2014 Gmc Acadia Denali on 2040-cars

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GM dealers have ordered 30k Colorado and Canyon pickups, 3rd shift added

General Motors has an early success on its hands in the form of the initial rollout of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickup trucks. According to the automaker, dealers have ordered nearly 30,000 of the trucks thus far, a number that far exceeded GM's early expectations.
This high demand for the Colorado and Canyon twins has prompted GM to add a third shift to its Wentzville Assembly plant where the trucks are built, starting early next year. An extra shift will add an additional 750 jobs at the location to the 1,315 that were already employed there, according to the press release that you're welcome to read down below.
Such positive sales projections for the Canyon and Colorado may portend good things for the midsize pickup segment, which was once hugely popular but has more recently contracted, with the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma standing firm as the market leaders. Now that GM's entries are the most up-to-date, and with the segment's first diesel engine on the way, it will be interesting to see how the trucks continue to sell and if their hopeful success leads more automakers back onto the playing field.

GM program sees dealers taking on way more loaner cars

Given the volume of vehicles we're talking about, this is a significant development for GM's bottom line. Bring your car into the dealership for service, and you may need a loaner car in exchange. And with so many recalls being carried out, that means a lot of loaners – especially at General Motors dealerships. That could be one of the reasons why GM is massively expanding its loaner fleet program. While many Chevrolet and Buick-GMC dealerships have an on-site rental car location operated by a third party like Enterprise (which may or may not provide a GM vehicle), others manage their own loaner fleets. But while the range of dealerships operating such fleets was once small, reports Automotive News, the number has been growing rapidly: from the locations responsible for only 20 percent of those brands' sales two years ago to about 90 percent today. The impetus for that growth comes down to a massive expansion of GM's Courtesy Transportation Program. The initiative encourages dealers to ramp up their loaner fleet to a maximum size determined by GM, with a mix determined by the dealer itself, so that a showroom in Texas can be bolstered with a fleet of pickup trucks and a dealer in California can employ more Volt and Camaro Convertible loaners. The dealership gets a $500 credit for each vehicle its puts in its fleet, and can use those vehicles as loaners for service customers, as multi-day test drivers or to rent out separately. The vehicles remain in the dealer's fleet for 90 days or 7,500 miles, then they can be sold as used, but with new-car incentives. The dealer gets a fleet of loaners, customers get to use the loaners, try out a new car overnight or buy a barely used car with attractive incentives, and GM gets to clock more sales. But therein lies the kicker: the automaker counts the dispatch of the loaner new vehicle to the dealership as a new-car sale, which could end up distorting its sales figures. Counting loaner vehicles as sold vehicles is something of an industry-standard practice, but given the volume of vehicles we're talking about, this is a significant development for GM's bottom line. One dealership - Paddock Chevrolet in Kenmore, NY, for example - had no loaner fleet two years ago, but now runs a fleet of 50 vehicles. Multiply that by the 4,000 or so dealers GM has across America and you're talking about the potential for hundreds of thousands of these sorts of sales.

2024 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4X makes Duramax diesel standard

Changes are afoot for the 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 lineup. The one ringing the biggest bells for the off-roading crowd is the engine swap headed to the AT4X trim. Right now, if you want an AT4X you've got Hobson's choice of engines: The 6.2-liter EcoTec V8 with 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. Next year, the 3.0-liter Duramax turbodiesel inline-six that's standard equipment on the AT4 and Denali Ultimate trims becomes the standard engine on the AT4X. The oil-burner makes 305 hp and 495 lb-ft., sent through the same ten-speed automatic the 6.2 V8 is yoked to. GM said around 20% of buyers have checked the Duramax box when buying a Sierra 1500 since the automaker released the upgraded engine for the 2023 model year — it's also offered on the SLE, Elevation, SLT, and Denali trims. The percentage should grow thanks to the diesel's low-speed grunt being one of the best "force multipliers" when traipsing over and through particularly challenging corners of the woods. The 6.2-liter will take the exhaust note crown over the diesel after the introduction of an active exhaust system with a Sport mode exclusively for the 6.2. Assuming no more changes to engine lineups before the 2024 Sierra arrives, the SLT, AT4, Denali, Denali Ultimate, and AT4X will have access to the active exhaust option.   GM Authority says the Duramax is getting another maximal friend in 2024, too. The 2.7-liter Turbo High-Output four-cylinder makes 310 hp and 430 lb-ft and is standard equipment on the entry-level Pro trim. the SLE, and Elevation trims will be renamed "TurboMax," which sounds like an Autobot, and that's not a bad thing. GM applied to trademark the name in January. The new moniker is headed to the Chevrolet Silverado as well, and we'd bet on exterior badging to let the world know.  Elsewhere around the Sierra, there will be two new exterior colors, Downpour Metallic and Thunderstorm Gray, mixable and matchable with two new aluminum wheel designs. And between those wheels, power retractable steps will be available for the Denali, Denali Ultimate, AT4 and AT4X trims. We'll be waiting to see how the steps differ from the GMC MultiPro Power Steps available now for $1,195.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.