2005 Gmc Safari Sle Standard Passenger Van 3-door 4.3l on 2040-cars

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Car owners getting more irritated with their repair experiences, study says

The J.D. Power U.S. Customer Service Index Study (CSI) is a barometer of a vehicle owner's happiness with the service experience. While it wasn't all bad in the 2023 study, the overall owner satisfaction score dropped. This year's tally of 846 out of 1,000 is two points down from 2022, the 43-year-old study's first decline in more than 28 years, and one point down from 2021. However, the overall score remains well up from the pre-pandemic scores of 821 in 2018 and 837 in 2020. The study claims the stumbling block is the horde of BEV launches. The flood into the new energy space has created a recall rate among EVs that's more than double the rate for ICE vehicles. Furthermore, dealership service department knowledge of EVs isn't on par with internal combustion engine expertise, leaving EV owners less satisfied with service advisors compared to ICE owners. Chris Sutton, VP of automotive retail at J.D. Power, said, "As training programs for service advisors and technicians evolve, EV service quality and customer experience must address both the vehicle and the unique customer needs. The EV segment has the potential to spur massive convenience improvements in how customers service their vehicles — but weÂ’re not seeing the benefits yet." Matters are slightly worse for all owners, though, with labor and parts shortages contributing to longer wait times for service appointments. The CSI study surveys owners and lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles to gauge their happiness with service at franchised dealer or aftermarket service facilities for maintenance or repair work. The criteria in order of importance are service quality (32%); service advisor (19%); vehicle pick-up (19%); service facility (15%); and service initiation (15%). Lexus retains the top spot for luxury brands, giving it three wins in four years. The Japanese automaker won in 2020 as well, its run interrupted by Porsche in 2021. Cadillac, Infiniti and Acura complete the luxury top 5.  For mass-market cars, Mitsubishi wins again after a victory in 2021 and falling to fourth last year. It's followed by Mazda, Buick, Subaru and Mini.  Considering the different service needs and service experience of different body styles, the study has broken results out by segment for the first time. Lexus earned a second victory thanks to winning the premium SUV segment, and Mitsubishi earned a second victory by winning the mass-market SUV/minivan category.

GM renders new Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon pickups

At a series of industry seminars in Traverse City, MI today, General Motors executive vice president Dan Ammann gifted us with our first glimpse of the upcoming midsize pickup range from Chevrolet and GMC.
Just two slivers of nose are all we can see of the soon-to-be announced Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, though the teaser image does make plain that the pair will follow the styling cues (at least up front) found on big brothers Silverado and Sierra.
GM hasn't given us much in the way of detail in its ultra-brief press release that accompanied the teaser image, which is to be expected. We're told only that the pair of trucks are designed to be "capable, versatile and fuel-efficient alternatives to full-size pickups" and that production will start sometime in 2014, at the Wentzville, MO assembly center.

2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali gets Super Cruise and an upgraded interior

The 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 is getting Super Cruise! Exclamation point required, because this is exciting news. Cadillac has been the sole owner of Super Cruise at GM from the start, and though we knew it was coming to the Hummer EV, we didn't know a fast-selling full-size pickup would be getting the technology. GMC says it will launch Super Cruise on the 1500 Denali, which is the most expensive and luxurious trim of the Sierra. It’s scheduled to arrive for the 2022 model year, but GMC qualifies that by saying “late model year 2022.” That means itÂ’s probably coming right toward the end, with 2023 scheduled as the first full year of Super Cruise in the Sierra 1500. GM also claims that the version of Super Cruise coming to the Sierra is capable of towing. Yes, hands-free towing, folks. WeÂ’re a little antsy, too. The tech is the same as the newest generation of Super Cruise coming in the Cadillac CT5 and CT4. ItÂ’s an improved version with more capability than the first-gen system that won AutoblogÂ’s Technology of the Year award a couple of years ago. Questions still remain to be answered, though. GM hasnÂ’t said anything about what it will cost on the Sierra 1500. WeÂ’re also left in the dark when it comes to other Sierra 1500 trim levels; and what about the Silverado 1500? It makes sense that GM would give the Sierra Super Cruise first, but itÂ’s certainly compatible with the Chevy version of the truck now, too. As for other GMC products, GM is quiet on when theyÂ’ll be blessed with Super Cruise. The redesigned Yukon would be the most obvious candidate being the flagship product, but GM says the program timing worked out best to launch on the 2022 Sierra, not the Yukon. ItÂ’s likely that the SUV will be updated with the system in the near future. Besides Super Cruise, GMCÂ’s photo also reveals that the 2022 Sierra is getting a fully digital instrument cluster. ItÂ’s surely an optional item, but could very well be standard on Denali. GM has flipped the speedometer and tachometer to opposite sides, but their digital versions still have that straight-edged GMC look to them. You can see the Super Cruise graphic in the center, and all the gauges are dropped down to the bottom of the display. But wait, thereÂ’s more. The photo also shows the beginnings of a totally new interior design, different from both the current Sierra, standard Yukon and Yukon Denali interiors. ItÂ’s immediately and obviously different everywhere we look.