This week our intrepid Benoît Charette is taking part in the big media launch of the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer. Yes, the Blazer, a nameplate that GM has decided to dust off after shelving the last model to carry it at the end of 2005 (2009 if you count the TrailBlazer model). As we get ready to discover the new version of the SUV, we decided to take a look back and walk through the short but twisty and turny history of the Blazer.
We should specify that the history we’re looking at here is not that of the model, but of the actual nameplate. Between 1969 and 2005, the nameplate got stuck on several quite different vehicles. Here are some of them, in pictures and words.
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2019 Chevrolet Blazer makes public debut
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Canadian pricing, details for the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer
Consult our listing of pre-owned Chevrolet Blazer SUVs for sale in your region of Canada
1 – 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer
The Blazer was born in 1969, a member in good standing of the Chevrolet family. It flowed directly from the debut, three years earlier, of the Ford Bronco. The new Chevy gained a lot of attention with its 4x4 setup, newly fashionable at the time. The standard engine it came with was a 250-cc 6-cylinder generating 155 hp. Fortunately the generous list of options included a V8 engine, a 4-speed manual gearbox, power steering and power brakes.
The big unique feature of this model was of course the removable fibreglass roof. In 1969, the base model retailed for $2,852 USD. In case you were wondering, Chevrolet sold 4,935 units of it.
