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2021 GMC Canyon AT4 Off-Road Performance Edition is ready to hit the trail

GMC introduced a more capable Canyon AT4 named Off-Road Performance Edition that gains modifications like skid plates and a beefier suspension. It can venture further off the beaten path, but it won't get there faster. Based on the AT4, which is already better suited to venturing into the woods than the standard Canyon, the Off-Road Performance Edition gains a taller suspension and loses its sizeable front air dam to offer a 30-degree approach angle. GMC knows adventurers will be tempted to put that figure to the test, so it also added skid plates made with 5/32-inch aluminum to protect the radiator, the front differential, the steering gear, and the oil pan. Full-length rock rails on both sides shield the rocker panels from expensive encounters with boulders and other obstacles. Finally, the Off-Road Performance Edition stands out from the AT4 with specific 17-inch wheels painted in gloss black, black AT4 logos, and black exhaust tips. 31-inch Goodyear Wrangler tires come standard. Changes in the cabin are limited to floor liners. Out back, the cargo box receives a spray-in liner. Don't look for Ram 1500 TRX-like performance, because it doesn't sound like GMC made any major mechanical modifications to the Off-Road Performance Edition. Power comes from a 3.6-liter V6 that sends 308 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque to the four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and an automatic locking rear differential provided by Eaton. AT4 buyers can order a 2.8-liter Duramax turbodiesel four-cylinder with 181 horsepower and a stout 369 pound-feet of torque on tap for an additional $4,375, but there's no word yet on whether this fuel-saving engine will be available on the Off-Road Performance Edition, too. GMC's 2021 Canyon AT4 Off-Road Performance Edition will go on sale later in 2020, though pricing information hasn't been announced yet. For context, the standard AT4 costs $39,395 in its most affordable configuration.  

2019 GMC Sierra carbon fiber bed: How it's made

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The redesigned 2019 GMC Sierra has some pretty nifty features, and the one that has had the most attention is the MultiPro flipping and folding tailgate. But the Sierra also features the first-of-its-kind carbon fiber truck bed. It's interesting, of course, for its capabilities, such as being 62 pounds lighter than the all-steel box. It even adds more cargo volume since the material can be assembled and shaped differently from steel. As it turns out, the assembly process is cool, too, which we learned when GMC invited us to see the beds being made. Every GMC carbon fiber bed starts out as perfectly flat sheets of thermoplastic carbon fiber. The sheets consist of a mix of fibers and resins, a bit like the molded carbon fiber parts Lamborghini uses. The sheets are manufactured by Japanese company Teijin, which collaborated with GMC to develop the bed. They're all delivered to Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) in Fort Wayne, Ind., for construction into the actual bed. The company, a subsidiary of Teijin, makes a wide variety of composite and plastic parts for the car industry, including body panels for the C7 Chevy Corvette. The rectangular sheets are cut to shape and stacked up at a giant stamping press. Robots pick up sheets and slide them onto a conveyor that goes into a large oven. The heat softens the parts so they can be stamped. The large primary bed parts such as the base are stamped by CSP's enormous 3,600-ton press, and the smaller ones go through a 1,000-ton press. Each press can do different parts using different stamping dies, and CSP switches between dies to produce different batches of parts. After stamping, the parts roll out mostly ready for assembly, but there are rough edges that are trimmed off by water-jet cutters. These cutting machines also create holes for fasteners and for parts such as tie-down hooks and lights. The stamping process also provides the carbon fiber bed with a unique Easter egg. On the bottom of the base of the bed, there are two words: "Connors Way." This is a tribute to Tim Connors, who was the chief engineer of manufacturing at GM and a strong proponent of the carbon fiber bed. He was tragically killed in a motorcycle crash a few years ago. The words were added to honor him, and they were fortunately approved for production. There are some components to the bed that aren't stamped from the flat sheets of material.

Barrett-Jackson is auctioning the first 2022 GMC Hummer EV for charity

Unveiled in late 2020, the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 was so popular that enthusiasts scooped up the entire production run in merely 10 minutes. If you missed your chance to reserve one, you're in luck if your pockets are deep enough. Auction house Barrett-Jackson will sell the first example off the production line for a great cause. VIN 001 will be up for grabs during a sale that starts in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 20. Hummer production hasn't started yet, so we don't know precisely what the truck will look like and it won't physically cross the auction block. Barrett-Jackson did not provide a pre-auction estimate, but it pointed out that 100% of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to a charity called Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation that helps wounded first responders and veterans across America. Charity auctions normally bring big dollars, so a sold-out flagship variant of a highly-anticipated model whose base price is pegged at $112,595 could sell for a seven-digit sum. Edition 1 deliveries will start in the fall of 2021, meaning the winning bidder will need to wait a few months before exploring the great outdoors in the 1,000-horsepower electric truck. More affordable trim levels are in the pipeline, but they're not exactly around the corner. GMC will expand the range by launching three trim levels called EV2, EV2X, and EV3X, respectively. Equipped with three electric motors, the EV3X will land in the fall of 2022 with a $99,995 base price. Pricing for the two-motor EV2X due out in the spring of 2023 starts at $89,995, while the entry-level EV2 will arrive a year later priced at $79,995. None of these figures include available incentives. Looking ahead, the Hummer EV will spawn an SUV that will make its official debut online in February 2021. We don't know when it will reach showrooms yet, but we're not expecting to see it until 2022 at the earliest.  Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale sale includes sports cars from every era, ranging from a custom 1928 Ford Model A to a 2021 Honda Civic Type R. Ram's first 1500 TRX is on the roster, too, and it will also be sold for charity. Another stand-out car from the catalog is the first production version of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible. Finished in black with a black and red leather interior, it's powered by a mid-mounted, 6.2-liter V8 engine rated at 495 horsepower, and it's equipped with the 3LT and Z51 packages plus the Performance Data Recorder, among other features.