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GMC's Denali offerings are going great guns

The Denali trim that GMC uses to denote its top-of-the-line vehicles was introduced back in 1999, partly as a way to challenge the recently introduced Lincoln Navigator. Fifteen years later, and with GMC the tenth-largest US automotive brand by itself Denali has become a sub-brand that keeps the cash registers ringing at the Renaissance Center HQ. While GMC increased sales by 9 percent in 2013, TheDetroitBureau.com reports that that Denali sales rose by 20 percent.
There are currently five Denali models in the GMC line, with the Denali trim available on all but its commercial vans. In 2010, when the now-discontinued Yukon XL Hybrid was also on sale, GMC sold 32,886 units of its top trim. Last year, that number had increased to 75,558, with almost no help from traditional marketing spends. Go to YouTube and search for "GMC Denali commercials" - the few actual commercial results are from years ago. GMC marketing director Roger McCormack tells TheDetroitBureau.com, "It's largely all been organic."
As sales have grown, so has the tide of money GMC rakes in from the additional luxury features on Denali models. The 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe starts at $44,600, yet its 2014 Yukon Denali doppelganger starts at $58,320, pricing that includes additional features like the larger 6.2-liter V8, nicer interior, head-up display and magnetic ride control suspension. The Yukon XL Denali starts at $60,965, but the article says the "average customer" likely to spend "up and above $70,000" to take one home. How does that happen? On a top-trim Tahoe LTZ, the top-tier wheel option is a set of 20-inch chrome wheels for $400; on the 'base' Yukon Denali you can swap for a set of 22-inch chrome alloys for $2,995. Add it up, and an analyst at AutoTrends Consulting said that kind of margin "epitomizes the concept of obscene profitability." We say when it comes to Denali, GMC appears to stand for "Grabbing More Cash."

GMC rules out subcompact crossover to go premium, focus on trucks

Don't wait for GMC's on-again, off-again baby crossover any longer. The company confirmed it has no plans to enter the growing car-based subcompact crossover segment in the near future because the expansion wouldn't fit its image. "I'm going to give you a definitive no on that one," answered Mark Alger, a regional marketing manager for GMC's Canadian division, when asked about the entry-level segment by GM Authority. "We want to position GMC as a premium brand, focus on our trucks, and capitalize on the AT4 name," he added. Positioning GMC as a premium brand wouldn't prevent officials from giving an entry-level the green light; Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz all sell cars priced in the vicinity of $30,000. Focusing on trucks like the Sierra and the Canyon makes sense, however, because they compete in a bigger segment of the market where profit margins are much wider. It helps that GMC doesn't have to worry about markets outside of North America; it's not concerned about its sales and image in, say, Spain. We've heard speculation about GMC's entry-level model since the Granite concept (pictured above) made its debut during the 2010 Detroit auto show. It was approved for production in 2010, approved again the following year (complete with rear suicide doors), and canceled in 2012, but the reports never went away. The segment's popularity added credibility to the recent murmurs describing a born-again Granite aimed at the Honda HR-V and the Toyota C-HR, among others. The Chevy Trax and Buick Encore are both GM vehicles that compete in this segment.  GMC also canceled a body-on-frame, Bronco-taming SUV, according to a recent report. The truck-focused automaker promised every nameplate in its range will receive the rugged AT4 treatment by 2021, however, and it announced plans to show the off-road-ready Canyon in early 2020.

Chevy Trax engineer says GMC version possible

The Buick Encore is doing so well and its platform-mate the Chevrolet Trax has such good reviewer vibes going for it already, that a GMC version hasn't been ruled out. During the recent press launch, Automotive News asked lead engineer Al Manzor if the Trax could wear a GMC-branded suit, to which Manzor replied, "I think that is certainly possible." That's a long way from telling us anything about the probability of a GMC version of the Trax, and a legion of questions would need to be answered before it could happen. How would a GMC version be priced to leave room for the $26,465 GMC Terrain but not eat into sales of the $20,995 Trax or the $24,035 Encore? Or would that matter? Could it primarily be considered to encourage a new faction of The Yukon Set at the compact end, GMC buyers being famously committed to the marque? And of course, would there be a Denali version? It'll probably be a long while before we have any kind of answers, but if you want to see it happen, the door to your campaign of persuasion is at least ajar.