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GMC rules out subcompact crossover to go premium, focus on trucks

Don't wait for GMC's on-again, off-again baby crossover any longer. The company confirmed it has no plans to enter the growing car-based subcompact crossover segment in the near future because the expansion wouldn't fit its image. "I'm going to give you a definitive no on that one," answered Mark Alger, a regional marketing manager for GMC's Canadian division, when asked about the entry-level segment by GM Authority. "We want to position GMC as a premium brand, focus on our trucks, and capitalize on the AT4 name," he added. Positioning GMC as a premium brand wouldn't prevent officials from giving an entry-level the green light; Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz all sell cars priced in the vicinity of $30,000. Focusing on trucks like the Sierra and the Canyon makes sense, however, because they compete in a bigger segment of the market where profit margins are much wider. It helps that GMC doesn't have to worry about markets outside of North America; it's not concerned about its sales and image in, say, Spain. We've heard speculation about GMC's entry-level model since the Granite concept (pictured above) made its debut during the 2010 Detroit auto show. It was approved for production in 2010, approved again the following year (complete with rear suicide doors), and canceled in 2012, but the reports never went away. The segment's popularity added credibility to the recent murmurs describing a born-again Granite aimed at the Honda HR-V and the Toyota C-HR, among others. The Chevy Trax and Buick Encore are both GM vehicles that compete in this segment.  GMC also canceled a body-on-frame, Bronco-taming SUV, according to a recent report. The truck-focused automaker promised every nameplate in its range will receive the rugged AT4 treatment by 2021, however, and it announced plans to show the off-road-ready Canyon in early 2020.

GMC teases rugged 2021 Canyon AT4 pickup

GMC promised every model in its lineup would get the AT4 treatment by 2021. Having introduced AT4 versions of the Sierra, Acadia and Sierra HD already, that leaves the Canyon, Terrain and Yukon waiting their turn for the procedure. During a press even for the Sierra HD in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, GMC teased Canyon AT4 as next in line to receive upgraded off-road chops. The automaker had a camo'ed prototype Canyon AT4 in a trailer hooked up to a Sierra HD. When Sierra occupants pulled up the feed from the trailer-mounted camera on the infotainment screen, said occupants got a view of the masked midsize pickup between two walls reading, "The first ever Canyon AT4" and "Coming early 2020." The main mysteries are how extensive the pickup's AT4 transformation will be, and when it will go on sale. The AT4 kit changes depending on model. The Sierra AT4 upgraded performance and looks, with features like a two-speed transfer case, locking rear differential, a two-inch lift and Rancho monotube shock absorbers, skid plating, black-chrome grille and body-colored grill surround. The 2020 Acadia AT4 is mostly about looks, pairing standard all-wheel drive with black trim and wheels, and all-terrain tires. The Canyon's expected to weigh in on the Sierra end of the overhaul, and slide into the lineup between the SLT and top-tier Denali trims. The mods will put it beyond the current All Terrain trim being phased out across the lineup, but leave space between the Canyon AT4 and its Chevrolet sibling, the Colorado ZR2. GMC VP Duncan Aldred said, "They’re going to have different capability levels. The ZR2 is extreme capability. AT4 isnÂ’t positioned as extremeÂ… not intended to rival the ZR2." And the Colorado gets the even chunkier Bison version on top of that. The Canyon AT4 is predicted to join the lineup for the 2021 model year, so although it's "coming early 2020," it might not go on sale until much later in the year. GM's midsized pickup twins will be endowed with changes so mild that neither brand will classify the work with the term "midcycle enhancement." Figure a refining around the grille and lights and a few minor fillips otherwise. Next-generation models of the Canyon and Colorado aren't due until 2023, and there's apparently debate inside GM about an interior refresh for both trucks before then. The Terrain should mirror changes to the Acadia, and it would be a pleasant surprise to see the all-new Yukon also due in early 2020 get serious off-road teeth.

GMC's Bronco-slaying SUV will remain a dream, report says

GMC won't help rival Ford in its quest to dethrone the Jeep Wrangler, according to a recent report. The body-on-frame off-roader the firm planned as an alternative to the upcoming Bronco and the fourth-generation Wrangler allegedly fell victim to a top-down restructuring plan implemented recently by parent company General Motors. Citing anonymous inside sources, Muscle Car & Trucks reported the rugged SUV remained part of GMC's long-term product plan until November 2018. It was shaping up to be one of the company's most distinctive models in decades. It should have arrived as a dedicated off-roader developed and sold exclusively by GMC; it wouldn't have had a twin in the Chevrolet portfolio. The problem, according to the report, is that the off-roader (which might have revived the heritage-laced Jimmy nameplate) should have been built on the 32XX platform designed to underpin the next Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins. General Motors canceled that project to save money, so the SUV was consigned to the attic before we even spotted prototypes testing on and off the pavement. The updated pickups will instead arrive on an evolution of the frame found under the models currently found in showroom. There's no word on why that architecture can't support a Wrangler-like SUV. GMC never confirmed plans to build an off-roader aimed at the Jeep Wrangler and the upcoming Ford Bronco, so it certainly won't validate reports claiming it has canceled the model. This isn't the first time we've heard about a body-on-frame SUV made by a brand in the General Motors portfolio, though. Hummer was supposed to take the fight directly to Jeep with an off-roader accurately previewed by the 2008 HX concept, but it shut down before it finished developing the model. Rumors of GMC picking up where Hummer left off have come and gone on a shockingly regular basis over the past few years, yet the Wrangler remains in a class of one.