If you read up on the debut of the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado, you know almost everything there is to know about the 2015 GMC Canyon. The two mid-size pickups share all major mechanical content, differring mainly in styling details and model nomenclature. Both will be available in extended- and crew-cab configurations (neither will build regular-cabs); both will offer buyers a choice of four-cylinder and V-6 power, with the option of sending that power to the rear or all four wheels; and both will introduce a four-cylinder turbo-diesel in the years after launch.

More important, the Colorado and the Canyon return to showrooms after a three-year hiatus. Since its 1.5 million-unit heyday in 1984, U.S. sales for the mid-size and compact pickup segments have shrunk more than 80 percent. In recent years, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Ford, and Chrysler all have taken down their tents in mid-size truck-ville and gone home. Full-size pickups are where the volume is today (around 2 million of them were sold in North America in 2013), and the segment is where the money is, too. Sales of full-size pickups account for roughly two-thirds of the profits at General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.