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What is the history of the Chevrolet Blazer?

The Chevrolet Blazer (4WD model T-10) and the similar GMC S-15 Jimmy (4WD model T-15) were mid-size SUVs from General Motors. Production began alongside the larger K5 Blazer and Jimmy in 1983 and lasted through 2005. In the United States retail sales after 2004 were limited to two-door Blazer models, all other models being sold to fleets, until April 20, 2005. In the Canadian market, four door models of the Blazer and Jimmy were sold until the 2004 model year and until the 2005 model year for the two door models of both. The S-series SUVs, so named because they were based on the Chevrolet S-10 and GMC S-15 pickup trucks, were produced in Pontiac, Michigan, Linden, New Jersey, Moraine, Ohio, Shreveport, Louisiana, and São Paulo, Brazil (the Brazilian version is based on the second-generation S-series; even though production ceased in the U.S., new Blazers are locally produced in Brazil with their own sheetmetal stampings). In North America, the Moraine plant produced only 4-door vehicles, with both 2 and 4 door models being produced at Linden, which was the main assembly plant after the switch (some time after 1985) from Pontiac, Michigan, which is now a full-size truck plant.

Upon the introduction of the S-10 pickup truck in 1982 to replace the Isuzu-based Chevrolet LUV, the S-10 Blazer was introduced for the 1983 model year, along with the GMC S-15 Jimmy. Styling cues were based on the first generation K5 Blazer and Jimmy (such as the angled C-pillars and lift glass panel); the S-series Blazer and Jimmy did not feature removable hardtops like their full-size counterparts. Notably, the new, smaller Blazer and Jimmy were only offered in a two-door bodystyle, like their larger antecedents.

1995 1/2 was the introduction of an all-new Blazer. This time, it lost the S-10 prefix and became its own model based on the second generation S-10/Sonoma pickups introduced a year earlier (the K1500 Blazer was rebadged as the Chevrolet Tahoe). Upon introduction of the 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the GMC Envoy, production continued after their successors came to the market, with the Jimmy only being sold in Canada and in the 2005 model year, 4-door models sold to vehicle fleets.

This generation was phased out in 2001 to make way for the new GMT360 models such as the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the GMC Envoy. However, production of the Blazer and Jimmy continued until April 20, 2005, in Linden, New Jersey, despite slow sales, and the plant located there then closed. A white Chevrolet Blazer became the last of the series, and the last vehicle produced in New Jersey. Although production ceased, the second generation body style is still being produced in Brazil.