A beautiful thing arises when competing multinational automakers combine to produce a common product. In the SUV category, the Tracker is a descendant of another Japanese-American romance. This time, Chevrolet and General Motors collaborated with Suzuki to produce one of the best mini-SUVs to answer the growing fuel-conscious market. In the pick-up truck category, the Colorado was born from the parentage of Chevrolet and Isuzu. The Japanese virtue of efficiency fused with the American passion for power and durability, and now comes the Tracker.
The American Revolution wants everyone to know that you belong because you are a proud owner of a Chevy Tracker. Fuel efficiency is now a demand that all car users have been craving, yet most Americans couldn’t give up their traditional preference for powerful engines. Dressing up your key with a Chevy Tracker keychain means you haven’t forgotten American taste in your car preference, even if Japanese fuel efficiency has become your primary concern.
The tracker comes in many names. It was originally marketed under the small car and SUV Geo product lines by General Motors as the Tracker, and was later sold by Chevrolet under the same name. Suzuki calls it own version as Shield. Asüna and Pontiac sold it as the Sunrunner until 1997. Suzuki named the model the Sidekick until 1999, when the second-generation Tracker rolled off the assembly lines. Suzuki named this generation of Tracker Suzuki Grand Vitara, a popular Japanese SUV in today’s market. In Mexico, the Tracker is still sold as the Chevrolet Grand Vitara until the last units came out in 2004. There are Tracker and Sidekick units made at Suzuki’s Kosai Assembly Plant in Japan and General Motor’s Ingersoll, Ontario plant in Canada.
Compared to other mini-SUVs on the market, which are mostly based on a strong truck chassis, the Tracker is designed with a robust four-wheel drive system. It has a strong front suspension equipped with a strong ‘recirculating ball steering box’. The light truck’s engine is backed by either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic transmission with a two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive transfer case in high and low mode. The struts are like a conventional light truck with u-jointed driveshafts connecting the front hubs of coil springs to the differential case. This makes the model a bit ‘tough’, but the design’s inherent durability in rough off-road conditions is a huge benefit that makes up for experiencing a bit of a bumpy ride at times.
Eventually, the Tracker’s legacy of durability and performance will give way to a new concept model in the mini-SUV category. Chevrolet brand engineers are loyal patriots of the American Revolution and will always remember something important they learned from the Japanese. Eventually the Tracker would spark a new concept or design that would lead to a future SUV.
Always carry a beautiful Tracker keychain with you that reminds us of a great Japanese-American affair that gave rise to the Tracker. Available in round black chrome plate, oval stone-look metal and genuine leather trims, these key garnishes feature the proud Chevy logo and “Tracker” model name protruding from a shiny black crystallite dome. This is a perfect gift at a very affordable price of $6.99.
