1999 Gmc Suburban K1500 on 2040-cars

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2018 GMC Sierra Denali can help you tow without breaking a sweat

Towing a trailer once meant that only those who possessed certain knowledge would be able to go fishing, tow a race car or pull a camper safely. For me, it took four long years of practice working a job behind the wheel of a jacked-up Ford F-250, hauling tons upon tons of mowing equipment for my local parks department, to become proficient. Just how far things have come since then became evident after a recent trip to Utah with GMC, in which we used the half-ton Sierra Denali to tow a set of Polaris side-by-sides through the state. Modern safety technology and a suite of electronic aids make towing simple enough that anyone with a driver's license and something to haul can do it. This revelation came behind the leather-wrapped and heated steering wheel of GMC's outgoing 2018 Sierra Denali. Sitting in the plush, heated and cooled captain's chair, I could barely feel the 6,000 pounds I was towing behind me. Even GMC's smallest full-size truck engine, a 5.3-liter V8 generating 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque, felt like overkill for what used to amount to a heavy load. With Utah's pristine landscape, the plush confines of the cabin and the uneventful nature of modern towing, mile after mile just streamed by at highway speeds without incident (or excitement). When we finally reached our destination a few hours later, one of GMC's representatives who had chosen to sit in the rear of the cab asked me what I thought about the drive. I pondered for a few minutes and answered with this: "Modern pickup trucks have removed nearly every skill-based variable once associated with towing. I could drive this truck and trailer confidently with just one finger." Consider the near overabundance of towing-assistance systems in the GMC Sierra Denali that I piloted through Utah. Let's start with the most basic of towing skills — something that's now been relegated to the annals of history: reversing a pickup to meet the trailer's hitch. Once upon a time, this required knowing a truck's dimensions and understanding proximity, as well as having a keen eye, a steady foot for both the gas and the brake and the patience to get it right. Now, though, pickups such as the Sierra Denali offer customers a trailer reverse camera system that helps the driver align truck to hitch with pinpoint accuracy.

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.

GMC Canyon AT4 OVRLANDX concept previews potential Bison-like model

GMC is signaling a move into serious off-road territory with this Canyon AT4 OVRLANDX concept. As its name suggest, this one-off was put together as a demonstration of what an overland-style GMC midsizer could potentially look like, but a glance beneath the surface reveals the bones of what we expect to be the forthcoming Canyon AT4X.  While "AT4" has been trickling down through the GMC lineup for the past few model years, AT4X kicks the basic off-road formula up a notch, a la Chevrolet's Colorado ZR2, which gains extra underbody protection, locking front and rear differentials and Multimatic's phenomenal DSSV dampers.  GMC Canyon AT4 OVRLANDX Off-Road Concept View 23 Photos OVRLANDX takes that to the next level, borrowing (and building upon) cues from the even-more-rugged ZR2 Bison, including rocker panel guards, cast-iron control arms, a custom front bumper with an integrated winch, built-in front recovery points, wheel arch trim with integrated LED task lighting, and guy lines for protecting the windshield from low-hanging branches. The custom rear bumper is even from American Expedition Vehicles (AEV), with whom Chevy partnered to produce the Bison's unique exterior bits. Does that seem like a wink and nod to you? “We wanted to showcase GMC Canyon with this concept and punctuate GMCÂ’s commitment to premium, off-road capable vehicles,” said Buick & GMC Global Vice President Duncan Aldred. "Consumer reaction to this conceptÂ’s design will help us further serve the growing market of buyers leading authentic outdoor lifestyles." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. To that end, they threw a few more goodies at the concept. In a way, the roof-mounted tent, awning, cooler and kitchenette are just there to disguise the fact that GMC will likely build a production pickup with much these same specs when the new model debuts for the 2023 or 2024 model year – or perhaps even sooner. While this concept is built around GM's existing 3.6-liter V6 powertrain, the redesigned Canyon is expected to be offered with just one engine: a 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder lifted from the Silverado and Sierra pickups.  Rumors have pointed to a GMC variant of the Colorado ZR2 since the midsize pickup adopted the AT4 branding for its off-road variant.