2016 Gmc Sierra 2500 Denali 4x4 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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 to offer 2 years free maintance on most 2014 models

A day after Ford announced it was scaling back the complimentary maintenance program for its Lincoln brand, General Motors has gone in the completely opposite direction, offering most of its 2014 lineup with free maintenance. Since 2011, Cadillac models have all come with a four-year/50,000-mile complimentary maintenance program, but Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles will now come standard with free maintenance for two years or 24,000 miles for the 2014 model year.
The program will give vehicle owners and lessees free oil changes, tire rotations and 27-point inspections following the recommended maintenance schedule laid out in each vehicle's owner's manual. We contacted GM to see which vehicles were eligible for the program, and a spokesperson got back to us with the following comment:
"All 2014 models are eligible, it's just that the included services vary by model, e.g., Spark EV would not need oil changes, Corvettes don't recommend tire rotations."

GMC says it's 'considering' an all-electric Sierra pickup

GM loves to talk about its electric future — Cadillac was just announced as the brand's official electric division — but trucks haven't been mentioned as a part of this electric revolution, so far. However, that may be changing. CNBC spoke with Duncan Aldred, vice president of GMC about the potential for an electric GMC Sierra. He replied, "Certainly, it's something we're considering." As the Sierra goes, so does the Chevrolet Silverado, and vice versa. But it would make sense for GM to introduce electrification to GMC first, followed by the Silverado. GMC already gets premium features such as the Multi-Pro tailgate are GMC exclusives, after all. It's also marketed as more high-end and premium, which could help make the cost of an electrified Sierra easier to recoup for GM, and easier to stomach for customers. This electric truck consideration could be in response to Ford's aggressive declaration of an electric F-150 the other day, as well as the electric concept trucks from Rivian and Bollinger. The concepts in particular have generated much excitement for their ridiculous claimed performance and shocking utility. If GMC is only "considering" it, then we imagine the brand isn't too far along the development path, if it's even started. Regardless, it's the most affirmative stance we've seen GM take on total electrification of a full-size pickup truck yet. We asked GMC for confirmation and for any clarification it could provide us on the Sierra's electric future, but a spokesperson responded with, "no comment." Related video: