Have you been itching to get your hands on one of those shiny new diesel Chevy Colorados? If the answer is yes, you may want to temper that excitement just a little bit. If you’re one of the few who have actually placed an order for one, you better get ready for some disappointment.
According to a report from Jalopnik, people who have tried to buy a Colorado or Canyon have been met with resistance, if not outright silence, when they’ve asked when they’ll be getting their trucks. The forums at ColoradoFans.com have been ablaze with people telling the same tale: “I bought my truck weeks ago, the delivery date is continuously pushed back, neither General Motors nor the dealer will explain.”
Theories are being bandied about that the reason for the delay has to do with either a shortage of rear differentials or some EPA issue with the emissions testing. There are even spreadsheets being shared that track the time difference between when orders have been placed and the actual delivery dates, if anything’s even been delivered.
We all thought the trucks were due Fall of 2015, but here we are in January 2016, with nary a Colorado to be seen. One forum member said, “At this point I don’t know of a single delivery of a diesel. They will gladly accept the order, but have been extremely tight lipped on why they’re not being produced.” He placed his order four months ago, with production scheduled three separate times, and still gets continuous delays.
GMC spokesman Brian Goebel said in a statement to The Truth About Cars, “Those trucks are still in final validations and we hope to ship soon.” Which is about as meaningless a statement one could make about a delay.
Jalopnik’s writer, Andrew P Collins, offers this rejoinder: “This vague non-explanation of the truck going though ‘additional validation’ has me stumped. The Colorado/Canyon isn’t a new platform. The 2.8-liter Duramax isn’t a new engine. It was retuned for North America, sure, but GM’s been tooling with most everything that this truck’s made of for a long time. There’s also the fact that the Colorado and Canyon were both born to have diesel variants from their inception. At least, that’s what I was told at the launch event a few months ago. We have been consistently hearing that demand for the Colorado has outpaced supply, but with so many customers complaining that they’re ‘without truck’ I’m starting to wonder if this is a deeper supply issue.”
It certainly seems like there’s something more going on here than simply “more testing.” What have you guys heard? Has anyone placed an order for a Colorado or Canyon and been left holding the bag? Let us know over on our Facebook page.