The Chevy K5 Blazer is usually credited with laying the foundation for contemporary Chevrolet SUVs, in addition to revolutionizing SUV design usually by combining pickup trucks and SUVs, thus setting the standard for comfortable travel and rugged off-road driving. Rear-wheel drive versions of the iconic Chevrolet K5 Blazer were based on the C10 pickup platform, while four-wheel drive versions used the K10 chassis, each with a shortened wheelbase of 104 inches (in comparison with 115 inches for the pickups).
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The full-size, two-door SUV was initially available with three engines at launch in April 1969, including an optional 350 cubic-inch (5.7-liter) four-cylinder V8 engine generating 255 horsepower and 355 pound-feet of torque to the wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox or Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. Paired with the Turbo automatic transmission, the 255-horsepower 1969 Chevy K5 Blazer could speed up to 60 mph in 11 seconds with the available 3.73 gears or 14 seconds with the standard 3.07 gears. MotorTrend. The top speed of the 3,875-pound SUV was roughly 100 mph. These were impressive numbers for those times.
Along with other cool and unique features of the K5 Blazer – reminiscent of a removable hardtop; available air con, power steering and power brakes; and even the large interior space and payload made possible by the truck platform – it not only worked with already established utility vehicles reminiscent of the International Scout and Ford Bronco, but was also popular with consumers. In fact, demand for the K5 Blazer was so great that by 1972 its sales were five times higher than those of the Ford Bronco. CJ Pony Parts.
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In total, the Chevy K5 Blazer was sold in three different generations from 1969 until production ended after the 1994 model yr. The Jimmy was its GMC counterpart.
[Featured image by 79k5driver via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]
Why did Chevrolet discontinue the Chevy K5 Blazer?
Chevrolet discontinued production of the Chevy K5 Blazer after the 1994 model yr to make room for the rebadged Chevrolet Tahoe. However, it’s protected to say that back in 1991, Chevrolet enthusiasts who were keeping an in depth eye on the full-size Blazer expected that the moniker would soon disappear from the market. This was the yr Chevy began production of the third-generation Chevy K5 Blazer, ahead of the 1992 model yr. The third-generation models were based on the then-new GMT400 platform, which formed the basis of the fourth-generation Chevy C/K pickup trucks. They also did not have a removable hardtop. So GMC wasted no time in recasting the GMT400-based Jimmy line as the GMC Yukon in 1992 to provide the SUV a brand new identity.
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Chevrolet, on the other hand, stuck with the K5 Blazer – then called the Full-Size Blazer – for an additional three years. However, as consumer interest in family-friendly four-door SUVs increased, the Full-Size Blazer was ultimately scrapped after the 1994 model yr, leading to the SUV being named the Chevrolet Tahoe in 1995. With the introduction of the Tahoe, Chevrolet began offering four-door models of the full-size SUV alongside the regular two-door variants. The Chevy Tahoe was based on the same GMT400 platform that rode on the outgoing Full-Size Blazer, but the four-door Tahoe model was dimensionally taller because its wheelbase was lengthened to suit through the rear doors. After the 1999 model yr, Chevrolet abandoned the two-door Tahoe models in an effort to focus fully on the more popular four-door versions.
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[Featured image by Rutger van der Maar via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]
