tama z71

way to show some respect, asshole. i cannot believe you just defended the bombing of pearl harbor. go back to russia, commie. youre a DICK, in the purest sense of the word

10,000 miles. 365 days. 1 Truck. 2004 GMC Canyon Z71 One-Year Update A Tama Review Accurate assessments of the GMC Canyon have been few and far between. More power! Bigger cabin! Isuzu? These and other cries of misinformation would leave the media sheep to believe that this little piss-bucket is yet another sign of GM’s inability to shake its old ways. Despite having been on the market since December of 2003, this truck has been misrepresented even by those who would defend it. The constant flow of inaccuracies about the GMT-355 twins pains me, and it pains me to the point where I feel the need to forego hour’s worth of study hall time this past week in order to assemble a comprehensive and unbiased review of my own vehicle, one GMC Canyon z71. Many of my fellow enthusiasts have become quite accustomed to the Car and Driver School of Foreign Preference in Automotive Journalism. Please understand that this article is being written in a fashion that many of you will find slightly unfamiliar and somewhat frightening at first: sensibly. I will be judging this truck not on its ability to gracefully maneuver the figure-eight track, nor its ability to comfortably move a family of four and the occasional load of groceries. Rather, I will grade this truck on its ability to perform truck-like duties. I am not Car and Driver. I don’t give a darn about car-like attributes. Despite media forecasts, I believe that the great percentage of truck owners still buy trucks because they didn’t want a high-riding car. Before you take a swig of that Tacoma Kool-Aid, have a taste of what the General has to offer the midsize segment. Bottoms up. First Impression From a faraway glance, there is no mistaking this truck for anything but a GM. The tear-drop headlights and aggressive nose instantly allude to cues of the Canyon’s bigger brothers, the GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado. Take a gander around the truck, and meaty 31-inch treads are set off by excessively large fender flares. Riding two inches higher than the standard z85 suspension and set off by the aforementioned exterior cues, the Canyon z71 looks to be a competent off-roader. Square-edged fender flares form the illusion of movement while at rest, and help what is normally an afterthought add to the edgy styling of the truck. BUT, closer inspection reveals large body panel gaps that lend some evidence to the influence of Isuzu engineering on this truck. The large, chrome-framed grille with black crossbars is a page right out of the GMC family style-book. I can’t help but wonder how good the front clip might look with a chrome honeycomb grille and cleaner fascia. Let’s all pray for a Denali in 2007. Exterior While purely subjective, of those who have reviewed the truck (professional or otherwise), the great majority agree that the GMC Canyon is the best looking of the midsize batch. Not only good, looks are also deceitful. Line the Canyon up against a similarly equipped Toyota Tacoma, and the Canyon instantly appears better suited to accompany the lone Ranger (hah!) in the now nearly-abandoned compact class. While appearing much smaller than it’s greatest sales competitor on the outside, clever packaging inside allows for very comparable passenger room. More on that later… Next to kicking the tires, knocking on the sheet metal is a test of new-car durability that has survived every trend from big muscle to noisy rice. A healthy knock to the panels of the Canyon, and one is greeted with a hollow-sounding, confidence-diminishing thack! It’s a shame, and one of a series of needless cost-cutting measures that serve only to diminish the perceived value of the truck. As far as work purposes, the Canyon falls right into the middle of the mix. Not quite as useful as the Nissan Frontier’s standard bedliner and Utilitrack system, but not as useless as the Honda Ridgeline’s sloping bedrails and 5-foot long exterior trunk. The bed is easy to reach into from all angles and is fairly deep. The six foot bed of the extended cab provides plenty of item-space, and six tie-down hooks at the corners are passable. However, with standard bedliners becoming common and cargo management systems finding favor amongst those who carry stuff in their beds, the scheduled 2007 refresh is looking like a mighty fine time to let these features find their way into the ass-end of the Canyon. *Note* Here’s a nifty trick! Visit your local truck-outfitter and purchase a tonneau cover for your GMC Canyon. Voila! You’ve just doubled the locking waterproof cargo capacity of the $35,000 Honda Fridgeline. Congratulations! Interior When creating the insides of the Canyon, the General made two mistakes of biblical proportions: 1. They did let Isuzu engineer it. 2. Where's the Bobby Lutz touch? Hop on in and the first thing that catches your eye is the darn near Kia-like level of fit and refinement. Panel gaps are tremendous; there’s over an inch of atmosphere between the interior door panel and the b-pillar. Dashboard pieces are too numerous and fit crudely. Door-mounted armrests are completely unpadded, not an issue with even the S-10 of years before. The center console is small, hard and flimsy. Exert any pressure on it and you find yourself pulling back quickly for fear of breaking it. Seats are relatively flat and unsupportive; great for hopping in and out, but hard on one’s back during those hour or more treks. Buy an extended cab, and you will be greeted by a cacophony of squeaks and rattles coming from the jump seats and other equipment from the rear of the cab. My quarrels with this truck are few and far between, but the incessant rattling from the back of the cab is nerve-wrenching. Make sure you vie for the optional six-speaker sound system and one good Metallica album; you’ll want them to override all that d*mned ruckus. Interior quality: 0 out of 10. Now, move away from the notion of matching the vaunted foreign quality standards for just a moment -- think of yourself as a construction worker, a farmer, a utility man -- think of yourself as someone who uses a truck for truck purposes. If you are now in the utilitarian mindset, or are indeed one of the many truck shoppers who still buys a truck for just such purposes (and I know there are more of us left than the media would love to say), you have found your ideal machine. Where GM falls short in quality, they make up for it with their legendary ergonomics. Overall interior room is surprisingly spacious; headroom is generous, legroom is cavernous, and ingress and egress are so fluidly painless that it the thought of smacking your head never presents itself. I stand at six feet two inches, and with the seat pushed all the way back I can nearly straighten my legs entirely out. Horizontal legroom is EXCELLENT. With a column-mounted shifter and the absence of the high center console found in the Canyon’s competitors, knee room is generous and allows precious stretch-room for those longer trips. Move onto the dashboard, and the theme of simplistic operation is ever present. Three big HVAC knobs - one for temperature, fan speed, and direction - are placed under the radio faceplate, just as God Himself intended. Radio controls feature one dial for volume, one dial for tuning, and all other controls are placed intuitively. Finding the appropriate button without lifting your eyes from the road is a feat accomplished in a day or so of driving, making this an incredibly easy truck to command. The ease of use continues in front of the driver, also. Two big gauges for speed and rpm command most of the space behind the steering wheel, and they are superbly legible (even during direct sunlight.) The leather-wrapped steering wheel is big and meaty, and makes the drive that much more enjoyable. The digital Driver Information Center is helpful, but isn’t quite as comprehensive as the nifty little self-statistician that can be found in the Canyon’s bigger brother Sierra. Interior Space and Usefulness: 11 out of 10. Overall, the sheer ease of use in the Canyon will leave the truck purists salivating, but those who seek even a minimal amount of refinement will leave disappointed. Essentials Often in the crosshairs of the Canyon’s harshest critics is the powertrain. Even from those who own and love their Canyon, the battle cry for more power and more cogs is loud and never-ending. After a year and nearly 10,000 miles behind the wheel of my truck, I can honestly say the controversial Atlas inline-5 is an acceptable engine for the truck. It’s acceptable. Meaning, it could be incredible. Anyways, the 3.5L is a perfectly suitable powerplant for the application. Low end torque is plentiful; nice for those who don’t like to wind out their motors to get ‘em going (ahem, japan cars). Take-off from zero is good, and the truck gets to 35 without breaking a sweat. However, a few more cabbittees at mid to high revs would be helpful. Passing at turnpike speeds, while not difficult, is a calculated maneuver. An increase in displacement would likely ease this discrepancy. The push-button four wheel drive is an excellent feature. The 4x4 system in the Canyon is very effective, and can push the underachiever Generals uphill through a foot of snow like a hot knife through butter. However, I have had one buzzkill experience with the four wheel drive. When in 4x4 Low, the gearing wouldn’t set back into 2 wheel drive, resulting in an hour delay from the trip home: a one-time only occurrence, but disappointing nonetheless. The General seems to have no greater target on its back than its liberal use of 4 coggers in this time of 5 and 6 speed transmissions. While the extra gear would be nice to have during some extended uphill driving, the tried and true 4L80-E is a tough little gearbox. GM’s transmissions have proven their longevity and durability to be better than the gearboxes of anyone else in the business. “Slushbox” seems to be the popular term with the media; and if “slushbox” refers to liquidy-smooth shifting of the Canyon’s automatic module, then so be it. As far as overall driving experience, the Canyon provides one that is surprisingly fulfilling, even in high-stance form. Steering is very predictable and comparably sharp, though the slow-speed turning radius is unacceptably largenormous. The suspension is rather bouncy, as is expected from the stiffer z71 package, but large potholes are well isolated and don’t seem like they will shake the truck into oblivion. Find a windy road and you’ll have fun tossing the Canyon in and out of corners. If the truck provides this much pleasure in off-road form, the ZQ8 package must be a delight. Overview For all its shortcomings, the GMC Canyon is a great little truck for those who don’t want a pussified high-riding car. The General’s truck-building experience and reliability are second-to-none, and so far sales have reflected that (combined Colorado/Canyon sales well exceed that of the Toyota Tacoma). With a bigger motor on the horizon and promise sent from GM’s media-doll Hummer H3, the next iteration of the truck is shaping up to be a humdinger (oh thank heaven for twenty-0-seven!) PROS -solid powertrain -super ergonomics -handsome good looks -great work truck CONS -piss-poor interior -no long bed option -cost cutting measures abound With Bob Lutz at the helm, we can expect GM to add refinement to a solid basis to create one stellar little truck. For now, legitimate truck buyers rejoice – the General’s got your midsize refreshment on tap… Cheers.

plumpers... this thread just made a leap and a half into whatthecrazyfuckinghell?

:cheers:

well, your intitial response alluded to nothing about her having a health condition. thats a little different. perfect example of political correctness? you made a point about my use of the word tactful. you know damn well and good what the hell i meant there, and if you're making a big deal about semantics, then you are one of the many who needs to chill the fuck out.

:cheers:

dominating figure? thats the stuff im talking about here. just say fat. if youre a fat person and it offends you, lose weight or quit whining. there are times to be tactful (like NEVER using the n word), but then there are times to just brush things off, ESPECIALLY something so minor as to call someone fat.

The refresh cant come soon enough. The i-5 is a good little engine, but it needs to work hard to move the truck in a hurry, killing any chance at good mileage. The upcoming .2L increase should help that cause. The interior needs some Bob Lutz magic RIGHT NOW. And just give it the 5.3. Let Chevy be the brand with the balls for once.

Keyser Soze? I dont know who that is. But Mencia just got his own show on Comedy Central where political incorrectness is the whole plot. He does a lot of stand up too, and its some of the funniest stuff ive ever heard.

What say yins?

:cheers:

Isnt daihatsu owned by toyota? The HVAC controls look alot like the ones out of the yaris.

Oh sweet mercy, that is my dream truck right there. Congrats on the purchase, man. The white looks very clean. I've heard a whole lot of good about the interior on the H3. It's a platform mate to the GMC Canyon, which I have, so I've gotta ask you: how well is it put together? I know mine makes more noise than an angry woman, but Ive heard just the opposite on the H3.

sheesh. honda is pretty stingy with what they tout as "facelifts".

looks better than the yaris pile inside and out. however, i hate that designers think it necessary to make the lower portion of the dashboard fan out when it meets the center console. it just cuts out so much damn legroom. thats especially important if they plan to sell these in America. we're big people. we need our legroom, dammit.

something else for toyota to brag about.... ....while gm's domestic economic impact is still so much greater..... bastards <<<(no language filter. heh)

sheesh. both of those interiors are atrocious. the rear end on the new rav doesnt flow the least bit. two terrible products that will still sell

kick-ASS. love the huge grille

slap a damn roof over them, sheesh

no, thats just somebody's truck and they had fun making it off-roadly. there is really nothing about it to suggest that it belongs to GM.

nice!!! that completely brings the retro theme out. shoulda done it like this the first time.

vinyl = hotbox.

why does everyone complain about the dashboard? thats something C&D would whine about. if the rest of the interior is up there, who cares? every manufacturer uses plastics now. and besides that, i dont know many people who have a tendency to caress the dashboard and lower door panels as they drive.