---
title: "Getting Muddy in the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 with the Woman Who Brought It to Life"
description: "We put Chevy's most aggro midsize pickup to work, nerded out on its suspension tune, and found out what an engineer hat is."
date: "2018-07-05"
modified: "2018-07-05"
authors:
  - name: "Cait Knoll"
    job_title: "Supervising Video Producer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/cait-knoll.md"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/video/21862/getting-muddy-in-the-chevrolet-colorado-zr2-with-the-woman-who-brought-it-to-life"
categories:
  - "Car Reviews"
  - "Chevrolet Reviews"
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
  - "People"
  - "Trucks"
tags:
  - "Chevrolet"
  - "Colorado"
  - "Off-Road"
  - "pickup"
---

# Getting Muddy in the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 with the Woman Who Brought It to Life

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/07/zr2gallery_2.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Back in April, Ford announced it was essentially [giving up on everything in its lineup](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/20415/ford-sedans-are-dead-in-the-u-s.md>) that wasn't a truck or SUV. Amurica, am I right? General Motors may still be [sticking with sedans](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/20431/general-motors-sticking-with-sedans-as-ford-kills-off-most-cars-in-north-america.md>), but it's massively invested in the truck market as well. Just four years ago, GM started rolling out a refreshed offering in a segment that had been all but abandoned in the states—the midsize pickup truck—in the form of the Chevrolet Colorado. Not long after (in model year 2017), customers gained the option of the high-performance, off-road ZR2 trim level. Think "Honey, I Shrunk the Ford Raptor".

I got the chance to spend an afternoon in the capable little ZR2 beasts, on the muddy trails at [Monticello Motor Club](<https://www.monticellomotorclub.com/>), with the woman responsible for making them what they are. Anita Burke, GM Vehicle Chief Engineer, is responsible for *all* (read: global) midsize trucks at General Motors. And after roughing up the ZR2 myself, I hitched a ride with her, determined to hear all the nerdy goodness that went into creating these pickups.

As you'll see in the video above, Burke isn't necessarily what you'd imagine a truck engineer to be. She's much shorter than the average truck customer, and hell, women aren't the main customers in general. But she's been building trucks at GM for 26 years and currently leads the engineering development of trucks sold in over 90 countries. Her candidness about how you actually engineer your lineup to your customer bases all over the world is fascinating.

![message-editor%2F1530648035739-zr2gallery\_2.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1530648035739-zr2gallery_2.jpg>)
*Cait Knoll*

![message-editor%2F1530648046940-zr2gallery\_4.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1530648046940-zr2gallery_4.jpg>)
*Chevrolet*

![message-editor%2F1530648053900-zr2gallery\_5.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1530648053900-zr2gallery_5.jpg>)
*Chevrolet*

![message-editor%2F1530648075181-zr2gallery\_6.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1530648075181-zr2gallery_6.jpg>)
*Chevrolet*

![message-editor%2F1530648082253-zr2gallery\_7.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1530648082253-zr2gallery_7.jpg>)
*Chevrolet*

![message-editor%2F1530648099737-zr2gallery\_3.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1530648099737-zr2gallery_3.jpg>)
*Cait Knoll*

## Author
With a penchant for Pittsburgh sports and cold beer, Cait Knoll spent three seasons as a lead producer at *MLB.com* fighting with guys about baseball before helping launch *Skratch TV*, a millennial-focused video venture from the PGA Tour.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/caitatwork>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/cknollsky>)

## More

- [2022 Chevy Colorado With New Trail Boss Package Is a Wallet-Friendly ZR2](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/41545/2022-chevy-colorado-with-new-trail-boss-package-is-a-wallet-friendly-zr2.md>)
- [Corvette Z06-Swapped Chevy Colorado ZR2 Makes for a Menacing Midsize Pickup](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/32794/corvette-z06-swapped-chevy-colorado-zr2-makes-for-a-menacing-midsize-pickup.md>)
- [I Almost Killed a 2018 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2—But It Refused to Die](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/23180/i-almost-killed-a-2018-chevrolet-colorado-zr2-but-it-refused-to-die.md>)
- [2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2: Here’s Your First Look at the Next-Gen Truck](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/2023-chevrolet-colorado-zr2-heres-your-first-look-at-the-next-gen-truck.md>)
- [The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 in Vermont: A Tonka Truck for Big Kids Gets the Green Mountain Test](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/18677/2018-chevrolet-colorado-zr2-review-in-vermont-tonka-truck-for-big-kids-gets-the-green-mountain-test.md>)
- [2021 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2: Hope You Like the New Silverado Grille](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/30237/2021-chevrolet-colorado-zr2-hope-you-like-the-new-silverado-grille.md>)
- [Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison Effectively Sold Out for 2019 Model Year](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/26465/chevrolet-colorado-zr2-bison-effectively-sold-out-for-2019-model-year.md>)
- [Chevrolet Issues Free Fix for Unexpected Colorado ZR2 Airbag Deployment](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/24805/chevrolet-issues-free-fix-for-unexpected-colorado-zr2-airbag-deployment.md>)