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2017 GMC Acadia loses 700 pounds, gains everywhere else

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Acadia. The 2017 version of the three-row GMC crossover has all kinds of newness. The 2017 Acadia has lost 700 pounds compared to its predecessor thanks to high-strength steels allowing redesigned parts, and the fact that it overall, the vehicle is actually smaller. Length is reduced by 7.2 inches on a wheelbase diminished by 6.4 inches, it is 3.5 inches narrower and sits 3.9 inches lower. The 2016 Acadia was 4,656 pounds, the 2017 is 3,956 pounds. GMC says it will still swallow people, but not as many: the eight-passenger option didn't make the transition, potential three-row trims permitting five-, six-, and seven-passenger configurations. While you lose space, you gain convenience with a split-folding second row featuring tilt-and-slide for both sections. The third-row seats fold flat into the cargo floor, and if the second row is folded as well, cargo capacity improves over the 2016 Acadia, 79 cubic feet compared to 70 cu-ft. A new 2.5-liter four-cylinder brings a second engine option to the spec sheet, returning an estimated 22 city miles per gallon and 28 highway mpg with the help of stop/start tech on front-wheel-drive trims. The new 3.6-liter V6 gets around 310 horsepower, a power bump of about 19 hp, and an estimated 25 highway mpg in front-wheel-drive guise. Towing capacity for that V6 goes down, though, from 5,200 on the current Acadia to an estimated 4,000 pounds. The optional Tow Vision Trailering system will make that pulling easier. Both engines are hooked to a six-speed automatic. Now we can get to its looks. Trademarks like the square, flared wheel arches, dark D-pillars, and wraparound rear side windows made the transition, everything else is new. While weight has gone down, safety's gone way up with internal changes like the splayed chassis members to confront the small-offset test. New active safety upgrades run from from three kinds of automatic braking systems to surround vision cameras, automatic high beam control, a safety alert seat, and a following distance indicator. Buyers can choose from a front-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, or All Terrain model, each with its own electronic drive selector modes. The Normal, Sport, and Trailer/Tow modes are common to the trio. The FWD gets a Snow mode, the AWD adds adaptive 4x4 and Off Road modes; on the AWD, the 2x4 mode disconnects the rear axle from the drivetrain.

2013 GMC Acadia Denali

Refreshed, Not Refreshing
I'm probably ill-suited to accurately and fairly take the full measure of a vehicle like the 2013 GMC Acadia Denali. This is a machine conjured around the express notion of corralling and then herding a brood of rafter-swinging hatchlings to and fro in relative comfort, and with no such passel of wee Bowmans to call my own, it's difficult to give this rig a fair shake. While I can certainly weigh cargo capacity, legroom and fuel economy stats with the best of them, I'd be lying to your face if I said the word "crossover" didn't urge some uncontrollable Pavlovian recoil from the murky recesses of my frame. To put it simply, I just can't stand the damn things.
As a rule, the segment is built on a bed of compromise. Manufacturers love nothing more than to spin up a tired yarn about the virtues of this particular neck of the market. We're told the crossbreeds deliver all the ride quality, driving dynamics and fuel economy of a car married with the seating position, capability and interior volume of the SUV set. That all sounds as swell as a sunset, but as the 2013 Acadia Denali so artfully illustrates, the advertising on the box is rarely congruous with the prize inside. Even with an imaginary squad of younglings at my heels, the refreshed luxury crossover doesn't quite manage to scratch the promised itches.

GM able to add diesel to half-ton pickups if market demands it

A few years ago, the trend in half-ton pickup trucks was ultra-luxurious trims, often with the words "limited" or "platinum" tacked on after the model name. That was well and good, but we like this latest fad a lot more - diesel engines. First, Ram came to bat with a 3.0-liter, V6 turbodiesel for the 1500, then Nissan announced that the next-generation Titan would be getting an eight-cylinder Cummins diesel.
Now, word is coming in from AutoGuide that General Motors can, if it so chooses, drop a diesel engine into its light-duty trucks. The plot thickens, though, as it turns out that said diesel would be the same one Ram is using for its truck. According to AG, that engine comes from VM Motori, which GM owns a sizable chunk of. Therefore, GM can snag the 3.0-liter, V6 diesel for its trucks just as easily, if not more easily, than Ram.
If it's so easy for the Detroit-based manufacturer to access the engines, why not offer the a diesel-powered Sierra and Silverado from the start, then? According to GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson, The General doesn't seem so confident in a diesel pickup outside of its HD offerings. According to Wilkinson, the cost-benefit ratio doesn't line up for customers, thanks to both the impact on the truck's sticker price and the higher price of diesel, in general (the national average for a gallon of diesel is 43 cents more than a gallon of 87-octane unleaded).