2000 Gmc Sierra 2500 Sle Extended Cab Pickup 3-door 6.0l on 2040-cars

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GMC considers adding more vehicles to broaden product line

GMC is considering expanding its product portfolio in the next 10 years to allow it to reach more potential buyers and grow sales, a top executive said Monday. The small and midsize sport-utility-vehicle segments are two possibilities, said Duncan Aldred, GMC sales and marketing vice president. He also said GMC won't make a car, preferring to reinforce its reputation as a maker of trucks and SUVs. "There's plenty of opportunities even if we define ourselves as a we do as a truck and crossover brand," he said. He wouldn't comment on the possibility of adding a Jeep Wrangler-fighter, though rumors have swirled for months that GMC is considering a product to compete with the iconic off-roader. "I can't confirm that ... everything's on the table," he said. He also said that it's possible GMC could get a unique set of underpinnings – all of its vehicles share platforms that are also used by Chevrolet – but it's not needed to differentiate his brand. "I'm very happy sharing underpinnings and everything else," he said. "All of the good-performing automakers do that." Speaking to journalists at a roundtable at General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Aldred said GMC received an investment from GM that is double what the brand has historically spent to fund its growth plans. Advertising spending alone will increase 50 percent this year compared with 2014. The brand rolled out a new ad campaign on Monday, called "Precision," that will underscore attention-to-detail and the premium features of GMC vehicles. Two of the commercials have a sporting theme, and the third focuses on modern menswear. GMC called it a "contemporary interpretation" of the brand's traditional positioning, and it will also continue to use its long-running "Professional Grade" tagline. The premium positioning of the ads come as buyers are increasingly outfitting their trucks as near-luxury vehicles. The percentage of buyers opting for the top-end Denali trim has increased from 17 percent in the middle of 2014 to 21 percent now. The goal is to get Denali to make up 25 percent of GMC sales by the end of 2017, Aldred said. Spurred by the higher Denali take-rate, the brand's transaction prices leapt by $3,000 last year. "It's [Denali] really kind of this jewel in the crown," Aldred said. GMC sales increased 11.3 percent in 2014 to 501,853 units, making it GM's-second-best-selling brand behind Chevrolet.

2018 GMC Sierra Denali can help you tow without breaking a sweat

Towing a trailer once meant that only those who possessed certain knowledge would be able to go fishing, tow a race car or pull a camper safely. For me, it took four long years of practice working a job behind the wheel of a jacked-up Ford F-250, hauling tons upon tons of mowing equipment for my local parks department, to become proficient. Just how far things have come since then became evident after a recent trip to Utah with GMC, in which we used the half-ton Sierra Denali to tow a set of Polaris side-by-sides through the state. Modern safety technology and a suite of electronic aids make towing simple enough that anyone with a driver's license and something to haul can do it. This revelation came behind the leather-wrapped and heated steering wheel of GMC's outgoing 2018 Sierra Denali. Sitting in the plush, heated and cooled captain's chair, I could barely feel the 6,000 pounds I was towing behind me. Even GMC's smallest full-size truck engine, a 5.3-liter V8 generating 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque, felt like overkill for what used to amount to a heavy load. With Utah's pristine landscape, the plush confines of the cabin and the uneventful nature of modern towing, mile after mile just streamed by at highway speeds without incident (or excitement). When we finally reached our destination a few hours later, one of GMC's representatives who had chosen to sit in the rear of the cab asked me what I thought about the drive. I pondered for a few minutes and answered with this: "Modern pickup trucks have removed nearly every skill-based variable once associated with towing. I could drive this truck and trailer confidently with just one finger." Consider the near overabundance of towing-assistance systems in the GMC Sierra Denali that I piloted through Utah. Let's start with the most basic of towing skills — something that's now been relegated to the annals of history: reversing a pickup to meet the trailer's hitch. Once upon a time, this required knowing a truck's dimensions and understanding proximity, as well as having a keen eye, a steady foot for both the gas and the brake and the patience to get it right. Now, though, pickups such as the Sierra Denali offer customers a trailer reverse camera system that helps the driver align truck to hitch with pinpoint accuracy.

GM's 2014 Trucks Receive Five-Star Crash Rating

This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The highly-anticipated 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 received Overall Vehicle Scores of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's New Car Assessment Program, the highest possible safety rating. They are the first pickup trucks to receive a five-star rating since more rigorous safety standards were implemented in 2011, according to Autoblog. General Motors said in a written release that new technologies, ultra-high-strength steels and six standard airbags helped the automaker improve the truck's performance in crashes. Related Gallery Ford, Chrysler Offer Power With Smaller Engines In New Trucks GM GMC Safety