Comparison shopping: Colorado, Gladiator, Tacoma

spectre6000

Observer
Don't have it yet. I go to the dealership to sign the paperwork and get it ordered in about ten minutes. It usually takes 8 weeks (though I seem to recall being told that's an "over promise" number), and I think the GM strike is still on, so that'll add some time. I'm not in a rush (at 25 pages, that's probably obvious), so no sweat off my back.

I mentioned that I had started down the road with one dealer before a manager dropped in and ruined the poor guy's sale. He essentially walked everything back, and said, "Bisons are hard to find" as if it was more difficult than checking the box on the order sheet... I wonder what other things he has difficulty finding... That is what killed the whole thing with them.

Stevinson Chevrolet in Denver is the dealer I'm working with. So far, no issues, and I've got another dealer on the line promising straight invoice regardless of the timing should something start to get fishy (I have trust issues when it comes to dealerships, and I doubt I'll feel it's 'done' until everything is signed and the keys are in my hand. The guy at Stevinson opened with what I knew to be available price wise, and then was willing to put in writing that that would be honored at time of delivery with a trivial and non-breaking caveat. The caveat is that the amount contributed to the discount via the 'cash allowance' may change. That changes month to month and directly affects their bottom line, which I get. To my benefit though, it's only $500 (<1%... who cares at that scale), and I think that's the lowest they ever have that. Additionally, they're likely to up it to compensate for the strike, so I figure at worst I don't care, and at best it works in my favor.
 

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
So just in case this interesting thread continues to live on after the OP’s purchase....maybe it would be useful to add a bit more about the Ranger into this comparison mix for other members who are going through the mid sized truck decision process themselves.

In that case, here is a new article about the long term (such as it is) test results of the Ranger:

2019 Ford Ranger Long-Termer Update
Boost is very good

The transmission is less good
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
My 2019 Expedition with the 10spd is interesting. I only have 200 miles on it total. The 10spd does down shift fairly quick with driver input, BUT!!! its very apparent that there is “if then” logic taking place under certain conditions and it won’t respond right away. In the BIG beastly Expedition this isn’t a big deal. But in a smaller more sporty vehicle I could see that being a frustrating behavior.
I do like the 10spd and it does seem to do a pretty good job managing all those gear choices.

Given the choice I’d still want the co developed Ford GM 10spd. Its solid and being implemented in a wide range of applications.
 

tacollie

Glamper
I bought a used Tacoma from Stevenson Chevrolet a couple years ago. I literally had to fight them every step. Hopefully they treat you better.
 

85_Ranger4x4

Well-known member
Ranger trans is a new one on me.

I have heard they are clunky until they figure out how and when to shift and the suspension is kinda soft. Nothing about long term hunting and hesitation.
 

spectre6000

Observer
I hope so too. I got the offer in writing and signed before I ever went in. Then, when I got there, my sales guy wasn't scheduled to come in until later in the day (my bad, I didn't coordinate at all with him), and I ended up sitting down with the owner of the franchise one on one. He similarly indicated things are as expected, and we got the ball rolling. I think if the owner is cool with everything, I shouldn't have any problems. Smooth as silk so far (at least as smooth as buying a car through a dealership can be).
 

Cackalak Han

Explorer
A friend of mine just got the same truck, except with the V6. He loves it. I like that it's all set to go straight out of the box.
 

spectre6000

Observer
I was noodling around in my head last night, and had a brainwave: How many of these are going to be out there?

There were about 130K Colorados produced in 2019. About 10% were ZR2s for 13K. That seems a little high compared to what I've seen in the wild, but they're still pretty new, so maybe not. At any rate, Bison production was limited to 2K. The diesel take rate among all Colorados was 7.4%. The diesel take rate among Canyons was 9.8%; that indicates a higher take rate at the upper end of the spectrum. If we assume production numbers stay steady (they're likely to rise, but by an unknown delta), and round up the diesel take rate among Bisons for simplicity's sake to 10%, that means there should be around 200 diesel Bisons produced. 1/200 is a fairly rare bird among production automobiles... Of course, at the end of the day it's a Chevy Colorado, so absolutely nothing about it is really capital-R "Rare"... It's kinda like saying (anything VW Beetle related) is rare at a swap meet. The gullible will ooh and ah, and those in the know will roll their eyes. Still. If there's any truck going to have staying power, retained resale value, and possibly even reach collector car status, this seems like it. Definitely can't say that about any of the other options... The Tacoma TRD Pro probably comes closest with production in the low 4-digits, but without any meaningful options (things like color or audio systems don't count), there's not a ton of drilling down that can be done. Jeep's Rubicon take rate seems to be pretty high as a percentage of overall production, and even the Launch Edition models were produced in the thousands.... It's a minutia of trivia, but conversation worthy in some circles all the same.
 

jadmt

ignore button user
I think you will find there are going to be plenty of Bison editions out there as unlike some vehicles that get limited status ie only make X amount and that is it. The Bison is not a limited by a specific number only buy how much AEV can supply parts for and I know AEV has ramped up production on those parts that make a ZR2 a Bison. Local dealer has 7 bison on his lot with 2 being diesels. Congrats I think they are really nice rigs.
 

spectre6000

Observer
Bison production in 2019 was explicitly limited to 2K. The 2019 allocation was exhausted around February, and anything on dealer lots after that were purchased speculatively by the dealers and remained unsold. GM has been doing that for a while to keep the special models special. They do the same thing with the upper trim Corvettes, and I see now certain Camaros.


2020 will likely have more, but I haven't seen the exact allocation.

Meanwhile, this just popped up in my news app. Both Bison and Gladiator made the list.
 

rkj__

Adventurer
Bison production in 2019 was explicitly limited to 2K. The 2019 allocation was exhausted around February, and anything on dealer lots after that were purchased speculatively by the dealers and remained unsold. GM has been doing that for a while to keep the special models special. They do the same thing with the upper trim Corvettes, and I see now certain Camaros.


2020 will likely have more, but I haven't seen the exact allocation.

Meanwhile, this just popped up in my news app. Both Bison and Gladiator made the list.

This was posted today.


Maybe up to 2,500 for 2020.
 

huachuca

Adventurer
In my recent search around northeastern NC, I found a half dozen or so 2019 ZR2's having the Bison package with one being the diesel. I ended up with a Black V6 with Nav, Bose and Bison at what I thought was a decent deal - almost $6K in GM rebates/cash plus the dealer came off MSRP a reasonable amount and gave me near 'low retail' on my trade. I'm sure I left some cash on the table but hopefully not too much.
 

leeleatherwood

Active member
I know a Diesel Bison ZR2 owner I go wheeling with.

He's had many problems with it. Missed a few trips because of it actually. Talking about getting rid of it.

Good luck with that GM, you're going to need it.
 

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