’97 Blazer image from period advertising.
I’m proud of my driving. I’ve honed my skills and driven some just under 3 million miles with only one chargeable accident and two speeding tickets. Then, it happened: we were rear-ended, two times.
So there we were, my daughter Melissa, then 3, and me driving to the store. All seemed to be going well, and it was a beautiful day in Davie Florida. I was at a traffic light in our 96 Geo Prizm… I’ll pause a moment until the laughter dies down! Just remember, I was younger and not thinking clearly. I mean, who goes from one child to two, and trades in a ’92 4-door Blazer for a Geo?
1996 Prizm image from the web.
Ok, here is the scene, told before but now in more detail: the first light turned green so the Mercedes 500SL sedan in front of me and I moved forward to the next light, the approximate distance of 4 blocks. The Chevy K1500 with a winch realized he was missing his green light, and must have assumed the one we were sitting at was ready to change, so he hit the long pedal hard.
As I watched in my rearview mirror, I had both feet on the brakes, not wanting an airbag deployment or to meet the SL in front. The Chevy truck hit us at 35, per the police officer, pushing me into the Benz. Then a Maxima hit the truck pushing me even further into the SL.
The most frightening part; the pacifier in Melissa’s mouth hit the windshield and it was a hard hit. Oh, as I held my crying daughter, the truck’s owner motioned to approach him. He asked if we were all good, and offered me a stick of gum (?). Yeah, and his left leg was in a cast up to the knee, so that seemed safe.
After arguing with my insurance company, they felt sure they could make our Prizm “as good as new.” We got it back and decided to drive it to Charlotte for a vacation. However, between it not handling well, leaking water from both rear doors, and just feeling very loosened up, Cindy and I did something I’d have never imagined… We bought a car while on vacation!
When arriving at my mom and sister’s home, we asked them to please watch our son and daughter, telling them that we “needed to run a few errands.”
We drove that Geo to the first Chevrolet store I could find, walked in, and approached the first sales associate I saw. “Hi. We are Chip and Cindy from Florida. We just dragged, uh drove that fine machine up here and we will NOT be driving it back!”
After looking, we found what we wanted; an end-of-year ’97 Chevrolet Blazer LS four-door. Dark green over grey cloth, the two things that were attractive to us were; first we had owned a 92, written about here, which was a great vehicle, and second, was that the ’97 was the last year Blazer without a passenger airbag.
1997 Blazer interior image from the web.
What a nice truck. We felt that GM people had done a terrific job of improving the S series over the years. The 4.3 was just a wee bit less powerful, but it made up in its refinement, better fuel economy, and smoother operation. I also chose the Touring suspension and trailing package. Again, having a business then, leasing was the better way to have a vehicle, per the fine folks at a place called IRS. Plus GM used to run some nice deals.
The first drive was up into the mountains, to Tweetsie Railroad, the Mast Farm Inn, and just around Charlotte. We figured that way, if any issues showed, we were close to the dealer. With no issues, squeaks, or rattles, it was time to head home. With the kids, car seats, and all our luggage, it was perfectly suited for our family.
We liked that Blazer on the freeway. It did 19-20mpg, had just the right firmness and I liked the power band.
Actual photo of our S10 Blazer.
Once home, as we had always done, Cindy and I would switch cars every few weeks since one was a lease and one we owned. We always managed to come in below, or right at the allowable lease miles.
When we moved to Ohio in 99 to help my single sister raise her three kids, the Blazer was treated to a nice trailer and a rest. The only thing that ever happened that negatively affected our great experience was that our newly built home hadn’t received the blacktop. Cindy pulled up on the slightly inclined gravel driveway which had some snow on it, and as she got out, the Blazer lost its grip and knocked her down with the driver’s door. We began to park on the street after that.
As we drew near to the lease’s end, we looked at another Blazer. But my wife had a better idea: a newer but not brand new GMC Safari – another story for another day.
The Blazer had tough competition from all sides- some that offered a V8, others that were way more refined smoother, and quieter, and even far better build quality. But for us, 3 times total, the S10 was a good balance between price, the overall cost of ownership, and reliability.
Great story, I know the areas you describe real well! Hope you made it to the Candy Barrel in Valle Crucis. I had a 1998 four door GMC Jimmy, the first car my wife and I bought. I liked it a lot, although everyone seemed to rag on this generation as being behind the Explorer and JGC. 4.3, 4WD, cloth seats, power everything. It was a smooth, quiet car on the highway. I don’t remember the MPG’s. It was the “pewter” color that every other GM truck seemed to be at the time, more champagne looking than silver.
We traded it because it would cut off at random times. Maybe we had a defective ignition switch which became a big liability for GM many years later? IIRC they replaced the ignition switch under warranty, but it kept happening anyway. Sometimes the engine would not cut off, but you would lose headlights and dash gauges and have to wiggle the switch. When the engine and headlights cut off going down the interstate late one night, I said enough. We had two toddlers and I couldn’t put them in the car again.
We couldn’t really afford to trade at the time, but I traded it on a new 2001 4Runner. Awesome vehicle. Then we had a third child, and three infant and/or booster seats would not fit (safely and correctly) across the rear seat of the 4Runner. Dang. Next stop was a loaded white 2003 Chrysler Town & Country AWD, another great vehicle we called “The Egg”.
After all the problem vehicles we had owned, this was really a breath of fresh air.
Other than tires, and regular maintaince, there was a warranty issue with the ABS. The dealer had to replace the ABS system. But no other issues in the 60,000 miles
What’s the problem with a passenger side air bag?
It probably wasn’t a federal requirement. So, in a typical penny-pinching move, GM decided to skip it and make more money. Air bags were a hot theft item back in the day, but not so much today. Somewhat similar to current catalytic converter theft.
Regardless, I can’t feature GM passing on the savings, either. Just another one of those GM ‘gotchas’ the buyer doesn’t find out about until long after the purchase.
We had a lead on a late model 2006 Buick LaCrosse no longer needed by the original owners, an older couple. I told my wife that it would have some back up scars, which it did, but they weren’t a deal breaker.
It probably had most options available; leather, chrome wheels, OnStar, etc. Everything I wanted plus a whole lot more I didn’t at a very good price. I bought it, licensed it, and was driving it until a few days later. I discovered I had overlooked two very important items got to have items; passenger air bag and anti-lock brakes. GM knew that sizzle sold more cars than safety. Like that’s new?
Having a vehicle totaling, near head on accident on a rain slick road where both the ABS and both front air bags came in handy, we knew we couldn’t keep the car without those safety items. We were both disappointed. I was really mad at myself I let all the shine outweigh my common sense. Fortunately it wasn’t a new car we bought!
I made a call to one of my friends who goes through cars faster than some of our esteemed members and writers. The car was gone by the end of the day and he didn’t care about ABS or passenger air bag. I sold it for what I had in it.
A 2006 Buick LaCrosse most definitely would have had a passenger air bag. As the article describes ’97 was the last year without one because in 1998 the US mandated frontal airbags. Traction control and ABS however were options that were only standard on upper trims.
Exactly. A 2006 *anything* would have had dual front airbags.
That said, I *do* recall that for some years during the final W-body Impala’s production (2006-2013, 2014-2016 as Impala Limited)…fleets were able to order them without side curtain airbags, to save a buck or several.
This meant that some unsuspecting buyers purchased the ex-fleet cars without side curtain airbags and didn’t realize it, because nowhere in GM’s public info were side curtain airbags listed as optional. Also, used-car dealers probably advertised them as having side curtain airbags regardless, because that’s the data they had.
But we also live in a world wherein people seemed to think the Wrangler Unlimited was an excellent safety vehicle, despite its propensity for rolling in perfectly ordinary scenarios and accidents, and the fact that it didn’t have rear side curtain airbags until MY2024…so it’s possible a lot of people didn’t care or consider the Impala’s curtain airbag status.
I could have sworn it was an ’06 but it had to be an ’05.
Thanks for the correction.
Our son was turning 7 and we wanted to be able to let him sit up front. But all air bags prior to 98 were the higher power and more dangerous type. Having no air bag there assured us that he could sit there.
I can’t feature GM eschewing a passenger side airbag over safety concerns.
With that said, I vaguely recall a tragic, freak accident years ago (maybe in a pre-1998 vehicle) where a child was killed by an airbag deployment during a collision.
IIRC, she was not belted in and had her feet on the dash. Or was reaching for the radio, I really don’t recall the circumstances. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t think an airbag should deploy with such force to result in a young girl’s death.
I bought a used 1999 4WD version back around 2004-06. Aside from repairing the AC system, it was a good vehicle overall. Rode well and the very few times we needed 4WD to get through snow, it was ready and willing.
You don’t mention if yours was 2WD or 4WD, but regardless, 19-20 MPG for a vehicle this size is dismal in my opinion, even in those days. I’ve often said that GM should be ashamed that they couldn’t get better mileage out of that 4.3L V6.
Honestly, I got nearly the same mileage out of my 2000 2WD Chevy Suburban as our Blazer. The reason we got rid of it was the poor gas mileage – we had given the vehicle to our teenage daughter and she couldn’t afford to feed it any more.
Our vehicle was a two wheel drive, which seemed more common on this dealer’s lot, as it was in Charlotte . We had a 9 passenger 2 wheel drive 99 Suburban later on that also did the same 16/20 MPG.
Agree, the 3800 was famous for great mileage and good power in that very same time period, so why not the 4.3?? One of the great mysteries of life.
I used to see Blazers here that model ex JDM, they seemed to be popular but have not seen any on the roads for a very long time, what ever takes them out got all of them.
They weren’t the most refined vehicles when new, but lots of owners had the last laugh when they just kept racking up mileage. Naturally my friend’s family with a fleet of lightly run down old GM products has a similar Blazer for when their Trailblazers break.
Coming from a Geo Prizm, to us it was as refined as a Lexus!!
I also noticed that the engine was smoother than our 92 Blazer. The service dept. told me that the 92 had solid lifters? making those engines more course. But the 92 would run circles around the 97, at least by the feel in my right foot. In fact the 92 frequently would catch second gear causing a tire chirp!
Good to hear another happy S/10 story .
We had them in our Municipal fleet, everyone hated them but they ran and ran, and ran……
-Nate
Can’t wait to hear about the Safari. It and the Astro used the same 4.3 as the S-10 platform. With good maintenance 200k miles isn’t a problem–my ’05 Astro got to 286k before the ECM and anti-theft system failed! On long highway drives it could eke out 21 mpg, but consistently got anywhere between 17 and 20 depending on the time of the year. Great van for towing, too, as long as you have the correct trailer hitch for proper weight distribution; mine also came equipped with a brake controller so that helped as well. Powertrain-wise these vehicles are virtually indestructible–it’s all the electronic stuff that fails and renders the vehicle impractical long before the engine or transmission are gone. Just don’t get into a front-end collision with one! 🙂