2000 Gmc Sierra 3500 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

GMC Hummer EVs 'sold out for two years or more'

At the end of March this year, GMC said it had 65,000 reservations for the Hummer EV pickup and SUV. At the time, brand chief Duncan Aldred said, "Production’s actually slightly ahead of plan and weÂ’re putting things in place now to actually expedite that as well, so we can deliver these reservations quicker than we originally thought. WeÂ’re seeing momentum building," adding that "it still means a reservation now probably means delivering in '24." By the time of the 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 reveal just a bit ago, that reservation number had climbed to 90,000. GMC shut down the Hummer reservations line a month ago. GM Authority reports that when GMC chief Duncan Aldred spoke at a media briefing ahead of the Sierra EV reveal, he said the Hummer is "sold out for two years or more."   Notice, the word "probably" has been replaced by the phrase "or more" in the production vocabulary. That development likely takes into account what's happened since March at GM's Factory Zero, where the automaker currently builds the Hummer. That site, along with the new Orion Township Assembly Plant, will soon build the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV and Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle. In a memo from the beginning of the year, GM said a $6.6 billion investment in EV production capability will ultimately allow 600,000 electric pickups to come off lines every year. That's at least a couple of years away, though. At the beginning of October, GM said it wanted to bump production of the EVs on sale now, which includes the Chevrolet Bolt, to 70,000 vehicles in 2023. Back to the Hummer, GMC increased September Hummer production to 700 units for the month. That was a huge bump over the monthly average in the nine months up to September, the production totaling 2,750 units for the first three quarters, yet well behind what the brand would like. And Factory Zero will shut down for a few weeks in November for upgrades to produce the additional vehicles. All of this assumes the supplies of chips and raw minerals for batteries, industrial supplies and industrial transport don't suffer another hiccup. If there's any good news buried in all this, it's that 95% of Hummer reservation holders were converting to paid orders, an absurdly positive number. Based on what we've seen so far, GM's got some good looking EVs on the way. Let's cross our fingers that the company can build them quicker. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party.

2022 Chevy Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade up another $1,600

The 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the 2022 GMC Yukon and the 2022 Cadillac Escalade have all gone up by $1,600. The GM profit and loss department added $1,500 to the MSRP for each of the full-sized SUVs and $100 to their destination charges, that destination fee now $1,795 for each vehicle. It's not an inconsequential bump; however, considering where the trucks were priced at launch, and everything that's happened since, the latest retail prices don't seem that bad. Take the Suburban — in February 2020, Chevrolet practically carried over pricing for the truck with a revamped interior and independent rear suspension, starting it at $50,295 after destination. After this latest increase, the 2022 Tahoe LS in two-wheel drive costs $55,590, after destination.  The delta between the 2021 Suburban at launch in March 2020 and the current model is a little grander compared to the Tahoe, like the SUV itself. Back then, it started at $52,295, the same price as the outgoing model. After this third price increase in the past year, the 2022 Suburban LS in 2WD starts at $61,290 after destination. GM Authority says the 2023 Tahoe and Suburban are reportedly headed down production lines in the middle of July. The biggest addition to both models will be the availability of Super Cruise, which is already available on the sister SUV, the Cadillac Escalade. The hands-free driving assistance feature can only be optioned on the Premier and High Country trims. It costs $2,500 to put Super Cruise on the Escalade. GM hasn't divulged the feature's price yet for the Chevy twins; that's likely to come when the automaker announces 2023 Tahoe and Suburban MSRPs, so beware of more potential price increases. After that, there's a heavy refresh planned for the 2024 model year, including a new instrument panel design that looks like it replaces the current gauge cluster with a large, freestanding screen.  The Yukon's entry-level price goes up to $57,590 for the SLE trim turning the rear axle.   The Cadillac Escalade's second MSRP bump takes it to $81,235 for the Luxury 600 trim in 2WD, and $84,235 for the extended ESV model in the same trim. The price creep hasn't stopped Escalades from pulling off dealer lots almost as soon as they're delivered, sales for the first quarter of the year totaling 10,505 units, trouncing domestic and foreign competition. Related video: