97 Gmc Suburban 1500 4x4 on 2040-cars

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GM trucks get hybrid versions, but you'll probably never see one

A few years ago, General Motors sold hybrid versions of its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. They weren't very good, using GM's old two-mode hybrid system that resulted in only negligible fuel economy gains. But GM's trying again, launching eAssist models of the 2016 Silverado and Sierra that are said to offer 2-mpg improvements in city, highway, and combined fuel economy ratings. Problem is, you probably won't be able to get one. Only 700 eAssist trucks will be made for the 2016 model year – 500 Silverados and 200 Sierras. When you consider that GM moved 824,683 examples of its light-duty pickups in 2015, this small run represents 0.08-percent of all Silverado/Sierra production, and GM says it "will monitor the market closely ... and adjust as appropriate moving forward." But that's not the only limitation. The eAssist trucks will only be sold through California dealers. For the Silverado, eAssist can only be optioned on the 1500 Crew Cab 1LT 2WD model, and for the Sierra, the fuel-saving technology is solely available on the 1500 SLT Crew Cab 2WD model with the SLT Premium Plus package. Granted, in terms of the Sierra, that means you get niceties like LED headlights and taillights, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bose premium audio, heated seats and steering wheel, lane keep assist, and more. In the trucks, eAssist combines a small electric motor and 0.45-kWh battery pack with the pickups' 5.3-liter V8. GM estimates total output of 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque – no more horsepower than the non-eAssist trucks, but three more pound-feet of torque. GM says the eAssist trucks can tow up to 9,400 pounds, and the battery only adds 100 pounds to the trucks' weight. The electric motor provides 13 hp and 44 lb-ft of torque for a boost of acceleration off the line, or during passing. It also allows the engine to run in four-cylinder mode for longer periods of time. eAssist uses regenerative braking to help power onboard electrical systems, and adds start/stop to the powertrain. Finally, the so-equipped trucks have a six-percent improvement in aerodynamics, thanks to a soft tonneau cover and active grille shutters in the front fascia. Great news is, the eAssist option is relatively inexpensive, only costing $500. But good luck getting your hands on one.

Barrett-Jackson is auctioning the first 2022 GMC Hummer EV for charity

Unveiled in late 2020, the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 was so popular that enthusiasts scooped up the entire production run in merely 10 minutes. If you missed your chance to reserve one, you're in luck if your pockets are deep enough. Auction house Barrett-Jackson will sell the first example off the production line for a great cause. VIN 001 will be up for grabs during a sale that starts in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 20. Hummer production hasn't started yet, so we don't know precisely what the truck will look like and it won't physically cross the auction block. Barrett-Jackson did not provide a pre-auction estimate, but it pointed out that 100% of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to a charity called Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation that helps wounded first responders and veterans across America. Charity auctions normally bring big dollars, so a sold-out flagship variant of a highly-anticipated model whose base price is pegged at $112,595 could sell for a seven-digit sum. Edition 1 deliveries will start in the fall of 2021, meaning the winning bidder will need to wait a few months before exploring the great outdoors in the 1,000-horsepower electric truck. More affordable trim levels are in the pipeline, but they're not exactly around the corner. GMC will expand the range by launching three trim levels called EV2, EV2X, and EV3X, respectively. Equipped with three electric motors, the EV3X will land in the fall of 2022 with a $99,995 base price. Pricing for the two-motor EV2X due out in the spring of 2023 starts at $89,995, while the entry-level EV2 will arrive a year later priced at $79,995. None of these figures include available incentives. Looking ahead, the Hummer EV will spawn an SUV that will make its official debut online in February 2021. We don't know when it will reach showrooms yet, but we're not expecting to see it until 2022 at the earliest.  Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale sale includes sports cars from every era, ranging from a custom 1928 Ford Model A to a 2021 Honda Civic Type R. Ram's first 1500 TRX is on the roster, too, and it will also be sold for charity. Another stand-out car from the catalog is the first production version of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible. Finished in black with a black and red leather interior, it's powered by a mid-mounted, 6.2-liter V8 engine rated at 495 horsepower, and it's equipped with the 3LT and Z51 packages plus the Performance Data Recorder, among other features.

GM takes 2020 full-size pickup sales crown

It's no secret that 2020 was an unconventional year for auto sales. Extenuating circumstances or not, it was a year of upheaval even for ever-resilient (and ever-profitable) pickups, with General Motors taking the crown from Ford in the full-size segment.  The Ford F-Series still outsold every other full-size pickup nameplate in the country by a significant margin. It's only when you combine GM's Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra variants that you get a number that exceeds Ford's. This isn't really a new phenomenon, either. In fact, it was only somewhat recently that Ford took the overall full-size crown away from GM, and not only did Ford widen the gap in recent years, but Ram has once again become a legitimate challenger, even managing to outsell the Silverado by a healthy margin in 2019, but never coming close to the F-Series in terms of total volume.  But, 2020 being 2020, things got weird yet again. Ram remains relevant, of course, but Ford got caught with its pants down thanks to the one-two punch of COVID and the generational changeover of the core F-150 model, which resulted in a production interruption as the company's assembly facilities transitioned from building the old 2020 model to the new-for-2021. This perfect storm, as it turns out, was sufficient for GM to walk away with the full-size crown. See for yourself: Full-size 2020 pickup sales: GM total: 847,110 F-Series: 787,422 Silverado: 594,094 Ram: 563,676 Sierra: 253,016 Tundra: 109,203 Titan: 26,439 As you can see, Ram slipped back behind Silverado, slotting comfortably into third place. The Silverado 1500 had a flat year, but the heavy- and medium-duty variants bucked the trend and contributed to a slight uptick in sales for the nameplate, while F-Series tumbled more than 12% (nearly 110,000 units), opening the door for GM to steam ahead.  There were similarly significant shakeups in the midsize truck segment. First, 2020 was the first full year of retail sales for the Gladiator pickup, which surged to fourth place behind the stalwart Tacoma, Ranger and Colorado. GM's combined sales of the Colorado and Canyon are good enough for second place by manufacturer, but nowhere close to what it would take to dethrone Toyota.