2014 Gmc Terrain Sle on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Despite strong profits, GM still fighting flat market share

Looking at the progress General Motors has made since it entered bankruptcy, it's easy to forget that the company still has a long way to go before it's the juggernaut it once was. A recent report from Reuters points out that, while GM is making money, it isn't making any gains in terms of US market share. Quite the opposite, really. Consider this factoid: In 1963, nearly half of the cars sold in the United States were from Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC or Pontiac. Now, the company's US market share is stagnant at 17.9 percent. That same number is half of just Chevy's 1963 market share. This is all despite GM going on a binge replacing or updating its models. "Market share increases are not instantaneous," Mark Reuss told Reuters at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. "We've got a lot of baggage. Don't underestimate what people though of us, or these brands, through these hardships and 30 years." The reasons for the stagnant market share are numerous. Reuters points out that retooling of factories and a focus on limiting incentives are both good things for profit, but not necessarily for market share. There's also the troubling turnover of the brand's marketing department. These issues don't change the fact that Chevrolet has lost 1.4 percent of its market share in two years, and that Cadillac - arguably GM's most improved brand overall - has lost 1.2 percent in the same period. Part of that can be blamed on GM's avoidance of fleet sales in favor of more profitable customer sales. "Our focus has really been on retail and that's where we've got the growth," said Alan Batey, GM's interim global marketing boss. "We want to grow GM and that means growing market share and profits, but it's not at all costs," Reuss said. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: paul bica - Flickr CC 2.0 Earnings/Financials Buick Cadillac GM GMC sales profits

2019 GMC Sierra 1500 spied in base trim level

When the 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 half-ton pickup was revealed, it was shown in the ultra-deluxe Denali trim with its carbon fiber bed and trick tailgate. And thanks to spy shots, we've been able to see the more modest SLE a few months ago. Now we get to see it in the most plain work truck iteration thanks to the above photos. This Sierra doesn't appear to have any trim designation. The SLE we saw had a badge in the lower left of the tailgate, but none appear on this except "Sierra." This fits with the current trim scheme for the Sierra, which calls the basic one simply by its model name. In addition to less badging, this Sierra ditches most of the chrome found on other trim levels. The grille insert is plain black plastic, as are the fender vents, door handles and window trim. There aren't engine badges, either. Currently the only engines announced for the Sierra are the gasoline 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter V8s and the diesel 3.0-liter six-cylinder. We would assume from the basic nature of this truck that it has the 5.3-liter V8. Nothing has been announced about a gasoline V6 for the new generation of Sierra and Silverado pickup trucks, despite a 4.3-liter V6 still being available on the 2018 model. Also, since this is a base Sierra, the bed is all steel and the tailgate is one big panel. Pricing still hasn't been revealed for the Sierra. But this and the other Sierra trims will go on sale in the fall, with pricing likely announced sometime in-between. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Supercharged 2015 GMC Yukon Denali sounds evil, runs 0-60 in 4.5 seconds

Speeding along in a sports car is undoubtedly a ton of fun, but some owners need the ability to carry a lot of people and their stuff and don't want to sacrifice the ability to put the power down. The tuners over at Hennessey have that demographic covered with their growling, supercharged power kits for the GMC Yukon Denali. The upgrades come in three forms for the SUV's 6.2-liter V8: HPE550 with 557 horsepower, HPE600 with 605 hp and HPE650 with 665 hp. This video showcases the full-bore version, and this Denali can definitely hustle in a straight line. The power bump comes courtesy of a 2.9-liter supercharger, intercooler and high-flow cylinder heads to add over 200 horsepower compared to stock, and the final result is a bellowing SUV that rears up off he line to throw the driver back into the seat. The sprint to 60 miles per hour lasts just 4.5 seconds. Check out this hasty hauler in action in the video above.