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Junkyard Gem: 1973 GMC Sierra Grande Camper Special

Starting in the 1973 model year, General Motors introduced the "Rounded Line" family of C/K-series Chevrolet and GMC trucks, and sales of the pickup versions continued all the way through 1987. Nice examples of these trucks can sell for large money, but the junkyard teaches us that not all collectible vehicles are worth rescuing and fixing up. Here's a reinforcement of that lesson, courtesy of a first-year GMC C2500 Camper Special with the high-zoot Sierra Grande trim level, found in a self-service yard just outside of Denver, Colorado. I'm no GM truck expert, but I know enough to stay clear of the battles over what to call this pickup. Let's just say it's a three-quarter-ton, rear-wheel-drive third-gen C-Series with really cool badges. Yes, I bought this badge for my garage wall, and it was totally worth the $4.23. GM came up with the Camper Special package during the late 1960s, when removable pickup campers became popular, and for 1973 it included heavy-duty springs and a wiring harness made to plug into the connectors on slide-in truck campers. It also included woodsy-looking badges, but someone pried the ones off this truck before I could buy them. This may well have been a one-owner truck, because it still had original warranty paperwork inside. Here we see that it was purchased new on August 2, 1973 (which happens to be the day that George Brett got his very first hit in the big leagues) by a resident of Compton, California. Yes, that Compton. The build tag tells us that this Camper Special was born at the Fremont Assembly plant in California, which became the GM-Toyota NUMMI venture in 1984 and is now the Tesla Factory. I think most 1973 C/K pickups sold new in Colorado would have come from Pontiac Assembly in Michigan. There was a time, not many years ago, when a genuine 454-cubic-inch (that's 7.4 liters to those of you sweating under the oppressive weight of the French Empire's Measurement System) big-block Chevrolet engine would have been yanked out and purchased within hours of hitting the rows of a yard like this. These days, engine-swappers can get more power with less weight from any number of donor vehicles. If this engine is the original 454, it was rated at 240 horsepower and 355 pound-feet (down from 270 hp in 1972 due to emissions-related changes). This truck had a three-speed automatic transmission, like most optioned-up Detroit pickups of its era.

2019 GMC Sierra Denali MultiPro tailgate and CarbonPro bed explained

When the 2019 Chevy Silverado debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in January, GM's Mark Reuss promised that the new 2019 GMC Sierra would have some significantly different styling and features than its corporate sibling. Previously, the Sierra has been little more than a Silverado with new front and rear fascias and some extra chrome inside and out. Well, Reuss was right. In addition to new sheetmetal, the Sierra exclusively gets the slick MultiPro tailgate and CarbonPro carbon-fiber bed box The tailgate really is trick. At the debut, GMC had multiple demonstrations, with engineers walking us through all six different configurations. Like all Sierra tailgates, the MultiPro version uses an aluminum skin to reduce weight. It's easy to tell which tailgate is which, as the MultiPro has a distinct cutout in the middle where it can fold down or extend. It can be used to extend the bed, drop to allow easier access, provide a sort of workbench, or be used as a step to help get into the bed. Yes, there's even a handle. Ford who? The step itself can support up to 375 pounds, 75 pounds more than Ford's similar tailgate step. This tailgate really is unique to the Sierra and is standard on SLT and Denali models. That said, the power-operated tailgate from the Silverado won't be coming to the GMC. Chevy gets its own exclusive, too. The Sierra's other big exclusive is the carbon-fiber reinforced plastic bed box. CFRP replaces steel inside the bed though not on the fenders. The bed uses four pieces; one for the bottom, one in the back and two along the sides. This isn't a CFRP. There is no steel hiding underneath these panels. Just take a peek underneath. The bed is a composite that uses 1-inch carbon-fiber threads, not a weave. Sheets of CFRP are molded and quenched — a process where the plastic coagulates and solidifies, locking in the carbon fiber — in just 60 seconds. That allows GMC's supplier to crank out these much more quickly. The finish looks like black fiberglass, though an engineer said that this wasn't the final production version. The final model will have different textures in order to improve grip and keep things from sliding around. GMC is touting the material's dent and corrosion resistance, though it remains to be seen how well it holds up to cracking. A video at the reveal showed people going after it with hammers and cinder blocks, but in-person demonstrations weren't available.

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.