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GM Canada recalls 159,240 GMC and Chevy trucks for faulty defroster circuit

General Motors is recalling more than 159,000 2014-2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks in Canada due to a potential fire risk. GM says the rear defroster circuit could overheat on trucks optioned with the power-sliding rear window. Thus far, there is no word on the recall's relation to U.S. vehicles. The recall, found by Automotive News, was posted to Transport Canada on June 28, 2019 with manufacturer recall No. N192220470. Included in the 159,240 vehicles are the 2014-2018 Silverado 1500, the 2015-2019 Silverado HD, the 2014-2018 Silverado LD, the 2014-2018 Sierra 1500, the 2015-2019 Sierra HD, and the 2014-2018 Sierra LD. The notice says the rear defroster circuit, specifically on trucks with the power-sliding rear window, could overheat. Because of its placement, this excess heat could cause melting, smoking, or possibly fire, in the worst case scenario. As of now, there is no official word when GM will initiate the recall and there is no official fix detailed just yet. GM suggests that owners, who will be notified by mail if their vehicles are affected, take their trucks to a dealer to remove the rear window defroster fuse as a stop-gap.  Automotive News contacted GM to find out if the problem is also found in trucks sold in the United States, but no definitive statement was made, as the investigation is reportedly ongoing. We will update this space if American vehicles are found to be included in the problem.

GM follows U.S. trademark for AT4X with application in Mexico

Looks like GM is preparing to return the GMC Sierra 1500 All Terrain X to the marketplace, but with a new name. GM Authority found a trademark application filed in May this year in Mexico for the AT4X moniker. This comes three years after GM filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the same alphanumeric in February 2016. When GMC introduced the all-new 2019 Sierra, it changed the previous All Terrain trim name to AT4, as seen on the Sierra AT4 we called "offroad overkill." The patent filings lend credence to the idea that the previous All Terrain X trim will soon be introduced by a Sierra 1500 AT4X model.  The erstwhile All Terrain X, introduced for the 2016 model year, took the former All Terrain further into the frame of serious-looking off-roader. On top of the Z71 suspension with a two-inch lift, Rancho monotube shocks, and a locking rear differential, the X added a sport bar for offroad lights, side steps, more dirt-friendly 18-inch wheels in 265/65 mud-terrains instead of 20-inchers on 275/65 all-terrains, a performance exhaust, and a lot more black and body-colored trim. At launch, we said it was "no Raptor threat," and even though GMC launched a 2500HD version in 2017 (pictured), it likely never worried the Ram Power Wagon. We wouldn't expect the equation to change with a possible AT4X, which is a shame, since hardcore OEM offroaders are becoming bro dozers for the mature, moneyed set.

GM dealers unhappy about pickup prices

The backlash is beginning. Following General Motors' price hike of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra last week, dealers across the country are expressing their ire over increasing prices in the face of rebates and discounts on trucks from Ford and Ram.
Speaking to Automotive News, Sam Pilato, the general manager at Dimmitt Chevrolet in Clearwater, FL, Silverados are "selling very poorly." W. Carrol Smith, the president of Monument Chevrolet in the heart of truck country, Texas, said, "[GM's] position is that the vehicle stands on its own and it doesn't need a bigger rebate. That's not what the market is telling us."
According to AN, that's the general attitude amongst Chevy and GMC dealers across the country, where the twin pickups are getting butchered in sales by competitors offering up to $9,000 off their sticker prices. Part of the problem for GM is that its trucks are arriving on the market near the end of the current F-150's lifecycle, a fact that Ford has taken advantage of.