The Chevrolet K5 Blazer is a full-size sport-utility vehicle (SUV) that was marketed by Chevrolet from the 1969 to 1994 model years. A variant of the C/K truck line, the K5 Blazer is a shortened version of the half-ton pickup line. For its first two generations, the model line was a half-cab pickup truck fitted with a removable rear top (effectively making it a three-door station wagon); the final generation was fitted with permanent rear bodywork. Initially offered solely as a 4x4, the K5 Blazer was also marketed with a rear-wheel drive configuration.
Alongside the longer-wheelbase Chevrolet/GMC Suburban wagon-style SUV (offered with three rows of seating and second-row doors), the K5 Blazer was marketed by GMC from 1970 to 1991 as the GMC Jimmy (reflecting a shorthand nickname for the brand). Though the K5 prefix was used on Chevrolet badging until 1988, GM never internally referred the Blazer/Jimmy as such. Following the 1983 release of the S-Series Blazer/Jimmy, to avoid market confusion, GM officially changed the model lines to "Chevrolet Full-Size Blazer" and "GMC K-Jimmy" (after 1986, V-Jimmy), though they are often unofficially still addressed as "K5" to avoid confusion.
For 1992, General Motors redesigned its entire full-size SUV lineup, with GMC renaming the Jimmy as the GMC Yukon. The full-size Blazer was replaced for 1995, as the Chevrolet Tahoe inaugurated a shorter-wheelbase variant of the Suburban. Currently, GM markets the Tahoe and Yukon alongside the Cadillac Escalade, and later resurrected the "Blazer" name for a midsize crossover SUV while Kia now uses the "K5" name for an unrelated midsize sedan.
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