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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.

U.S. new-vehicle sales in 2018 rise slightly to 17.27 million [UPDATE]

DETROIT — Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. rose slightly in 2018, defying predictions and highlighting a strong economy. Automakers reported an increase of 0.3 percent over a year ago to 17.27 million vehicles. The increase came despite rising interest rates, a volatile stock market, and rising car and truck prices that pushed some buyers out of the new-vehicle market. Industry analysts and automakers said strong economic fundamentals pushed up sales and should keep them near historic highs in 2019. "Economic conditions in the U.S. are favorable and should continue to be supportive of vehicle sales at or around their current run rate," Ford Chief Economist Emily Kolinski Morris said after the company and other automakers announced their sales numbers Thursday. That auto sales remain near the 2016 record of 17.55 million is a testimonial to the strength of the economy, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. The job market, he said, has created new employment, and wage growth has accelerated. "That's fundamental to selling anything," he said. "If there are lots of jobs and people are getting bigger paychecks, they will buy more." The unemployment rate is 3.7 percent, a 49-year low. The economy is thought to have grown close to 3 percent last year, its best performance in more than a decade. Consumers, the main driver of the economy, are spending freely. The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate four times in 2018 but is only expected to raise it twice this year. Auto sales also were helped by low gasoline prices and rising home values, Zandi said. It all means that people are likely to keep buying new vehicles this year even as they grow more expensive. The Edmunds.com auto-pricing site estimates that the average new vehicle price hit a record $35,957 in December, about 2 percent higher than the previous year. It will be harder for automakers to keep the sales pace above 17 million because they have been enticing buyers for several years now with low-interest financing and other incentives, Zandi said. He predicts more deals in the coming year as job growth slows and credit tightens for higher-risk buyers. Edmunds, which provides content, including automotive tips and reviews, for distribution by The Associated Press, predicts that sales will drop this year to 16.9 million.

2019 GMC Sierra Denali Drivers' Notes Review | Half measures

Associate Editor Reese Counts: This truck feels a full generation behind the competition. It's a half measure that feels more like a mid-cycle refresh than a whole new truck. There are a few high points: the 6.2-liter V8 is great (if thirsty) and the bed is wider than anything else in the class. The tailgate, too, is nifty, though some might write it off as a novelty. I also dig the tech, particularly the infotainment system and heads-up display. Ram might brag about its giant touchscreen, but I think I actually prefer the GMC's user interface. The rest can be summed up with a series of shoulder shrugs. The Sierra finally looks different than a Silverado, but I wouldn't call it handsome. The interior is spacious, but I'd knock the design and materials in a $45,000 truck, much less one approaching $70,000. It's not Toyota Tundra levels of terrible, it's just plain, cheap, and not nearly as space efficient as the Ram. It feels like GM's not even trying to move the needle with this truck. The more time I spend behind the wheel, the less I like it. Assistant Editor Zac Palmer: I got to spend a lot of seat time in this 2019 GMC Sierra Denali, and I came away generally unenthused by GM's most luxurious truck. We harp a lot about how expensive pickup trucks are these days, and this one's near $70,000 price tag is just the same. When you step inside a similarly-specced Ram, it feels like it's worth its price. When I step out of a Silverado and into a more expensive Sierra, I want to feel like it's money well spent. This Sierra Denali does not. Beyond the leather seats and a few small pieces of wood trim, it's hard, black plastic galore. What makes it all the more frustrating is that GM has most of the tech and features it needs (solid infotainment, 360-degree camera, wireless phone charging and the rear camera mirror is genuinely awesome). The presentation just comes off as dated from the start. It's a shame, because I have a strange affinity for how this truck looks from the curb. The sharp angles, brash styling and "tough truck" attitude is appealing to me. I like stomping on the gas and letting the 6.2-liter torque monster under the hood loose. But man do you pay the price for using that engine. Over a few hundred miles of driving I ended at a dismal 15 mpg reading on the trip computer — the saddest part of this was knowing these were mostly highway miles.