2000 Chevrolet K2500 Base Crew Cab Pickup 4-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

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Leveling kit now available for Chevy Colorado, but not yet for GMC Canyon

In various bits of news this year concerning the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, we kept hearing about a front leveling kit. GM Authority found a few details in early order guides in January. In February, the kit came up in relation to the Canyon's AT4 Off-Road Performance Package, and again with AEV's upgraded Colorado Bison. After three months of waiting, GMA has more info. The kit eliminates the trucks' raked stance by raising the front by one inch, using an electro-coated upper spacer and a polyurethane lower spacer in order to maintain the proper suspension geometry. Installation is a bolt-on job with low-profile nuts, but the task will require a spring compressor. Fitted properly, the kit doesn't void GM's new vehicle warranty on the Colorado. Why do we only mention the Colorado? Because for some reason, the kit isn't available for the Canyon yet as a standalone component; the GMC stays raked without one of the aforementioned option packages. For Chevy, the leveling kit is compatible with any trim in four-wheel drive except the ZR2. It cannot be installed on two-wheel-drive trucks, nor any truck wearing wheels that are 20 inches or above. The kit is available now, ordered through any Chevy dealer for $150. There is a treat in store for GMC buyers, though, but it requires spending a lot more money. GM Authority discovered that the 2021 Yukon will offer the brand's first illuminated emblem. Priced at $475 as a dealer-installed option, a backlit glow will show off the GMC logo in the grille. The brand makes the logo in red and black, it's thought the red logo will get the nod, at least at first. Only the front logo earns the spotlight, not the one on the tailgate. GMA says the tchotchke will be available on all four trims when the new full-size crossover goes on sale in a few months.

Chevy to show redesigned Captiva in Geneva, will it come to US rental lots?

Unless you're renting a car or driving through Orlando, Florida (the rental car capital of the US), you'll probably never see a Chevrolet Captiva - the rebadged, fleet-only version of the old Saturn Vue - on our roads, but this crossover is popular in many other parts of the world. As such, Chevrolet announced that the Captiva will be getting an update for 2013, which will be unveiled next week at the Geneva Motor Show.
Coming off a pretty extensive refresh in 2011, the 2013 model year will bring even more changes to the Captiva like LED taillights, new 18-inch wheels and revised fascias with a new grille and fog lights up front and inset chrome exhaust outlets at the rear. New interior features include heated rear seats, dual-zone climate control as well as available options on some of the upper trim levels such as leather seating and keyless entry and start. We have yet to hear back from Chevrolet as to whether or not the updated Captiva will be making its way to a rental lot near you, as the model is only available in the US to fleet buyers.
Alongside the updated Captiva, Chevy is also showing off its new Trax in Europe, where the subcompact crossover will go on sale this spring. GM's press release for these two Geneva-bound models is posted below.

How Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra will take on the Ford F-150 profit machine

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — When General Motors engineers were developing the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, some of them joined public tours of Ford's Dearborn, Mich., factory to watch aluminum-bodied F-Series trucks go down the assembly line. The redesign of the Ford F-Series trucks, launched in 2014, set a new standard for fuel economy and lightweight vehicle construction. But armed with stopwatches and trained eyes, the GM engineers believed they saw problems. "They had a real hard time getting those doors to fit," Tim Herrick, the executive chief engineer for GM truck programs, told Reuters. His team did more intelligence gathering. They bought and tore apart Ford F-Series doors sold as repair parts. Their conclusion: GM could cut weight in its trucks for a lower cost using doors made of a combination of aluminum and high-strength steel that could be thinner than standard steel, shaving off kilograms in the process. These pounds-and-pennies decisions will have major implications in the highest-stakes game going in Detroit: dominance in the world's most profitable vehicle market, the gasoline-fueled large pickup segment. What's more, GM is banking on strong sales of overhauled 2019 Silverados and GMC Sierras to fund its push into automated and electric vehicles — a business many investors see as the auto industry's long-term future. The risks are high given the hits automakers have taken from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies. Rising aluminum prices spurred by Trump's tariffs are driving up costs on the Ford's F-Series, while rising steel and aluminum prices likewise drag on GM results. GM also has a significant risk should the United States, Mexico and Canada fail to agree on a new NAFTA trade deal, given GM trucks built at its Silao, Mexico, factory could face a 25 percent tariff if NAFTA collapses. Major profit per truck Interviews with GM executives and a tour at its factory here in northwest Indiana provide a detailed look inside GM's plan for the most important vehicles in its global lineup. These big pickups are everything Tesla's Model 3 or Chevy's Bolt electric car is not. The mostly steel body is bolted to the truck's steel frame, rather than the one-piece body and frame electric vehicles. The majority of trucks will have a V-8 gasoline engine powering the rear wheels — like the classic GM cars of the 1950s. Some Silverados will have new four-cylinder engines, but there is no electric or hybrid offering as of now.