1999 Gmc Savana 3500 Base Standard Cargo Van 3-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

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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.

2019 GMC Sierra interior looks just like the Silverado's

The GMC Sierra has pretty much always been a Chevy Silverado in disguise. There was maybe some fancier trim plus the availability of the ritzier Denali trim, but the differences mostly amounted to different makeup on identical twins. As we can see from the spy photos above, the yet-to-be-shown 2019 GMC Sierra will actually have a more distinctive exterior, but the interior will continue the me-too tradition. Immediately apparent is the fact that the whole dashboard is carryover. It's the same chunky, plasticky place to be that, while likely highly functional, did little to impress when unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show. Really, only the volume, tuning and climate control knobs look different from those in the Silverado. They appear to have a different ridged pattern on the edges, and are possibly a shinier, glossier finish. The steering wheel also looks different, with a chunkier center and more svelte spokes. The Sierra exterior would seem to be better differentiated. The headlights are very different in that they wrap around the fenders more so than on the Chevy. The grille looks more vertical and aggressive than the Silverado's. The wheel arches also differ in that the forward corners are rounded and the rears are more squared off. The GMC Sierra will be revealed March 1 in Detroit. As per usual, it will probably share all of its powertrain bits with the Silverado. That means at least 5.3- and 6.2-liter gasoline V8s and the new turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six diesel engine. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

GM will no longer remove parts from trucks to calculate curb weights

Following last week's mild uproar after it was discovered that Ford and General Motors were removing some optional parts from their pickups to lower the curb weight and consequently increase the maximum payload, GM has come out and committed to a base curb weight for its upcoming Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon compact trucks (although it has yet to publish them) and its current Silverado and Sierra. The company will do the same for its heavy duty offerings, although those numbers have not been finalized yet.
"This will make our curb weight and payload specs more consistent with those of most other truck makers, making it easier for customers to compare vehicles," GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson told Autoblog in an emailed statement.
As GM notes - and as every manufacturer has noted since this story broke - customers still shouldn't take max payload ratings as gospel. Instead, they should refer to their truck's Tire and Load Label, like the one shown at the inset, which will offer detailed information on max payload, specific to their truck.