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2020 Harley-Davidson GMC Sierra brings the iconic brand to a new truck

The Harley-Davidson Ford F-150 rides alone no longer. Thanks to the Tuscany Motor Company, it now has a fellow truck associate to cruise with side-by-side on the open roads. Introducing the 2020 Harley-Davidson GMC Sierra, which will make its official debut at the 2020 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction. For years, a Harley-Davidson special edition package has been associated with the Ford F-150 nameplate. Although Ford does not offer a direct option from the factory, Tuscany Motor Company answered the demand and now builds truck packages that carry the famous American motorcycle name. With the direction of Harley-Davidson, Tuscany creates interior and exterior customizations that reflect notable and iconic features of the bikes. This year is the first time Tuscany has ever offered a Harley-Davidson package on a GMC Sierra, and as expected, it's pretty similar to the one offered on the F-150. The package includes at least 60 exclusive parts, and the Sierra is available in Onxy Black, Summit White, or Satin Steel Metallic.  Setting the tone are Fatboy-inspired 22-inch milled aluminum wheels wrapped in chunky 35-inch all-terrain tires. As Tuscany is a division of Fox performance parts, the truck rides on a specially designed BDS suspension with tuned Fox shocks and lateral stability bars. The truck also has a redesigned front bumper and grille with an integrated LED light bar for off-roading, power running boards with rock guard trim and entry lights, color-matched Harley-Davidson-designed fender flares, custom front fender vents with the Harley logo, an induction-style hood, a redesigned rear bumper, and a tuned exhaust with billet tips. More badging, tailgate cladding, a windshield header, orange tow hooks, and a bed rug add extra pizzazz. Finally, for all the planes, drones, and aliens who are eyeing pickups from the sky, the tonneau cover is debossed with the Harley-Davidson logo.  Inside, the fan pack includes leather seating with orange diamond stitching, and piano black door panels, console, and trim. Harley-Davidson badging and branding is on the seats, on the center console, on the floor mats, the door sill inserts, the instrument gauges, and even the pedals.  If this is up your alley, and you're interested in buying, the Sierras, no matter the color, start at $94,995 before taxes and fees. For more information, visit Tuscany. Related Video:

Ford books $2.6B pretax quarterly profit

While its crosstown competitors at General Motors are smarting over a drastic drop in net income to $200 million in the second quarter, Ford has reason to celebrate. The Blue Oval has announced its own Q2 financial results, including a growing net income of $1.3 billion, a $78 million increase over last year. Pretax profits for the company reached $2.6 billion, up $44 million from 2013, but total revenue dropped slightly to $37.4 billion, down from $37.9 billion. Profits per share before one-time charges totaled 40 cents per share, beating Wall Street analysts' expectations of 36 cents a share.
Regionally, the Blue Oval performed strongly, as well. North America posted a record quarterly pre-tax profit of $2.4 billion, a $119 million increase. Europe also showed signs of turn around with its first profit in three years of $14 million after a loss of $306 million in Q2 2013. Ford is actually predicting profitability in the troubled region in 2015. Asia Pacific operations also performed well with $159 million in profits, up $29 million from last year. The only region where the business posted a loss was South America.
According to Automotive News, Ford also announced more precise plans about the changeover to build the aluminum-intensive 2015 F-150. In August, the Dearborn plant will shutdown for eight weeks to retool and its Kansas City plant will do the same next year.

Tier 1 suppliers call GM the worst OEM to work with

Among automakers with a big US presence, General Motors is the worst to work for, according to a new survey from Tier 1 automotive suppliers, conducted by Planning Perspectives, Inc.
The Detroit-based manufacturer, which has been under fire following the ignition switch recall and its accompanying scandal, finished behind six other automakers with big US manufacturing operations. Suppliers had issues with trust and communications, as well as intellectual property protection. GM was also the least likely to allow suppliers to raise their prices in the face of unexpected increases in material cost, all of which contributed to 55 percent of suppliers saying their relationship with GM was "poor to very poor."
GM's cross-town competitors didn't fare much better. Chrysler finished in fifth place, ahead of GM and behind Dearborn-based Ford, which was passed for third place this year by Nissan. Toyota took the top marks, while Honda captured second place.