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GMC Sierra AT4X reportedly on the way, nameplate could be GMC's ZR2

In 2016, GM filed an application with Mexico's Institute of Industrial Property to reserve the name AT4X, and in 2019, the automaker made the same request to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Seeing that GMC's current AT4 trim replaces the former All Terrain trim used on the last-gen Sierra pickup, there have been suspicions ever since those trademark filings that GM would use the AT4X name to replace GMC's former All Terrain X trim. GM Authority reports that this is precisely what's going to happen, citing "sources familiar with the matter." The outlet even gleaned an equipment group number: 4SG for AT4X, whereas AT4 is equipment group 4SB.  The surmise is that GMC is again developing its versions of Chevrolet's dirt-clobbering pickups that wear the ZR2 name. Spy shooters caught the GMC Canyon earlier this month trotting around on Multimatic's DSSV dampers and a set of 33-inch tires like its Colorado ZR2 sibling. The Canyon already offers an AT4 trim, it's thought this beefier setup will roll into the lineup as an AT4X.  Stepping up to the half-ton league, at the end of last month Chevy released a teaser for the Silverado ZR2, which had been caught in prototype guise (pictured at top) around Detroit on at least two occasions. We've mused that the production Silverado ZR2 could take some hardcore off-roader cues from the factory-upgraded Silverado ZR2 race truck like a lifted stance, long-travel front suspension, four-leaf springs instead of three-leaf, electronic locking front and rear differentials, and a wider track. One of the production prototypes was caught on 33-inch tires, but we wouldn't be shocked to see 35-inchers on the spec sheet. That size would match the race truck and the rubber fitted to the cross-town rivals Ford Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX. A GMC Sierra AT4X would be the plusher, pricier, chrome-ier version of the ZR2. The aforementioned Multimatic shocks could also be on the docket. We'd expect the GMC Sierra AT4X to bow with the heavily updated 2022 pickup, whenever that arrives. Events around the world of late delayed the pickup, its launch now thought to happen late next year or in early 2023. Related Video:  

GM’s move to Woodward is the right one — for the company and for Detroit

Back in 2018, Chevy invited me to attend the Detroit Auto Show on the company dime to get an early preview of the then-newly redesigned Silverado. The trip involved a stay at the Renaissance Center — just a quick People Mover ride from the show. IÂ’d been visiting Detroit in January for nearly a decade, and not once had I set foot inside General MotorsÂ’ glass-sided headquarters. I was intrigued, to say the least. Thinking back on my time in the buildings that GM will leave behind when it departs for the new Hudson's site on Woodward Avenue, two things struck me. For one, its hotel rooms are cold in January. Sure, itÂ’s glass towers designed in the 1960s and '70s; I calibrated my expectations accordingly. But when I could only barely see out of the place for all the ice forming on the inside of the glass, it drove home just how flawed this iconic structure is.  My second and more pertinent observation was that the RenCen doesnÂ’t really feel like itÂ’s in a city at all, much less one as populous as Detroit. The complex is effectively severed from its surroundings by swirling ribbons of both river and asphalt. To the west sits the Windsor tunnel entrance; to the east, parking lots for nearly as far as the eye can see. To its north is the massive Jefferson Avenue and to its south, the Detroit River. You get the sense that if Henry Ford II and his team of investors had gotten their way, the whole thing would have been built offshore with the swirling channel doubling as a moat. This isnÂ’t a building the draws the city in; itÂ’s one designed to keep it out. Frost on the inside of the RenCen hotel glass. Contrasted with the new Hudson's project GM intends to move into, a mixed-use anchor with residential, office, retail and entertainment offerings smack-dab in Detroit's most vibrant district, the RenCen is a symbol of an era when each office in DetroitÂ’s downtown was an island in a rising sea of dilapidation. Back then, those who fortified against the rapid erosion of DetroitÂ’s urban bedrock stood the best chance of surviving. This was the era that brought us ugly skyways and eventually the People Mover — anything to help suburban commuters keep their metaphorical feet dry. The RenCen offered — and still offers — virtually any necessity and plenty of nice-to-haves, all accessible without ever venturing outside, especially in the winter, but those enticements are geared to those who trek in from suburbia to toil in its hallways.

NHTSA ends GM steering investigation without seeking a recall

DETROIT — U.S. safety regulators have closed an investigation into sticky power steering on thousands of older General Motors SUVs and will not seek a recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says GM in 2014 issued “special coverage” to fix the problem on the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and other models. The coverage replaced a steering gear with an improved one. The agency said a recall isn't needed because of the coverage and low complaint and warranty repair rates. The agency opened the probe in June of 2020 into steering problems affecting an estimated 781,000 of the SUVs from the 2010 through 2012 model years. Increased friction could make it feel like the steering wheel is stuck. But GM said the SUVs could still be turned, although with more effort than usual. “In view of the special coverage, low rate of failure and low potential hazard to drivers, this preliminary evaluation is closed,” the agency wrote in documents posted Wednesday on its website. Government/Legal Recalls Chevrolet GMC Safety