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Diesel-powered 2020 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra get big price cuts

General Motors is reducing the price difference between its diesel-powered light-duty pickups and their gasoline-burning counterparts, according to a recent report. As of September 3, 2020, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the GMC Sierra 1500 benefit from a $1,500 price cut when they're ordered with a turbodiesel under the hood. Enthusiast website GM Authority first reported the news after looking at internal documents sent to dealers across the nation. It wrote the discount applies to in-stock and in-transit units of the Silverado and the Sierra (pictured), and it added dealers will begin receiving amended window stickers on September 8. And, it's not just a quick, easy way for General Motors stores to clear out 2020 inventory. Incoming 2021 models will benefit from it, too. Chevrolet's cheapest diesel-slurping 2020 Silverado, a double-cab LT with two-wheel drive, now starts at $44,000 once a mandatory $1,595 destination charge enters the equation. For context, the same configuration costs $38,795 including destination when it's ordered with the 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which is the smallest and cheapest engine on the roster. Selecting the more efficient engine option costs buyers $5,205. At the other end of the spectrum, the crew-cab High Country with a standard cargo box and four-wheel drive is now priced at $59,690. Walk a block to the GMC store, and you'll need to spend between $44,470 (double-cab SLE with two-wheel drive) and $61,685 (crew-cab Denali with a regular cargo box and four-wheel drive) for a diesel-powered Sierra. It doesn't sound like either company is making major mechanical changes to the trucks for 2021. Both are powered by a 3.0-liter straight-six Duramax engine, which makes 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. Rear-wheel drive and a 10-speed automatic transmission come standard, and four-wheel drive is offered at an extra cost. In its most efficient configuration, the Silverado returns 23 mpg in the city, 33 mpg on the highway, and 27 mpg in a mixed cycle, impressive numbers for a body-on-frmae pickup that's as heavy as it is capable. Ram's diesel-powered 1500 posts EPA estimates of 22, 32, and 26, respectively. Ford pledged the recently-unveiled 14th-generation F-150 will offer a turbodiesel engine, too, but its fuel economy figures are not available yet.

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.

GM throttles back Chevy Malibu, Buick LaCrosse production over swollen inventories

As inventory of the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse continues to pile up, General Motors will be idling its Fairfax Assembly Plant for two weeks, according to Automotive News. This move comes about a month after the plant was shut down for three weeks in late December and early January for the same reason. As of January 31, the GM had a 94-day supply of Malibu stock while the LaCrosse was a little worse with a 117-day supply.
Just last week, GM announced that it would be investing $600 million in upgrading this plant, but it's unclear what future plans the company has in store for Fairfax considering slow sales of both the plant's models. We do expect a refreshed and more luxurious LaCrosse shortly and an early design update for the Malibu to be announced at some point this year, although we have had no official word as to when either will happen.