Continuing on with our special Hooniverse Couldawouldashoulda Weekend Edition, with your drunk host, UDMan. Pickup trucks were once owned by people who use them for their hauling ability, their utility, or just to be different. Then the compact pickup came to market, and suddenly its a lifestyle vehicle. There is no denying that a pickup is useful, and one of the last of the compact vehicles available is the Chevrolet Colorado. This was actually designed by Isuzu, and built here in the US with either a 2.9L DOHC 4-cylinder, or a 3.7L DOHC 5-cylinder engine, neither of which generates enough power to get out of its own way, and they are not particularly frugal when it comes to fuel mileage. When optioning up a 5-Cylinder Colorado Two-Wheel Drive LT, with an Automatic and not much else, the sticker price hovers around $21,500. For that same amount of money, you could get a real truck in the form of a 1972 Chevrolet C10 Cheyenne Pickup, sporting a 350 CID V-8, a Turbohydramatic, and Air Conditioning. So, which would you choose?


The Colorado has never been well received when it was introduced, taking the place of the long-in-tooth Chevy S-10 in 2004. One of the biggest complaints was the fact that the 4.3L V-6 was replaced with the anemic 3.7L Five that is in no way a torque monster, making only 242 HP at an unusually high 5600 RPM, and only 242 Lb-Ft of torque. The General also cheapened the interior and the exterior with substandard plastic, trim, and other bits. This is a truck that was built to a price…. and it suffers for it.

On the other hand, there is a real Chevrolet Truck that comes with a Full Metal Dash, a Steering Wheel that could be used in a Semi, and an honest to god Bench Seat covered in good old embossed vinyl. This truck is painted in the most eye searing red, tempered with an old fashioned white two-tone treatment. And under the hood is an honest to god Chevy Small Block. According to the listing:

1972 Chevrolet C10 Cheyenne Pick-up, 62,000 miles, amazing rust free western truck, absolutely gorgeous Red and White two-tone paint, excellent Red and Black interior, brilliant chrome and trim, 350 cu in V8, automatic, poser steering, power disc brakes, cold A/C, dual exhaust, tilt steering column, AM radio, cargo light, Chevy Truck Rally wheels, white wall radial tires, chrome step & tow rear bumper, drives beautifully!

The question is this: For roughly $21,500, you could get a well equipped Colorado Pickup 2WD, and be perfectly satisified with using it day to day while it drives you to an early grave with its lack of PAH and lack of hauling ability, or you could get a pickup that was intended to pull a trailer, or live on a cattle ranch in the west end of Texas. Why you could get your own Cowboy Hat, and Texas sized belt buckle for your Wranglers, and be perfectly at home in this Cheyenne. Which would you choose? See the Cheyenne Listing here.