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

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2020 GMC Acadia refresh brings a new engine, AT4 trim level

It's mid-cycle refresh time for the GMC Acadia, and the updated 2020 model kicks off its changes with a new face. It has a square-jawed grille seemingly pulled straight off the Sierra full-size pickup, and the size is amplified by the slender new LED headlights on either side. At the rear, the LED taillights are taller and more chiseled. A new AT4 trim level adds more visual distinction with black trim and wheels, plus all-terrain tires to make it a little more capable off road. The AT4 also boasts standard all-wheel drive. Under the revised skin, the Acadia hides one of two carryover engines, or a new turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4. This new engine makes 230 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque with the help of a twin-scroll turbocharger. To make it more frugal, it's able to deactivate two of its four cylinders. The turbo engine is standard issue on the SLT and Denali trim levels. The carryover engines include a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter 4-cylinder making 193 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque, and a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6 making 310 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque. The V6 is standard equipment on the AT4 trim. No matter the engine, all 2020 Acadias get a 9-speed automatic transmission. The new transmission also ditches the current Acadia's mechanical shift lever in favor of an electronic shifter with the Terrain's mix of buttons and triggers. It does free up space between the seats, but the button arrangement is still as strange as it was when we first saw it in the smaller crossover. There are a handful of other little upgrades to mention. The suspension has been revised for greater comfort; the infotainment has been revised with a bigger screen, USB-C inputs and customizable profiles; and wireless phone charging is now an option. The updated Acadia goes on sale this fall, and pricing will probably be announced close to launch.

2021 GMC Yukon Denali First Drive | Finally living up to the Denali reputation

For most of its existence, the GMC Yukon has been a virtually identical twin to the Chevy Tahoe. It would have some exterior differences, maybe a couple of different features, but aside from the badging, you’d be hard-pressed to distinguish the two. That also applied to the supposedly more luxurious Denali trim level. This new generation of Yukon mostly continues the trend, but now the Denali stands out more. It gets a unique interior designed to bridge the gap between the Yukon and Cadillac Escalade, and includes high-end features such as the Yukon's otherwise optional 6.2-liter V8 and magnetic suspension with air springs. All of this combined lets the 2021 GMC Yukon Denali live up to its luxurious reputation. It's easily the version to get if your bank account allows. It really is the interior that makes the biggest difference. The entire dashboard and door panels are exclusive to not only the Yukon, but the Denali trim level specifically. The dash design is more squared-off and truck-like, but itÂ’s offset by the use of some excellent materials. Large portions of the dash are wrapped in leather with stitching. ThereÂ’s also a large panel of matte-finish open-pore wood, available in multiple colors, on the passenger side. Some metal trim and nicely textured knobs adorn the center stack. The doors get this wood and leather, too. The center console features some attractive, stylized stitching as an extra adornment. The result is a place that feels high-quality and luxurious, but not in a garish or flashy way. Sort of a utilitarian luxury, which fits the look and character of the Yukon Denali. There are aspects of the interior that are shared with other Yukons and Tahoes, though. You get the same slightly odd but perfectly usable push-button shifter, the 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, 15-inch head-up display, dual 12.6-inch backseat screens, and the same amount of interior space. These are all good things. The infotainment system is responsive and easy to use, while also offering the same advanced trailering camera system that so impressed in the Chevy Silverado HD. The head-up display is also large and legible, and fortunately not cluttered with too much distracting information. The best part, however, is the amount of space.

Meet Alex Archer, the engineer behind GM's power-sliding center console

In 2009, a GM manager complained to a 59-year-old GM technician about the hassle of retrieving items from a pickup truck bed after driving shifted the cargo. In two days, the tech had come up with the ideas that, ten years later, would debut as the MultiPro tailgate. The engineering teams kept the tailgate secret in part by hiding mock-ups in a locked storage closet in GM's Vehicle Engineering Center in Warren Michigan for two years. A piece in the Detroit Free Press reveals that another storage closet in Warren would play the same role in a different cloak-and-dagger operation, this time for the power-sliding center console in GM's new full-sized SUVs. During a meeting in early 2017, bosses gave the job of the console's creation to 24-year-old design release engineer Alex Archer, just two years out of Stanford University with a degree in engineering and product design.  This time, the catalyst for the feature was an internal GM think tank called co:lab, where employees suggest ideas. Execs gave Archer the task because "They needed someone willing to ask a lot of questions," her 36-month mandate to produce a six-way console that could be a standard cubby or a gaping maw able to swallow four gallon jugs or hide a secret compartment. Clearly, she succeeded. It took Archer and the team nine months to devise a prototype, another six months to get the green light for production. As with the tailgate, the team working on the console grew to include designers, production engineers, and suppliers. Archer, now 26, shepherded the process, and her name is on the patent. "It took a ton of people, I'm just somebody who stuck with it the whole time," she said. GM like her work well enough to produce the "Day in the Life" segment above, five months before the world would hear about the console. Archer's path to engineering was as unlikely as getting the job for the console. She had entered Stanford with plans to be a doctor. But an innovation class during her freshman year, and a sophomore summer spent helping her grandfather rebuild a 1937 MG engine recharted her course. Her grandfather told her, "You know, you could be an engineer for a car company." Consumer reaction to Archer's work won't be far off, the SUVs slated to hit dealerships soon. Meanwhile, she's busy on something that could be just as intense as the console: Restoring a 1955 Packard Clipper in her garage. Head to Freep to check out the story of Archer and the console. Related Video: