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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.

Trademark application points to evolution of new Hummer EV logo

A trademark application has revealed yet another evolution of the logo expected to adorn GMC's new Hummer EV pickup truck, bringing back the big "H" badge utilized on the H2 and H3 model lines of the expanded SUV lineup's heyday.  The image included with the filing depicts a logo that should be familiar to Hummer fans (or really any American who left their house between 2003 and 2010), with "EV" supplanting the old numerical model indicator. The "Hummer" and "EV" typeface appears to be a direct lift from a filing that surfaced back in April.  This should provide some comfort to folks who are fans of the idea of a future-proofed, all-electric pickup, but want something that embodies the charisma and road presence of the models sold in Hummer's now-deceased, not-so-environmentally-spectacular incarnation. While we don't yet know really any details of the new all-electric SUV, we do know it will be sold via GMC dealers, meaning the revived nameplate will not bring the rest of the Hummer brand along with it.  We haven't really seen much of the new truck, save for teasers and hints here and there. Even the "reveal" back in June only gave us a vague, big-picture look at the truck's silhouette, and various companion images and videos have hinted at features such as a removable roof assembly.  The truck’s general shape is off-road oriented with squared-off, sharp lines tracing the entire silhouette. Its big, knobby tires and blocky wheels are clear indicators of what GM was aiming for with this electric pickup. As for the SUV, comparisons to the Ford Bronco four-door will be inevitable. If our eyes are picking up the scale of this photo correctly, though, the Hummer SUV appears to be a slightly larger vehicle than the four-door Bronco is. Although, the wheelbase for the SUV is shorter than that of the Hummer truck. ThatÂ’ll help it off-road. Those small bumpers and short overhangs along with the bumper cutouts should be hugely beneficial to approach and departure angles, as well. GMCÂ’s shots of the Hummer in the studio are equally as revealing. We can see what looks to be an intense front skid plate and two big tow hooks. In addition to the off-road gear, GMC has allowed a look at the frunk. The front “grille” is one piece with the hood of the truck, so the whole assembly pulls up. That makes for what appears to be a very easy-to-load front trunk compared to other EVs that force you to lift items up and over the front of the car.

Frustrated GM investors ask what more Mary Barra can do

DETROIT — General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra has transformed the No. 1 U.S. automaker in her almost five years in charge, but that is still not enough to satisfy investors. Ahead of third-quarter results due on Oct. 31, GM shares are trading about 6 percent below the $33 per share price at which they launched in 2010 in a post-bankruptcy initial public offering. The Detroit carmaker's stock is down 22 percent since Barra took over in January 2014. After hitting an all-time high of $46.48 on Oct. 24, 2017, the shares have declined 33 percent. In the same period, the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 7.8 percent. Several shareholders contacted by Reuters said GM could face a third major action by activist shareholders in less than four years if the share price does not improve. "I've been expecting it," said John Levin, chairman of Levin Capital Strategies. "It just seems a tempting morsel to somebody." Levin's firm owns more than seven million GM shares. Barra has guided the company through the settlement of a federal criminal probe of a mishandled safety recall, sold off money-losing European operations, and returned $25 billion to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks from 2012 through 2017. GM declined to comment for this story, but the company's executives privately express frustration with the market's reluctance to see it as anything more than a manufacturer tied mainly to auto market sales cycles. GM's profitable North American truck and SUV business and its money-making China operations are valued at just $14 billion, excluding the value of GM's stake in its $14.6 billion Cruise automated vehicle business and its cash reserves from its $44 billion market capitalization. The recent slump in the Chinese market, GM's largest, and plateauing U.S. demand are ratcheting up the pressure. GM is one of the few global automakers without a founding family or a government to serve as a bulwark against corporate raiders. In 2015, a group led by investor Harry Wilson pressed GM to launch a $5 billion share buyback, and commit to what is now an $18 billion ceiling on the level of cash the company would hold. In 2017, GM fended off a call by hedge fund manager David Einhorn to split its common stock shares into two classes. Einhorn, whose firm still owned more than 21 million shares at the end of June, declined to comment about GM's stock price. Other investors said there were no clear alternatives to Barra's approach.