I want a smaller truck. I don't need to feel like I'm driving a semi tractor to feel fulfilled. Give me a cab low enough my wife can get in and out easily. Give me a bed low enough that I can easily put stuff in and take stuff out. Today's F 150s, Silverados, and Tundras are too big! And give me a sloped hood so I can see the kid in front of me. I'm diving a truck, not flying a plane!

Jon, the reason you don't have a smaller pickup is the way emissions tax is calibrated based on truck size. A dastardly loophole.

I have never been a GM fan, but I do give credit where it is warranted... The S10 series with that 4.3l Vortec V6 was amazing. Durable and dependable and very functional for every day usage around town, highway or on the job..

My 94 2.2 has almost 660,000 miles on her ! All original unrebuilt eng - trans and rear end ! Still runs and drives like a champ ! Just getting a lil rusty tho ! This summer getting bodywork and paint !

I think the automakers have finally realized that alot of people really want that small simple pickup again. Ex. Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Fe.

im the proud owner of a 1991 S10 Baja!

The old small trucks were great. They were frugal and efficient. I had a B2000. Friends had S10s, LUVs, Rangers, Datsun, and Hiluxes. Nothing today can hold a candle to the old stuff. Simple, cheap, dependable, and versatile.

Another awesome story. I remember the Chevy S10. I was too young to drive a car at the time, but I remember finding the truck fascinating. If I remember correctly, it was about the same size as the Toyota pickup truck at the time. It was perfect for most people who neither needed nor wanted a much larger Chevy/GMC C2500 truck, but also wanted something utilitarian to carry things around. Although I was way too young to drive a car at the time, I also remember the Chevy LUV, an Isuzu truck with a Chevrolet logo on the grille. My aunt and uncle had a 1979-80 Chevy LUV.

You should do a video on the Astro like this! Very informative. Thanks

For me? I Want a Simple Single Cab Truck with S True 4x8 foot bed, 4 wheel drive or AWD, Actual Knobs and Switches inside to Control the accessories! Want to be Actually able to get into the Bed without needing a ladder! We Just Want a Real a Real Simple Workhorse!

We need a standard cab, compact pickup truck made today. Not that Colorado thing. Not that Ford Maverick thing. A real standard cab 2 door truck. One with plain interior. Not all that electronic crappy dashboard.

Make my square-body S10 a single cab, with dark green monochrome paint, steel wheels with bottle caps, the Iron Duke Four, and 5 speed manual! 😊

You are correct, and their market research is way wrong.

My very first vehicle was a 1988 GMC S-15. Black and chrome. I loved that truck.

I had an '88 S10 with over 270K on it. The most basic truck you could get---manual everything, including steering. Great truck, but rust hit it hard. The EGR valve literally rusted off of it, and the rear frame rails became so rotten that the rear bumper was sagging; I took it off before it fell off. Super reliable, and for a basic truck, it actually drove quite nice

Clint Eastwood who owns one of those 1991 GMC cyclone apparently loves driving that truck around

The modern trucks are all bigger. I have a 1998 Dodge Ram SS/T that I bought new. I've kept it stored in a garage all its life. I don't drive it too much, but I've noticed a funny trend when I take it out. I've heard many people make comments about my "Dakota". When I tell them it's actually a Ram, they stand back and say it looks small like a Dakota. I've parked it next to more modern Rams and it does look small. It's 2wd shortbed regular cab and I've lowered it, but it does look a tad narrow and the grill is tiny compared to the last 3 generations. I also have a 2005 Dakota Quad Cab that my dad bought new. Dad said that the cab was much wider than the full size trucks he grew up around in the 50s and 60s. When I think about it, I am amazed that just about every brand available in the US had a mini-truck available. They all sold well. Dodge was the only one that had a midsize truck and now that's the standard. It's hard for me to believe that a small reasonably priced pickup (S10/B-2000/P'up/Hardbody) wouldn't sell like hotcakes. If the Maverick and Santa Cruz is the best they can do, I'll pass and keep my old trucks.

I had a ranger but plenty of friends with s10s. Those small tech free dependable trucks will always have a special place in my heart. If GM and Ford brought them back they’d be a hit!!

One of my favorite vehicles I owned was a 1993 GMC Jimmy Tahoe LT. HO 4.3L V6, pushbutton 4WD, Leather seats. It was a perfect truck.

Back in the day, I did have a 1980 Chevy LUV 4X4 pickup for winter driving, while I stored my Vette. Later on, I got a new 1999 Chevy S-10 (bright red) Z71 4-cylinder with the manual, fairly basic model. There was an ultra cheap lease offer at the time with zero down, which lead to my buying it at the end of my 3 year lease. It was a fun little 2nd vehicle. Very reliable and practical. I drove it for 5-6 years in total. It was a surprisingly fun little pickup. I've owned full sized pickups as well, but when the tiny truck grew into the midsized Colorado it was no longer fun, practical or a good value (to me).

I can remember loading up Sheetrock onto my uncle Dexters extended bed s10 and we’d deliver the Sunday paper in the middle of the night all of us kids in the bed working on our aim to land it either by the front door or mailbox if they had a large front lawn. This was out the sticks in northwest Florida, McDavid, close to Atmore Alabama. 0:17

Ive got my 99 s10 as my first vehicle, its needed some stuff like a fuel pump, but its been very good since its componets are 25 years old

My father bought a new one in 84 it was a great truck couple decades later I had a 92 it was also a good truck

Couldn’t agree more as a previous owner of a 99 s10 and 2002 s15, when going for replacements there were no good options. Miss these simpler trucks dearly. Great job on your videos btw

I remember when the Chevy Luv and Ford Courier were on the road. In late 1984 my grandfather's 1947 Studebaker farm truck seized up (long story). So he went to the local Chevy dealership and bought a used 1984 S-10. A few years later my grandparents moved in with us, and I drove the S-10 around a lot. It was not pleasant to drive. It had manual steering and brakes, stick shift, and the 1.9 Isuzu engine. The worst part about it was that it was hard to steer. Keeping the front end greased every 3000 miles didn't help. It was always hard to steer. I don't know how my grandfather did it. He was 89 when he bought it. Anyway, interesting history.

Back in 2000 I bought a used 60,000 mile 92 S-10 reg cab 2 wheel drive short bed 4.3L. Drove it to 170,000 trouble free miles before it threw a rod. It was in such good condition I did a 5.7 TPI V8 swap from a wrecked 1990 Corvette. While it wasn't cheap needing many changes with the V8 it was a absolute blast to drive and super reliable as if it came from the factory. When I sold it I lost only a few grand. Was the swap worth it? YES.

I still drive my 98 single cab Zr2, I don't think I'll ever let it go! Great video Jon!!

I’m not much of a Chevy guy but those Inline 5 colorados are the essential pick up trucks. Reliable, fast, sound mean, and come with the manual trans. everything you want in a pick up truck is there.

Those small trucks like the Chevy Luv were great. A lot of my friends had trucks like that. That’s why I still have my 1989 Toyota extended cab pickup. It does everything I need it to do, it just works for me. I don’t need an expensive truck like today’s Chevy’s Colorado or Ford Ranger. Today’s so-called small trucks are still too big especially these quad cabs with the small bed. I’ll just hold on to my Toyota which is still running strong and has never let me down.

Worked as a mechanic for Isuzu in the mid 80’s, the p’up with 4x4 and turbodiesel was my favorite. Only saw one and got to take it out in the sand on a Dealer prep test drive.

Great video. Man I miss the trucks of the 90s. It frustrates me so much how regular and even extended cab trucks are becoming less and less common. I don't want a crew cab!

Thank you. This video was not only informative, but the footage and photos and graphics are quite good. I liked how you took the story from the beginning and worked your way up to 2024. I liked the fact you shared the global GM versions as well. I liked you that you talked about the GM cars on the same platform and parts that were shared. I like the fact you talked about sales as well. Thank you again for an excellent video. You could do so many videos on many models like this.

Ah man. What happened to these little trucks? The demand is there, but they disappeared anyway. I hope to see more compact trucks in the future. Also, great to hear about Isuzu. We had a Wizard aka Rodeo and we lived it. GM made solid trucks back then with Isuzu.

I had a 1996 S10 SS in black....looked much cleaner than the Xtreme that came out later.....I loved that truck looked great, good on gas hauled just about anything I needed to, only complaint was the 2WD in the snow needed some weight in tbe bed....I whish I could have kept it but the 2 bucket seats with center console were not practical for starting a family.

I had a 94 ss. One of my favorite vehicles I’ve owned

Dime Gang check in!

My 97 just hit 249,000 miles. Should be hitting 250,000 next week. 2.2 liter, automatic transmission 04-03-2024

I had a 1991 S-10 that I bought brand new. 5-speed manual. I'm loving your videos dude!

I had a "Durango" S10. People often asked me why i put the word Durango with stickers on my truck. LOL.

I love my 92 s10 still has the 2.8 v6 running strong 5 speed manual. Just something about it to scoot through town . Great video by the way

Still own a 95 single cab 2wd S10 and daily drive an 01 Blazer 2dr 2wd. Long live the s series. I've owned many of them in different variations from 2wd to 4wd's.

I'm on my second, 1st gen Colorado, a 2012 regular cab with the 2.9L 4 cylinder and 5 speed manual transmission.(owned an exact version, a 2006 model for over a decade prior) I will probably roll with this truck until the wheels fall off, she is the last of her kind.(and still compact compared to the 2nd and 3rd gens) I wish SOME vehicle company would bring these back, there IS demand for them.

I've had two Blazers, a 2001 and a 2003. And the only reason the 01 isn't still running around is a kamikaze Nissan "driver" pulled out in front of it... Despite previous owners treating them poorly, both run well, at over 200k miles. The Vortec 6 doesn't seem to care what you do. It just chugs along. The transmissions are a bit picky at times, but I don't need a Phased Plasma Rifle in the 40 Watt range to work on the damn thing.

I have a red 2002 single cab, step-side, 4.3L Vortec Xtreme. Little thing can still burn the tires without much effort. Of course, I've got a boatload of replacement parts I need to get installed to bring it back to a better, more safe driver, but it'll get there!

My grandpa had an 82 S10 2.8 4MT. Gray 2wd long bed lol. Learned to drive manual on that thing and his 66 beetle 1300. Good times. I love the new GM compact twins. If I were buying now they'd be top of my list with the frontier. Love my 18 Titan though. And it's paid for lol. Cheers!

I had a 94 s10 in highschool. Loved that truck! I miss it to this day, the 4.3 v6 was a great engine. Fantastic video as always Jon!

I have an s10 blazer (94) and after watching this…I’m taking it off Facebook market lol

If you ever see any of comments you will know that one of my daily drivers is an 87 S10 extended cab. And I am watching this while getting ready to go jump in said S10 and drive into another state

I would like to see the s-10 being made again I have owned 3 of them I have a 2003 chevy s-10 today a are and it love it a great truck

Harris Chevy LUV back in the day. Loved it. Ihad an S10 Blazer. Did not like it as much. Drove a few S10 4X back in the day and they were great little trucks. I actually have a little S10 weather v6. And they put a cage dump bed in it. It's electric over hydraulic. The truck rides like a bigger truck. Except for locker room in the cab. It has big oversized all-terrain tires. Even if it's only had two wheel drive.

My first vehicle was the 4.3L S-10. The thing was bullet proof and I wish I still had it.

I had a first generation S10, bought it used from the company I worked for at a bargain price since no one wanted it with its manual transmission. It was a clunky but dependable vehicle. The four-speed manual was a very smooth shifter; unlike the previous Isuzu pickup that required more arm effort to shift. One aspect that impressed me with the S10 was with its heater, as from all the vehicles I've driven from the 1970s to the present, the heater in that S10 did the best when it came to warming my legs . . . and when the legs are warm, the rest of the body follows suit with getting warmed up.

My Dad had Chey LUV back when he was in high school.

Love the s10. Solid little trucks. Drove an '03 2.2 s10 auto for years as a delivery truck. DANGEROUSLY slow with the 2.2/auto combo but have over 350k before it blew a head gasket, I'd say it was a very reliable little truck. I've always wanted a Colorado/Canyon with a 5.3. Sounds like a quick little truck 😅

King of the s10 here. Good video

Jon--I owned a 99 S-10 extended cab 5 speed manual with a 2.2 for almost 21 years one of the best vehicles I ever owned. I also owned a 08 crewcab 4x4 Isuzu 370 for 12 years which was an excellent truck both bought new. The Isuzu was about the size of a full size truck from the 90s. I now own a hybrid Maverick which is a compact but bigger than most compact trucks of the 70s and 80s. The sales of the Maverick and Santa Cruz prove there is a market for an affordable compact pickup which the South American Chevy Montana is. Chevy could very easily produce a US version of the Montana in Mexico and it would sell but GM in recent years has ceded the market for smaller more affordable vehicles with the exception of the Trax.

I had a new '78 Chevy LUV...would love to get another small truck of the same size with a 5 or 6sp. manual.... just a basic smalll truck❗

I had a 2000 S-10 2wd with the 4.3. Loved it, put 350000 kms on it before the rust ate through everything, I hate Canada for that. The motor and tranny were still going strong.

My family had an early S-10 Blazer and it had a design flaw: get stuck in traffic on a hot day and the engine would overheat. I remember a few times where we were in stop-and-go traffic, the temperature was in the 90s, and we had the heater blowing full blast to try to get some of the heat out of the engine.

Although I enjoyed the video, this was more of a GM small truck history presentation rather than an exclusive, in-depth history of the S10. You barely scraped the surface. With that out of the way, I have to say that I've always loved these vehicles. I bought a 1992 S10, 4.3, 5spd, 2WD when I was a senior in high school in 1994. It was black with red interior. I drove that little truck through hell and back for 12 years until I had a spinal chord injury and became paralyzed. It was parked and pretty much forgotten about for 19 years until this time last year when some of my friends decided to rebuild it for me and make it more accessible for my needs. As it turned out, they had bought a white 1993 S10 for a parts donor truck that was in much better shape than mine, so we're rebuilding it instead. It has the 4.3 with an automatic transmission, white with blue interior. We have a long, long way to go, but we'll get it one piece at a time like Johnny Cash sang.

7:18 I kinda like the Brazilian front end treatment. It'd be a fun, different thing up here!

I'm a Ford man myself but I will admit the S10 was a tough little truck. I like them as well I've owned a few Chevy trucks too

I loved the 4.3 V-6 It was a work horse.

I just sold an '88 S-10 Blazer with 184,000 miles on it.

I have a base extended cab Colorado and I love the simplicity of it.

Yes, the midsize trucks of today ARE the size of full-sizers from the 90's. The extended cab Colorado is the same length and width as the 90's gmt400 chassis sitting side by side.

My old dad had a Ford Courier in the latter 70s. He sold it just after I turned 16 to inaugurate his Chrysler plushmobile phase. This bummed me out mightily, as I was hoping to get that truck. Around 1989, someone I knew got an S10. It was really nice, with the smaller 2.8 V6. I ended up buying my beloved Toyota 1 Ton that same year. I was sorry to see the S10 go, the Colorado just wasn't/isn't the same.

my favorite truck I had way too many. had 91 with a iron duke 5 speed. owned two zr2. a base model 2 wheel 4 banger.all because of the 1991 syclone. I was born and it was the hot girl down the street.

We forgot to mention the USPS LLV postal truck based on the S10 platform

Nice video, Jon. I'm late to watch this one. My one comment is about the small truck market. I'm not convinced there's a market anymore. Usually delivery is done by transit van/minivan. Keeps things more secure. Yes, people do cry for a small truck...but they also cry for a manual wagon...and we know no one is actually buying them anymore. Who knows.... maybe one day a small truck will be made that has some kind magic cover that keeps out weather and burglars but can stow away unseen with a push of a button.....or something like that.

I still have my 2005 Chevy Colorado X-TREME. [ Yellow]. It has been extremely reliable. I’m an Auto Detailer, and lug ALL my equipment around in it. It’s all I have. Close to 250,000 miles on the “LEMONADE “, as she was named by her former owner. I bought 14 years ago. 🚗😁‼️

The S-10 ZR2 was also available at GMC as the Sonoma Highrider.

Great review!!!! Learned things I never knew

I had a 2004 ZR5 for a while. Loved that truck. Only reason I got rid of it is it became a bit of a nightmare mechanically from being abused prior to buying it. I do miss it.

One of my uncles had a Chevy Luv. It hauled a lot of wood for his wood shop. The truck just didn't hold up and he replaced it as soon as he paid off the loan. I owned two Chevy S-10s: an '89 and a '99. Loved them both! Denand for smaller trucks might be there, but profit margins aren't. Thus, there are no small pick-ups.

I have the funny 5cylinder gmc canyon, sounds so cool

I've had 2 Sonoma's, an S10 Blazer and S10 pickup, my current daily is a 2003 GMC Sonoma ZRX, love the style and reliability of the 4.3, my 02 S10 went 312,000 miles before I sold it, guy is still driving it. Never really liked the new styling of the Colorado.

They also had a Tahoe trim as well & 2 tone paint options as my 93 maxi cab has a rarity now days on my KZfaq channel under long-term restoration to factory for cash reasons. The 173 2.8 V6 is actually not bad mine had it with 244k in it never rebuilt i randomly daily drive it too Note the 1.9 Gas engine is pretty rare to find on KZfaq now days i looked

Believe it I have a 98 S-10 Vortech V6 with 31,000 miles

I miss my ‘97 S10.

My 2010 Colorado was great. So great I ended up with a ‘21 ZR2 a few years later. That truck handled everything I threw at it, or threw it over.

At least, for now, the S10/S15 gets to live on as the last AFFORDABLE platform for low-buck hot rodding. It's really the only light weight thing left to build a sub-$2000 hot rod out of, now that Fox-bodies are going up in price.

I had a job in high school in 1993 and 94 delivering PPE and safety supplies. I spent a lot of time at the Shreveport S 10 assembly plant receiving dept. I knew a lot of people that worked there and a lot of people that lost their jobs when the plant closed around 2008.

We did buy this auction I think it was a 1990 S10 with a 5-speed manual it had the three-door option is pretty clean though they didn't really need anything besides cleaned

I have a 91 Sonoma that I drive perfect size great truck

The luv was my favorite track, I’ve had 5 of them.

I did build the AMT 1/25 scale 94 GMC Sonoma model kit last fall and it came out OK I think...

Here down under. We Lost our Falcon/holden utes. BUT we get compact utes ( like Hilux Nissans ECT being common and the Ranger ) THE US trucks ( Utes ) Are sold here. AKA Ford F150. Ram 1500 and chev. ( Soon Toyota Tunda ) However stuff like Heavy duty like F250 size is not sold here. Utes ( trucks ) are VERY common here with the Top selling vehicle Is Ford ranger and toyota hi-Lux. There is also lots of Chinese utes sold here, Some are better then others. Looks up Great wall cannon. LDV Jac. ECT. Anyway awesome Video :)

I had a 1988 Toyota Xtra cab truck. Its bed was also imported and rusted out like the dickens. However the cab remained intact and rust free

I once saw a stepside Xtreme with an LS1 and a 4L60E

Agree, we need the smaller simpler truck as a 2 seater with or without add'l behind the seat storage. (I also saw your video on why we don't have them.)

A histoty of the Mazda RX series of sports cars would be co too!!. I have seen a model kit or 2 of the Mazda RX7 and I just might build one someday...

This s10,with a V8 and ford 9” is the bomb!

Good video. I agree, the conpact trucks just arent compact anymore. Obviously with the success of the ford maverick, there is a decent market for truly compact pickups. Looking at the current half ton size pickups they are just too huge for many people. However current Colorado size pickups are so close in price to full size might as well get the full size. To me, reissue s10, original ranger size simple pickups i think they would be a hit!

I have an idea for another history video... How about a history of the Datsun and Nissan Z series sports cars? (220ZX,240 ZX,etc).. I recently build the AMT 1/25 scale model kit of the 79 Datsun 280 ZX Turbo-( I didn't give up my model car building after all!!)...

Small trucks have peaked when dodge were using the 5.2 and 5.9 in the dodge dakotas I beleive 91 up until somewhere in the early 2000s

1st gen s10’s are absolutely awesome little trucks. Same goes for blazers.

Off subject a little, but not only electric variants were offered in the 90s, nat gas vehicles sadly wete offered in many models but died out. Nat gas had some very nice features like clean running engines that lasted forever.

My buddy had a LUV my 79 Toyota truck was "Faster" I have family and friends that had S-10/ S-15 Trucks and Blazers / Jimmies As for me I have been a Toyota guy for most of my trucks but I have an XJ too That being said I have driven every one my family and friends had god rigs

According to a YT post I recently viewed, a reason for the demise of the mini-pickup was due to [US] federal mandated _Corporate Average Fuel Economy_ [CAFE] standards set by the Department of Transportation [DOT]. Briefly put, there is a vehicle size formula to miles per gallon average for a given genre of vehicles that's newly manufactured. The larger the pickup truck, the lower miles-per-gallon average is allowed. For the auto makers to currently manufacture the mini-pickups that's comparable to the sizes they were in the 1980s ~ '90s, fuel economy averages would have to be around the 35 ~ 40 mpg range, which is not viable for the auto manufacturers to produce. Other countries can continue to produce and use newly manufactured [smaller sized] mini-pickup trucks since they are not encumbered with DOT regulations for CAFE standards.