2018 Gmc Sierra 2500 K2500 Denali on 2040-cars

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GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 teased before tonight's debut

GMC says its Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 battery-electric pickup is "Built to tower above everything you thought an electric truck could be. That’s why itÂ’s the only EV that deserves the name Denali." We will know what the marketing speak means tomorrow (Thursday), when GM's third electric pickup in a year debuts at 5 p.m. Eastern. GMC teased the face of the Ultium-powered Sierra Denali nearly a year ago with an animated rendering. This second teaser on the eve of the debut gives us a better feel for what to expect. The front fascia advertises the product with illuminated GMC lettering at the center of a grille panel defined by an illuminated border. Upside down L-shaped LED lights frame three LED charging status bars. Below those at the bumper edges are what look like four fog lights, two round units above two squared oval units. In back, a glimpse of taillight reminds one of the Hummer EV's spendy rear lights, a Denali badge informing tailgaters what kind of truck they're following. A panoramic glass panel takes up just about the entire roof, save for some sheetmetal at the back where the shark fin antenna rests. Under that roof, one of the seating options will be a ventilated, quilted fabric with "Denali" embroidered in the headrest.  All the other intel must wait another 24 hours. This truck's Chevrolet Silverado EV sibling has been pitched as pricing between $40,000 and $105,000. We've been told the Sierra EV will only come in Denali trim, so expect the feature set and pricing to align more with the Hummer EV, from close to $100,000 once all trims are rolled out to sums well over $100,000. The furnishings could set a new benchmark in glitz for GMC, brand VP Duncan Aldred saying, "We now have an opportunity to evolve SierraÂ’s capabilities and technologies, as afforded by transitioning to an all-electric propulsion while also elevating the luxurious design and comfort associated with Denali." The playbook established so far leads us to believe the Ultium platform will provide a 200-kWh battery and an estimated range of 400 miles, and an output of something like the 664 horsepower and 780 pound-feet of torque in the top Silverado EV trim. Or this limited Edition 1 trim could split the power gap between the Silverado EV and the 1,000-hp Hummer EV.  Reservations open after the debut.

GMC could have used Jeep's prized grille design on its born-again Hummer

General Motors confirmed it's bringing the Hummer nameplate back on an electric, GMC-badged pickup by publishing a dark photo of its front end. The battery-powered drivetrain under the sheetmetal represents a tectonic shift, but we noticed another flagrant break with tradition: it wears six slot-like inserts instead of seven like on every previous Hummer and countless Jeeps. Adding an extra slot wouldn't have landed GMC in hot water. The seven-slot grille has historically been associated with Jeep, and the company proved it's willing to go to significant lengths to ensure another automaker — especially one it perceives as a rival — doesn't use it. Parent company Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) bitterly sued Mahindra over the Roxor's design, including its five-slot grille, and won in 2019, forcing the Indian firm to unveil a redesigned side-by-side for the 2020 model year. And yet, stylists would have very likely been able to get away with it on the Hummer. While General Motors owns Hummer, the brand traces its ancestry to 1970, when American Motors Corporation (AMC) purchased Jeep from Kaiser and changed the name of its General Products Division to AM General Corp. The division manufactured the rear-wheel drive, CJ-based DJ for the United States Postal Service and began developing the Humvee in 1979. Jeep and AM General went their separate ways when Renault began investing in AMC. Foreign companies weren't allowed to own defense contractors, and AMC had more to gain by gradually selling out to Renault than by keeping AM General, so it divested the division to LTV Corporation in 1983. Humvee production started shortly after, but no one protested its seven-slot grille because there was no risk of it stealing sales from a comparable Jeep model. It was manufactured exclusively for the U.S. Army, and civilian sales weren't planned. H2SUV View 4 Photos The original civilian Hummer released in 1992 must have raised more than a few eyebrows but, here again, it didn't directly compete with one of Jeep's off-roaders, so no one complained. It was huge, correspondingly expensive, and its portal axles made the YJ-generation Wrangler wet its pants. It's the H2 concept (pictured above) unveiled at the 2000 Detroit Auto Show that set off alarm bells in Auburn Hills. DaimlerChrysler's lawyers counted the slots in the chrome-plated insert that dominated its front end and shuddered when they reached seven.

Best car infotainment systems: From UConnect to MBUX, these are our favorites

Declaring one infotainment system the best over any other is an inherently subjective matter. You can look at quantitative testing for things like input response time and various screen load times, but ask a room full of people that have tried all car infotainment systems what their favorite is, and you’re likely to get a lot of different responses. For the most part, the various infotainment systems available all share a similar purpose. They aim to help the driver get where they're going with navigation, play their favorite tunes via all sorts of media playback options and allow folks to stay connected with others via phone connectivity. Of course, most go way beyond the basics these days and offer features like streaming services, in-car performance data and much more. Unique features are aplenty when you start diving through menus, but how they go about their most important tasks vary widely. Some of our editors prefer systems that are exclusively touch-based and chock full of boundary-pushing features. Others may prefer a back-to-basics non-touch system that is navigable via a scroll wheel. You can compare it to the phone operating system wars. Just like some prefer Android phones over iPhones, we all have our own opinions for what makes up the best infotainment interface. All that said, our combined experience tells us that a number of infotainment systems are at least better than the rest. WeÂ’ve narrowed it down to five total systems in their own subcategories that stand out to us. Read on below to see our picks, and feel free to make your own arguments in the comments. Best infotainment overall: UConnect 5, various Stellantis products Ram 1500 Uconnect Infotainment System Review If thereÂ’s one infotainment system that all of us agree is excellent, itÂ’s UConnect. It has numerous qualities that make it great, but above all else, UConnect is simple and straightforward to use. Ease of operation is one of the most (if not the single most) vital parts of any infotainment system interface. If youÂ’re expected to be able to tap away on a touchscreen while driving and still pay attention to the road, a complex infotainment system is going to remove your attention from the number one task at hand: driving. UConnect uses a simple interface that puts all of your key functions in a clearly-represented row on the bottom of the screen. Tap any of them, and it instantly pulls up that menu.