2006 Gmc Yukon Denali on 2040-cars

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2025 GMC Sierra EV rumored to offer a smaller 170-kWh pack as standard

It's kind of wild that you can order a 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 pickup, yet GMC hasn't released specific figures for battery capacity; maybe that's info you only get after putting down a deposit. Adding to the mystery, the 2025 GMC Sierra EV, already being promoted at the GMC site and which will be available later this year, will add a second battery. GM Authority says the pack in the 2024 truck (that only comes in one trim) is the 204-kWh pack we already know from the GMC Hummer EV. In April, GMC raised the estimated range rating for that pack from 400 miles to 440 miles, upped towing capacity by 500 pounds to 10,000 pounds, and raised max payload capacity by 150 pounds to 1,450 pounds. For 2025, GMA says the the Sierra EV range will add a smaller 170-kWh pack for lower trims.  Trims, you ask? Yes, next year's standard Denali trim will be joined by AT4 and Elevation trims. The AT4 will come with trail-use perks like four-wheel steering, CrabWalk, and two additional inches of ground clearance thanks to 18-inch wheels wrapped in 35-inch all-terrain tires, plus Super Cruise and a spray-on bedliner. Optional features on the AT4 include a DC fast charge upgrade to 350-kW, GMC's MultiPro MidGate, and the 10.2-kW Power Station Pro. The Elevation, typically a lower trim in GMC's vehicle lineups, comes with a power-operated frunk, the MultiPro tailgate, and sits on 18-inch wheels in 33-inch rubber. The Elevation options menu will offer the MultiPro MidGate, Super Cruise, spray-on bedliner, Power Station Pro, and fast charge upgrade. The Denali will come with all of these tech features standard, but sit on 24-inch wheels in 35-inch rubber. New colors will expand the palette from the sole option today, Thunderstorm Gray, to include Deep Ember Tintcoat, Deep Ocean Metallic, Moonlight Matte, Onyx Black, and Summit White. Back to the battery, the 2025 Sierra EV's order guide shows two pack options, an Extended Range and a Max Range, without giving capacity figures. GMA believes this will be a 20-module pack of 170 kWh, powering a range of around 380 to 390 miles. The 2025 trucks reportedly begin heading down lines in early September, starting with the Denali trim, so information should be forthcoming in the not-too-distant. The AT4 and Elevation trims will reach dealerships early next year.

Diesel Power finds the ultimate modified oil-burner

For nine years, Diesel Power magazine has run the Diesel Power Challenge, this year's grindfest being "a week-long torture test that features seven events, nine trucks, 8,000 horsepower, and nearly 15,000 pound-feet of torque." The road to being crowned "the most powerful truck" starts with a dyno run, and then continues through the completion of a CDL-style obstacle course, an eighth-of-a-mile drag race while towing a 10,000-pound trailer, a quarter-mile drag race without a trailer, a fuel economy test in the mountains and finally a sled-pulling test through a 300-foot-long packed-mud pit.
What kind of trucks get into such a fight? Last year's winner, for instance - who upgraded his truck this year to prove he didn't "luck into the win" - drives a 2008 Ford F-250 Super Duty with a 6.4-liter Power Stroke V8 upgraded with a custom intake, Elite Diesel triple turbos and a two-stage nitrous system. Another competitor has a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 powered by a 5.9-liter Cummins inline-six, upgraded with Garrett turbos, dual-stage nitrous, a seven-inch exhaust stack and twin fans built into the bed to cool the Sun Coast Omega transmission. The numbers on that truck: 1,255 horsepower, and 2,063 pound-feet of torque at the wheels. Naturally, as the image above might suggest, things don't always end well.
You'll find all five videos covering this years challenge below. A scene in the dyno video sums it all up perfectly: a competitor leaves his nitrous on too long and the crew is treated to some ominous poppings, he leans out the window, throws both hands up and shouts, "Amer'ca!"

GM follows U.S. trademark for AT4X with application in Mexico

Looks like GM is preparing to return the GMC Sierra 1500 All Terrain X to the marketplace, but with a new name. GM Authority found a trademark application filed in May this year in Mexico for the AT4X moniker. This comes three years after GM filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the same alphanumeric in February 2016. When GMC introduced the all-new 2019 Sierra, it changed the previous All Terrain trim name to AT4, as seen on the Sierra AT4 we called "offroad overkill." The patent filings lend credence to the idea that the previous All Terrain X trim will soon be introduced by a Sierra 1500 AT4X model.  The erstwhile All Terrain X, introduced for the 2016 model year, took the former All Terrain further into the frame of serious-looking off-roader. On top of the Z71 suspension with a two-inch lift, Rancho monotube shocks, and a locking rear differential, the X added a sport bar for offroad lights, side steps, more dirt-friendly 18-inch wheels in 265/65 mud-terrains instead of 20-inchers on 275/65 all-terrains, a performance exhaust, and a lot more black and body-colored trim. At launch, we said it was "no Raptor threat," and even though GMC launched a 2500HD version in 2017 (pictured), it likely never worried the Ram Power Wagon. We wouldn't expect the equation to change with a possible AT4X, which is a shame, since hardcore OEM offroaders are becoming bro dozers for the mature, moneyed set.