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GMC Canyon AT4X rumored to get more extreme AEV Edition

When GMC debuted the new 2023 Canyon pickup in August, the midsize lineup gained the hardcore AT4X off-road trim the brand has been spreading throughout its wares. The new top-of-the-line model is GMC's version of the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and features the same off-road goodies, like the Multimatic DSSV suspension, unique front fascia, more skid plates, front and rear locking differentials, and a Baja drive mode turning the 33-inch tires. The Edition 1 launch model adds to the production goods by bolting on a front safari bar with a 30-inch light bar, a Comeup winch, an upgraded front skid plate, reconfigurable bed rails, front and rear underbody cameras, and special badging. The Canyon AT4X Edition 1 was gone almost immediately, because of course. However, Muscle Cars & Trucks reports that something just as special could be coming for buyers in the form of a Canyon AT4X AEV Edition. American Expeditionary Vehicles already breathed all over the last-gen Chevrolet Colorado and the current Chevy Silverado, looks like GM not only intends to keep the relationship going but expand it. MCT credits a source for news that the AEV-worked Canyon will get a snorkel and 35-inch tires. Chevrolet offered a snorkel as an aftermarket piece for the Colorado ZR2 Bison, and AEV sold a ZR2 Bison version with a snorkel attached. The new report claims GMC will make the elephant trunk a factory option, fitted to the driver's side this time instead of the passenger's side because of the new engine. The 35-inch tires would be a huge add-on, giving the Canyon the same kind of footprint as the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Xtreme Recon and a couple of Ford Bronco trims. The additional two inches over the 33-inch tires on the AT4X make a big difference when the trail gets dicey. MCT says the AEV will get the same bumper as the Edition 1, which means a reduced approach angle in return for an integrated winch. The standard AT4X bumper permits a 36.9-degree approach angle, the winch-equipped Edition 1 drops that to 32.8 degrees. It's not clear which winch would hide behind that bumper, though. GMC factory fit is the Comeup Seal Slim 9.5rs rated at 9,500 pounds. AEV offers a Warn 9.5 XP-S with the same weight rating for its Colorado ZR2 Bison.  Speaking of which, since the Colorado arguably started all this, Chevy fans can expect their midsizer to acquire the same bundle as the Canyon AT4X AEV.

Chevy Express 1500, GMC Savana 1500 get the axe

Fans of truck-based, light-duty vans can officially pour one out for the Chevrolet Express 1500 and GMC Savana 1500, as General Motors has officially put its long-serving big/little rigs out to pasture. Things aren't quite as sad as they sound, though. The heavier-duty 2500 and 3500 vans will soldier on, in order to duke it out with the largest members of Ram ProMaster, Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter families.
The move does seem to make a lot of sense. According to GM, customers only purchase the 1500-spec Chevrolet 23 percent of the time, while the GMC captures a mere 7 percent of the Savana family's sales. With numbers like that, it's no shock that GM thinks it can shift some of its buyers into its van family's more capable variants. "We knew we could move a lot of our 1500 customers into 2500-series territory," said GM's Joe Langhauser, the product manager for the company's full-size vans.
It's not just simple sales figures dictating the move, though. The 1500 line is taking up some valuable factory space that will be better spent on an eagerly anticipated new product.

GM will no longer remove parts from trucks to calculate curb weights

Following last week's mild uproar after it was discovered that Ford and General Motors were removing some optional parts from their pickups to lower the curb weight and consequently increase the maximum payload, GM has come out and committed to a base curb weight for its upcoming Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon compact trucks (although it has yet to publish them) and its current Silverado and Sierra. The company will do the same for its heavy duty offerings, although those numbers have not been finalized yet.
"This will make our curb weight and payload specs more consistent with those of most other truck makers, making it easier for customers to compare vehicles," GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson told Autoblog in an emailed statement.
As GM notes - and as every manufacturer has noted since this story broke - customers still shouldn't take max payload ratings as gospel. Instead, they should refer to their truck's Tire and Load Label, like the one shown at the inset, which will offer detailed information on max payload, specific to their truck.