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GM renders new Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon pickups

At a series of industry seminars in Traverse City, MI today, General Motors executive vice president Dan Ammann gifted us with our first glimpse of the upcoming midsize pickup range from Chevrolet and GMC.
Just two slivers of nose are all we can see of the soon-to-be announced Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, though the teaser image does make plain that the pair will follow the styling cues (at least up front) found on big brothers Silverado and Sierra.
GM hasn't given us much in the way of detail in its ultra-brief press release that accompanied the teaser image, which is to be expected. We're told only that the pair of trucks are designed to be "capable, versatile and fuel-efficient alternatives to full-size pickups" and that production will start sometime in 2014, at the Wentzville, MO assembly center.

Hummer EV to be sold at only about half of GMC dealerships

The new 1,000-horsepower Hummer EV will be sold under the GMC brand, but you won't find it in every GMC showroom. Currently, just about half of GMC's dealers have agreed to take on the electric truck, Buick GMC VP Duncan Aldred told investors on a conference call last week. According to Muscle Cars and Trucks, there are a number of reasons for the irregular availability. For one, there's the cost of upgrading dealerships to sell and service a fully electric vehicle. Stores would need to be upgraded with charging stations, and service centers would require new tools and training to work on an EV. Then there's the customer experience. At $112,595, the initial Hummer EV Edition 1 caters to a different clientele than the traditional GMC truck. The planned EV3X trim level that arrives in late 2022 and EV2X arriving in spring 2023 will start at just below $100,000 and $90,000, respectively. Some sellers believe that customers paying six figures for a vehicle will expect certain niceties that will necessitate showroom upgrades as well. Complimentary doughnuts, at least. Furthermore, not all GMC dealerships are located in areas with customers willing to shell out that much cabbage for a new vehicle, especially an EV. An $80,000 base trim will be available in 2024, so perhaps more dealers will be willing to take on the truck by then. Finally, there's the Hummer EV's no-haggle pricing. Aldred was adamant on the call that customers see the same price on the internet as they do on the paperwork. It's part of the premium dealership experience that GMC wants to provide for its well-heeled clientele. Still, GMC appears to have no problem moving all the Hummer EVs it can build. Even with its lofty price tag, all Edition 1 trucks were sold out 10 minutes after GMC's announcement. Related Video:

GM readying aluminum-body fullsize pickups

Ford's extensive use of aluminum in its 2015 F-150 is a big deal. A really big deal. Big enough, in fact, that General Motors is reportedly changing its fullsize pickup strategy. According to The Wall Street Journal, The General has locked in partnerships with Alcoa Inc. and Novelis Inc. - companies that will supply aluminum for the next-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks.
"Ford's introduction of the 2015 F-150 pickup truck was a game changer, and it's the first, not the last, conversion of this type," Novelis spokesperson Charles Belbin told the Journal. The switch to aluminum has allowed Ford to shave roughly 700 pounds off its fullsize truck's curb weight. And while official mileage ratings have not been announced, the weight loss should go a long way for improving efficiency, especially when combined other efficiency-minded improvements including better aerodynamics and new, turbocharged V6 engines.
Of course, aluminum-bodied cars are nothing new. But extensive use of aluminum in a major, best-selling product like the Ford F-150 is expected to kick off widespread use of this weight-saving material as availability rises and cost decreases. The WSJ reports that GM had originally explored the idea of moving to aluminum pickups back in 2008, but abandoned the idea due to cost concerns amid economic woes.