2012 Gmc Sierra 2500 Denali on 2040-cars

Auto blog

GMC Syclone pickup returns via Special Vehicle Engineering

The original GMC Syclone was a 1991 mid-size Sonoma pickup turned muscle truck. Its heavily modified 4.3-liter V6 sported a turbocharger, intercooler, and modified internals, raising output to a Corvette-baiting 280 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. The engine was paired with a four-speed automatic, rear-biased all-wheel drive, and four-wheel antilock brakes (the coming thing). With an all-black livery and a lowered ride height, the Syclone looked the business, and backed up those looks with a 0-to-60 time of 4.3 seconds and a 13.4-second quarter-mile, according to contemporary magazine testing. Given all the recent interest in high-performance pickups, it's amazing that GMC hasn't revived the Syclone. But where manufacturers leave an opening, the aftermarket steps in — in this case that's Specialty Vehicle Engineering, which as CNET reports is resurrecting the nameplate for a build of 100 new Syclones, based on the GMC Canyon, which will update the idea a lot more horsepower. The 2019 Syclone takes as its starting point the extended-cab version of the Canyon. The engine is again a V6, this time a 3.6-liter fitted with a supercharger and a custom cat-back exhaust system, upping output to 455 ponies from the stock 306. SVE's Syclone can be had with rear- or all-wheel drive, and it, too, features upgrades to the brakes and chassis. Six-piston front calipers are fitted in place of the standard four-piston units, and the slotted front rotors are upsized from 12.2 inches to 13.6. The suspension is lowered by two inches up front and five inches at the rear, with stiffer traction bars, bushings, dampers, and a heftier rear anti-roll bar. Unlike the original, the modern Syclone can be had in colors other than black — any of the standard Canyon hues are available — but the appearance is customized with rocker-panel extensions, body-color grille and rear bumper, and a composite hood insert. The interior gets embroidered logos and badges, including a numbered plaque on the dash. The price for the Syclone is $39,995 — that's for the package, on top of the cost of the truck. But at least ordering is easy: The Syclone package can be ordered through select GMC dealers.

GM program sees dealers taking on way more loaner cars

Given the volume of vehicles we're talking about, this is a significant development for GM's bottom line. Bring your car into the dealership for service, and you may need a loaner car in exchange. And with so many recalls being carried out, that means a lot of loaners – especially at General Motors dealerships. That could be one of the reasons why GM is massively expanding its loaner fleet program. While many Chevrolet and Buick-GMC dealerships have an on-site rental car location operated by a third party like Enterprise (which may or may not provide a GM vehicle), others manage their own loaner fleets. But while the range of dealerships operating such fleets was once small, reports Automotive News, the number has been growing rapidly: from the locations responsible for only 20 percent of those brands' sales two years ago to about 90 percent today. The impetus for that growth comes down to a massive expansion of GM's Courtesy Transportation Program. The initiative encourages dealers to ramp up their loaner fleet to a maximum size determined by GM, with a mix determined by the dealer itself, so that a showroom in Texas can be bolstered with a fleet of pickup trucks and a dealer in California can employ more Volt and Camaro Convertible loaners. The dealership gets a $500 credit for each vehicle its puts in its fleet, and can use those vehicles as loaners for service customers, as multi-day test drivers or to rent out separately. The vehicles remain in the dealer's fleet for 90 days or 7,500 miles, then they can be sold as used, but with new-car incentives. The dealer gets a fleet of loaners, customers get to use the loaners, try out a new car overnight or buy a barely used car with attractive incentives, and GM gets to clock more sales. But therein lies the kicker: the automaker counts the dispatch of the loaner new vehicle to the dealership as a new-car sale, which could end up distorting its sales figures. Counting loaner vehicles as sold vehicles is something of an industry-standard practice, but given the volume of vehicles we're talking about, this is a significant development for GM's bottom line. One dealership - Paddock Chevrolet in Kenmore, NY, for example - had no loaner fleet two years ago, but now runs a fleet of 50 vehicles. Multiply that by the 4,000 or so dealers GM has across America and you're talking about the potential for hundreds of thousands of these sorts of sales.

GMC Hummer EV coming to Extreme E with Chip Ganassi Racing

The electric off-road racing series Extreme E is getting another famous face. This time it's not a person, but rather a vehicle: the GMC Hummer EV. GMC announced that it will be the main sponsor for the Chip Ganassi Racing Extreme E team. With the sponsorship, GMC gets to tweak the Extreme E Odyssey 21 race SUV to look more like the Hummer EV pickup and SUV that starts production late this year. The changes are subtle but effective, with the nose getting a full-width light-bar motif. Of course the race SUV is vastly more rounded than the road-going truck. It also features a standardized chassis from Spark Racing and a battery pack from Williams. The team is able to provide its own electric motor, though, which the series limits to 550 horsepower. The GMC Hummer EV race SUV will make its competition debut alongside several other pedigree teams at the first Extreme E event in Saudi Arabia this April. Three teams are operated by Formula One drivers including Sir Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button, the latter of whom will be driving. Andretti United will also field a team, a familiar competitor to Chip Ganassi in other racing series such as IndyCar. As for drivers, two World Rally Championship champions will compete: Carlos Sainz and nine-time consecutive champion Sebastien Loeb. The series will feature five races and with the way the competition is shaping up, they should be very interesting to watch. Related video: