Denali White Tan Crew Cab Awd 6.0 Navigation Dvd Moonroof Power Rear Window Bose on 2040-cars

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Huge, pricey trucks haul jobs and profits for the Detroit Three

DECATUR, Texas — Mickey McMaster is on his 12th pickup truck. The 61-year old farm equipment dealer in Decatur, Texas, two weeks ago treated himself to a 2019 GMC Denali for around $69,000 — a reward for long hours at work. "For me this is the Cadillac of trucks, it's a real luxury vehicle," McMaster said. "I've worked my way up to afford a truck like this and it shows that I've earned it." McMaster is the kind of customer General Motors Co is banking on as it plans to add 1,000 jobs at a plant in Flint, Michigan that will build a new generation of its largest pickups. Demand from Texas and other heartland states for big pick-ups is providing a lifeline to many workers the No. 1 U.S. automaker is laying off at plants elsewhere. The Detroit Three automakers and thousands of their U.S. workers are counting on customers like McMaster to keep buying bigger and more luxurious pickup trucks even if overall U.S. vehicle demand weakens this year, as most analysts predict. At Flint, GM will build a new generation of its heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierras, including luxury models that are some of the most profitable vehicles on the planet. GM, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Ram division own the segment and are each doubling down with new or redesigned models launching this year. Sales of heavy-duty pickups in the United States have grown to more than 600,000 vehicles a year, up more than 20 percent since 2013, according to industry data. Prices for luxury models can easily top $70,000. GM on Tuesday celebrated the launch of a new generation of heavy-duty GMC and Chevrolet pickups at the assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, that is now building all such trucks for the company. At the same time that GM is laying off thousands of U.S. workers and planning to shutter five North American factories, Flint is hiring. The plant runs on three daily shifts, six days a week. As the new model's assembly system ramps up, the plant's capacity will increase by more than 25 percent, plant manager Mike Perez told Reuters. The Flint plant plans to add 1,000 workers, more than half of the 1,500 factory workers who have asked to transfer from plants GM has targeted for shutdown as part of CEO Mary Barra's restructuring plan. "We're bringing in 50 to 100 people every week," said Perez. Workers last week were still finishing the job of retooling the Flint factory to build the new heavy-duty trucks as part of a $1.5 billion investment project.

GM faces possible class action lawsuit over 8-speed transmission

General Motors has been hit with a class-action lawsuit from owners who allege the eight-speed automatic transmission found in several rear-wheel-drive Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC models between the 2015 and 2019 model years has a defect that causes the vehicles to hesitate and jerk when accelerating or slowing down. The lawsuit was posted to ClassAction.org and spotted by GM Authority. Problems with GM's Hydra-Matic 8L90 and 8L45 transmissions have been well-documented on Internet forums and via complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with many reporting damage to their vehicles. The lawsuit was first filed in December in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida but appears to have been transferred recently to New York. Autoblog sought comment from Theodore Leopold, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. "These transmissions have a common defect," the complaint reads. "Drivers attempting to accelerate or decelerate their cars feel a hesitation, followed by a significant shake, shudder, jerk, clunk, or 'hard shift' when the vehicle's automatic transmission changes gears." The problem also occurs when the vehicles accelerate in a single gear, without shifting, the plaintiffs allege. "Drivers have reported that the shift is sometimes so violent, they feel as though they have been hit by another vehicle." The problem is believed to center on the transmission, torque converter or both. The complaint says it causes undue friction, causing hydraulic systems and gears to function improperly and sometimes leaves metal shavings throughout the transmission, leading to costly repairs and replacement of parts or the entire transmission. It says GM has known about the problems since shortly after it introduced the transmissions, and has issued 13 technical service bulletins, none of which have resolved the problem. GM declined to comment on the lawsuit. The plaintiffs say GM should have warned consumers about the issues and covered repairs under each vehicle's three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. They're seeking statewide classes in at least six states: California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

2022 GMC Sierra Preview | GM's 'premium truck' is actually now premium

Pros: Quiet and torque-rich Duramax diesel; big touchscreen on most trims; great trailering tech; versatile MultiPro tailgate Cons: Worse ride than most rivals; AT4X priced like a Raptor but doesn't go like a Raptor The 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 is GM’s upmarket half-ton pickup, with a supposed emphasis placed on interior quality and materials rather than bare-bones durability. Supposedly, at least. In reality, the most recent generation hardly lived up to that promise as it showed few upgrades over its Chevy Silverado sibling, which itself possessed a ho-hum, not-really-trying interior clearly overshadowed by Ram and Ford that at least match it in most other respects. It was particularly noticeable when comparing top trim levels. GMC's supposedly premium entry, and especially the Denali, just didn't cut it. That changes in a huge way for 2022. First, thereÂ’s not just one new and massively improved interior, there are two. The SLE, Elevation and SLT once again share their interior design with the Silverado, but that includes a more visually appealing design, better materials, smarter storage and a significant technology upgrade thanks to the standard 13.4-inch touchscreen running the user-friendly Android Automotive OS. The AT4 and Denali trim levels, including the new AT4X and Denali Ultimate, step things up even further with a different dash design and upgraded interior materials. The Ultimate definitely lives up to its name with a characterful and, yes, premium vibe that stands tall against the best of Ford and Ram. Other welcome updates include the option of Super Cruise on top trim levels and a massively more powerful base turbo four-cylinder engine (it produces more torque than the 5.3-liter V8!). Effectively, the 2022 GMC Sierra is now the truck it shouldÂ’ve been since the beginning of this current generation and definitely worth a look – especially if youÂ’re in the market for a premium truck. Now, a bit of housekeeping. While the massively updated model shown here is officially the 2022 GMC Sierra, thereÂ’s a chance you could come across something called the "2022 Sierra Limited.” That was just last year's truck with the 2022 model year stapled to it. There are many reasons for this, but suffice it to say, if you see a Â’22 Sierra Denali with the ugly robot-face dashboard (below right), youÂ’re looking at a Limited. Also, the availability of Super Cruise and other features have been hampered by supply shortages.