I will tell anybody who will listen that, to date, the biggest pile I’ve ever owned was a 1999 Chevrolet Blazer three-door. Not even the Chevrolet Cruze that ate about half of it’s value in hard parts could compare to the amount of damage that Blazer did. And that bad part of the story of that blue SUV was that when I made the initial purchase, I couldn’t have been happier with my selection. A well-optioned, 4.3L V6-powered unit in that deep dark blue, CD player and all…in 2002 I was doing just fine with myself. Seventeen dealership visits for warranty work, one stuck throttle incident and about fifteen months later, and I couldn’t get rid of the damn thing fast enough. That was the bluest lemon I’ve ever seen, and to this day, good bad or otherwise, every time I see one of these trucks raging memories of massive bills come flooding back to mind.
And I wish it wasn’t the case. GM did a great job with the way the S-truck like looked when they released it for 1994. I wanted one of the early trucks with the SS package in black with the red trimming and a Camaro’s LT-1 the moment I saw one. V6 nothing, the S-10 looked like the spiritual successor to the El Camino and lowered, would fit the job nicely. If I wanted a real truck, the ZR2/Highrider package was spot-on. The V6 was more than ample and the 2.2L four…well, I wouldn’t feel so bad about that V8 swap. Who knows…maybe over the past twenty years I’ve been a bit harsh to the S-truck. Maybe.
One of the worst vehicles I ever owned was a 94 GMC Jimmy, only brand new vehicle I’ve ever purchased. Lived with dealership more than me.
One of the best vehicles I ever owned was a 01 S10, 2WD, 4cyl, 5speed. I drove on a daily commute of 68 miles each way for 2 years, then my son drove to college for 3. Ended up with 250,000 miles on it when we sold it…and we both regret selling it.
Just goes to show that lemons come in all shapes and sizes.
One of the biggest piles I’ve ever had was a used late 90s Blazer, one of the best was a 4 cyl. 5 speed S-10.
Neither was new and I sold the S-10 to buy the Blazer. Put me under water in real, on the road, car dollars for many years.
I have an ’95 Sonama 2wd pu. no options and is a great truck. It has a HO 4.3 Vortec that supposedly you couldn’t get in a 2wd. Runs 15.9s in the quarter and is king of the smokey burn-outs.
I had a 1994 S-10. 2wd, 4.3, short bed, 5-speed. It was quick for what it was – it would run high 15’s. I lowered it and put it on Iroc wheels, did some bolt-on stuff.
It was rock solid reliable. I think the trucks were pretty good, but I have only heard bad things about the Blazers and Jimmys. I don’t know why one would be good and the other so bad, but that seems to be the case.