Holden Colorado a 'truck' now

By 2018 GM Holden won't sell utes, only trucks.

Although Holden will retain Australia's iconic Commodore nameplate when it begins importing Opel's next-generation Insignia large hatch and wagon from 2018, it's done and dusted with the much-loved 'Ute' moniker.

During the national launch of the new Holden Colorado west of Ipswich in Queensland this week, senior GM Holden executives stated it was a truck now.

"It's all part of our desire to reposition the vehicle," said Ben Lasry, general manager of product marketing for the Colorado.

All references to the newly upgraded Colorado being a ute — short for utility — have been removed from the company's website and official nomenclature.

"These trucks, they're heavy-duty, they tow more than a ute, they go off-road, they've got a rugged nature and that's more identifiable with a truck."

Lasry said that from an Aussie customer perspective the Colorado is seen as "a slightly smaller version of a US-style pick-up truck".

The new Colorado ute, a vehicle that Holden engineers have spent four years developing alongside their Brazilian counterparts, launches in Australia this month,

Boasting new suspension, new steering, improved ride and engine refinement and more standard features – reversing cameras are now standard across the range – the company insists the Colorado is now the new benchmark in the segment.

GM Holden's managing director, Mark Bernhard, told journalists "there's no better truck on the market".

In fact, the Holden chief repeated the statement twice as if to lay down the challenge to the Ford Ranger, which unlike the Colorado was developed entirely in Australia but is also built in Thailand.

The Colorado also gets a fresh new face complete with LED driving lights and although there are changes to the engine and transmissions to reduce fuel use, noise and harshness levels, power output remains unchanged at 147kW/500Nm.

Sean Poppitt, director of communications at GM Holden, defended the company's adoption of the truck terminology and said the huge popularity of the US "pick-up trucks" made the decision an easy one.

"It seems fairly straightforward to us. A ute is a body style. As in the same way a wagon is a body style. So whether we call the Commodore [wagon] a Sportwagon or an ultra wagon, that's the name of the vehicle as opposed to the body style.

"GM has enormous pedigree in pick-up trucks and you only have to look at the success and the quality and what they're doing with their trucks in the US, and that's certainly something we want to leverage."

If that's the case, why not just call it a pick-up?

"That's a bridge too far, to be honest," said Lasry.

"A typical customer will say 'I've got a Colorado truck' versus 'I've got a Commodore ute or an SS ute". They'll distinguish that body style and then call this [Colorado] a truck.

"And a ute still seems, to a degree, to hold a place as a traditional Australian ute, at least while we've got them in the market."

So when Holden retires its Commodore-based Ute in late 2017, after the company shuts its factory doors forever, will it spell the end of the Holden ute?

"The days of a car-based ute are well and truly gone, to be honest," said Lasry.