint of innocence and bright-eyed idealism. When they broke the windows, I didn’t knew the stress that my parents felt. I just knew one day, by magic, a window would appear. As I grew older and I started figuring things out a new perspective emerged. A darker one, but you knew that one already. Turns out it wasn’t a car or a truck, it was an experience.
My uncle had one of these, can’t remember the year. It was green, and had a grey camper top on it. Had the V6, I think, and stick shift. As the only car in my family was a ’84 Cutlass, dad would borrow the truck for the occasional ruin to the dump with tree branches, or whatever yard work needed a truck. Say what you will, I have fond memories of that truck.
About 2 or 3 years after the S-10 first hit the showroom I found a nice long bed S-10 with V6 and auto on my local Chevy dealer’s used car lot. I always thought S-10s looked sporty compared to the Ranger’s overt utility and with the price being decent I took it for a test drive. And yeah, it was like what you imagined an El Camino would drive like…..definitely more car-like than ANY of it’s competitors.
The earliest ones, with their circular gauges were decent. The later ones with their faux digital instrumentation were kind of sad/silly. They all drove like cars, but for the 4×4 models.
I still love the curves on this generation of S-10s! I owned a ’96 S-10 Blazer for about 10 years and it was solidly built and never let me down. It had a 4.3 but it always felt kind of sluggish though.
I agree on that, my grandpa has a Sonoma with a 4.3 and it doesn’t have as much umph as you would expect from a ginormous V6. Plenty of low-end torque but it’s done making power by 3k.
Scratched paint, broken windows and vandalized trim because it was a new truck?! Your parents had real jerks for neighbours!
Had? 😉
I still find this generation of S-10 one of the best-looking small trucks ever designed.
Why did the Ranger outlast the S-10? I don’t know relative sales figures, but I presume the Ranger outsold it or else Ford would have discontinued it sooner. The last batch was bought by Orkin; perhaps fleet buyers liked them more.
At one point the Ranger was the best selling small pickup and It did outsell the Chevy in almost, if not every year they were both on the market. I think it regularly outsold Chevy + GMC too. Yes fleets preferred it because it was cheaper to own overall so that factored in as well.
The Ranger was sold all over the world under two names economies of scale, and it still sells well.
The S10 is still sold in Brazil.
The Brazilian S10 is now the same pickup known as Colorado in the U.S.
I think the Colorado really took the wind out of the sales. Most everyone hated how it looked.
I suspect safety rating had something to do with the need to redesign the truck. The Ranger was a newer design, but I heard one of the reasons it was discontinued had to do with ever increasing safety regulations.
Bryce the US Ranger was different from the Mazda-based pickup that the rest of the world got, from about 1982. I don’t know that anything was shared between them.
Interesting to read this article, now that so many people use vehicles like them for everyday transport. I have done in the past. They do drive ‘like’ cars, even if the models sold here still ride much more harshly, but they certainly do not stop and turn like cars. Part of that can be put down to load-rated tires that don’t grip like normal passenger cars, but also different suspension geometry plays a part too I think.
I recently said “goodbye” to an S10 like this. It served me pretty well over the 14 years I had it, although I only put 67K miles on it from new. It was laborious and slow to drive, yet it was comfortable for me on a long drive on flat land such as I-5. But I’m at the point where I rarely needed its cargo capability, and my S/O’s old vehicle works much better for me now. I’m not thrilled its gone, but I had to move on.
I worked on tons of these during my days as a GM dealer mechanic. I always had mixed feelings about them. I liked the sleek exterior styling, and the mechanicals were quite robust- at least until the infamous Dex-Cool sludging fiasco reared it’s ugly head. And like others have said, their road manners and overall comfort were suprisingly car-like.
On the other hand, I was put off by their junky interiors and flimsy body construction, with all their requisite squeaks, creaks, rattles, and shudders. Unfortunately, no other GM vehicle of this period was any better in that regard.
I have a ’98 S10 and those plastic door panels are just awful, but the 2.2 is still running and the 5 speed manual offers no complaints.
I sold dozens of base model, short bed S-10s in 1997. Almost all of them were stripped – rubber floors, 5-speed, and no radio, A/C, or rear bumper – which made them popular first time buyer/college rebate fodder.
Is the top picture the actual truck? If so, that’s actually a decently-equipped LS-grade model with the “chromed” grille, painted front bumper and alloy wheels. Also, the interior pic shown is from a 1998-above S-10; here’s a 1997:
That style of Escape and Explorer did not exist until this decade and sounds like their S-10 was gone by the early 2000s.
change that truck to vinyl seats and you have my favorite type of vehicle.
Had a regular cab long bed 91 with 4.3 and 700r4. The guy was wrong it was a truck and a tough one at that. I wound up with two regular cab trucks in a row after my last king cab. The regular cab is what put me in an SUV but the S10 was just as tough as the Japanese ones that preceded it.
Car like indeed. The S-10 was another gateway vehicle to the dominance of the truck, SUV and CUV of today.
During the ’80s, in the U.S. Midwest anyway, used Amercian RWD mostly V-8 powered cars dominated the youth market. Maybe one person I knew had a mini-truck, I believe a Nissan.
Around 1992, one of my best buddies bought a brand new loaded high-line S-10 extended cab 4×4. He was 25 at the time, and suddenly making some money. It was a revelation to me that this was really among the most image conscious brand new vehicles a young man could buy at the time. The car world was dominated by FWD appliances by this time, most RWD cars had become rather aged and fuddy-duddy, and not everyone wanted to cram into a compact class Mustang or Camaro. He and his dates looked great in that truck. His first of many trucks and SUVs over the next 25 years.
Family member has owned a ’97 extended cam GMC Sonoma S10 clone for 10 years. 2.2 5 speed stick, ac, ps 2wd. No major problems, alt, starter, water pump, u-joints, pinion seal is about all. Over 200k miles now, still going. Really underpowered though, gets about 25 MPG. Decent truck for 2000 dollars in 2005.
Thanks for the memories. The first New vehicle I bought was an 88 S-10 extended cab 4×4. 4.3 V-6 and the 700R4 auto. Blue Metallic and silver, just like the one in the brochure. Got a deal on it because the guy who ordered it rejected it because it didn’t have A/C. Loved that truck. Only broke when I did something stupid (beat the tar out of it thinking it was indestructible) or forgot to properly maintain it. Sold it with 249K on the clock, Still got 20 mpg on the freeway. It went to Mexico to become a farm truck. Ten years later, I am told it is still holding it’s own.
Send me one of those Brazilian S-10s. I could use a small runabout pickup. A base model four popper with a manual trans would be great. I am disappointed that the new Colorado is almost as large as the Silverado. Are you listening, Detroit?
Well, you will be getting a Brazilian S-10. Only that for you it’ll be called the Chevrolet Colorado Diesel.
My ’88 S10 Blazer was great, the only real problems were a hunk of trim fell off the passenger’s handle. the headlight switch puked out at about 2 years, and the starter, an amazingly small one, died and it was replaced under some “secret warranty”. I had it 5 years, and sold it to a friend of mine, where it went on and on, with 2 thefts, one total trashing of the interior, a slicing open of the drivers side rear quarter by a truck that sideswiped it due to the driver having a sugar issue. It was only on it’s second transmission and was still running ok on the original 4.3 short block when it finally rusted to the point he had to scrap it, as it was leaking water like crazy. It had just under 468,000 miles on the odometer, but actually was close to 500,000 as the speedo cable had rotted out about a year before it went to the scrapper. It’s replacement, a GMC Envoy, has over 250,000 and is on it’s second engine after my friend’s wife drove it for like a week with the oil light on (The oil pan had a hole in it). His mother has a Trailblazer that has well over 300,000 and she is determined to drive it until she can’t drive anymore. She’s about 87 now, and still drives quite well, so it might not make it, it’s pretty rusty.
The photo at the top is almost (mine had different wheels and chrome bumpers) identical to the 2000 S-10 I owned. Pewter Metallic (like seemingly every other GM pickup or truck-based SUV on the road in those days) short bed regular cab LS model with a camper shell painted to match. I bought it from my then-father in law when he closed his business and entered another line of work,
The truck was a year old and had 50K on the clock when I got it, Being a 2.2 with an automatic meant it was a little challenging merging into Houston freeway traffic (turning off the a/c helped) but it was decent on gas and absolutely free of any major trouble in the three years I owned it. Despite its high mileage (and the fiberglass shell on the back) it never was plagued by the creaks and rattles so common to the S-trucks.
As mentioned earlier it was an LS model and was very well equipped for a short bed 4-banger. Pretty much every option except power windows and locks. My biggest complaint (other than the borderline dangerous lack of acceleration) was the seating position, It felt as if you were sinking down into a Corvette seat instead of a truck. Even the ZR-2 package S-10 4×4 felt low on the inside compared to a Ranger.
I ended up putting another 80K on it over three years. My grandmother passed away in 2004 which gave me the opportunity to buy her ’02 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4×4 which I’ve owned ever since. Had my S-10 been an extended cab with a 4.3, I’d probably still have it instead of the Dakota. They were great little trucks.
When the S-10’s first came out the City bought an entire fleet of them , all four cylinder automatics with no options .
They were dog slow and were the first vehicle I ever drove that ran out of power so badly that @ 85 MPH the engine gave up and it’d begin hunting , popping in and out of the automatic over drive . they _all_ did that .
The dash gauges routinely flipped over so the needles pointed straight down , what a pia to fix only to have happen again in a week .
The inside door handles wore out in about three years , we had box fulls on hand .
They did seem fairly reliable although about 1/2 of them blew the head gaskets right at 150,000 miles .
I find them attractive and right sized for light duty Commercial work trucks .
-Nate
Was it a lease or did they not make their payments? Leases usually get turned in at the dealership at the end of the term. That seems odd.
Welcome to Honduras.
The 97’s were pretty bad in my opinion. I had one and it was always in the shop for something. I knew people that had 96, 97 and 98’s and everyone that had a 96 or 98 loved their S-10. The ones that had 97’s hated them for the same reasons I did.
My 89 S-15 was fantastic but got totaled in an accident so I got the S-10 thinking the experience should be similar but no…