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2019 GMC Sierra carbon fiber bed: How it's made

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The redesigned 2019 GMC Sierra has some pretty nifty features, and the one that has had the most attention is the MultiPro flipping and folding tailgate. But the Sierra also features the first-of-its-kind carbon fiber truck bed. It's interesting, of course, for its capabilities, such as being 62 pounds lighter than the all-steel box. It even adds more cargo volume since the material can be assembled and shaped differently from steel. As it turns out, the assembly process is cool, too, which we learned when GMC invited us to see the beds being made. Every GMC carbon fiber bed starts out as perfectly flat sheets of thermoplastic carbon fiber. The sheets consist of a mix of fibers and resins, a bit like the molded carbon fiber parts Lamborghini uses. The sheets are manufactured by Japanese company Teijin, which collaborated with GMC to develop the bed. They're all delivered to Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) in Fort Wayne, Ind., for construction into the actual bed. The company, a subsidiary of Teijin, makes a wide variety of composite and plastic parts for the car industry, including body panels for the C7 Chevy Corvette. The rectangular sheets are cut to shape and stacked up at a giant stamping press. Robots pick up sheets and slide them onto a conveyor that goes into a large oven. The heat softens the parts so they can be stamped. The large primary bed parts such as the base are stamped by CSP's enormous 3,600-ton press, and the smaller ones go through a 1,000-ton press. Each press can do different parts using different stamping dies, and CSP switches between dies to produce different batches of parts. After stamping, the parts roll out mostly ready for assembly, but there are rough edges that are trimmed off by water-jet cutters. These cutting machines also create holes for fasteners and for parts such as tie-down hooks and lights. The stamping process also provides the carbon fiber bed with a unique Easter egg. On the bottom of the base of the bed, there are two words: "Connors Way." This is a tribute to Tim Connors, who was the chief engineer of manufacturing at GM and a strong proponent of the carbon fiber bed. He was tragically killed in a motorcycle crash a few years ago. The words were added to honor him, and they were fortunately approved for production. There are some components to the bed that aren't stamped from the flat sheets of material.

GM crab walked the Hummer EV truck up and down Woodward this weekend

Sometimes, manufacturers like to show off their fancy new wares at the Woodward Dream Cruise. It’s largely done through static showcases with big displays for the public to gawk at. However, GM did something a little different with its GMC Hummer EV truck this year. Instead of parking it at the Chevy and GM display area, it took to Woodward Avenue itself to show off the Hummer in pre-production form. Not only did GM drive the electric truck on the road in front of thousands, but it crab walked the whole way. This was our first time, and probably most of the publicÂ’s first time seeing the Hummer EV crab mode in person. Judging from the crowdÂ’s reaction (GM got its wish of everybody paying attention), folks are impressed, and maybe a bit confused at the HummerÂ’s sideways movements.  ItÂ’s a strange spectacle to see in person. At first, the truck appears as though itÂ’s sliding sideways on ice in a smooth, graceful slide. ThatÂ’s because even though the wheels are turned, the front of the truck is still pointing dead straight ahead. The GM employee behind the wheel of the prototype appeared to be moving forward at about 5-10 mph — it appears shockingly quick in person for the way this behemoth of a truck presents itself. The tech making it work is rather simple in concept. GM simply took existing rear-wheel steering technology, then amplified and modified it for this type of movement. Whereas most cars with rear-wheel steering max out at around 5 degrees of lock with the rear wheels, this Hummer can turn the wheels up to 10 degrees. Turn the wheel left or right in crab mode, and the Hummer moves diagonally down the street. If you use it for its intended purpose, crab mode is meant to help you navigate the Hummer through trails it might otherwise be too big to fit through using regular steering. In reality, we suspect most folks might use crab mode in the exact same fashion as GM did this past weekend: to impress people. And honestly, we canÂ’t blame them. It was a seriously cool sight to see. Crab mode in action: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

GMC talking to dealers about possible Jeep Wrangler competitors

With respect to the team at GMC, it's pretty much fair to say the manufacturer prospers on a lineup of nothing more than gussied up Chevrolets. The brand's successes aside, GMC can be boiled down thusly – the Sierra is a Silverado, the Terrain an Equinox, the Canyon a Colorado and the Acadia is a Traverse, albeit with sometimes dressier duds. Strictly speaking, it's not that simple – Acadia and Terrain have siblings beyond the Bowtie – but the brand is remarkable for its lack of distinctive models. That could change, though, as The Wall Street Journal is claiming General Motors has broached the idea of a building a GMC-badged competitor to the Jeep Wrangler during a meeting with dealers. WSJ claims the new off-roader would "borrow cues and capability" from the defunct Hummer brand. That, of course, could mean many, many different things. While the original Hummer, the H1, was an exceptionally capable vehicle off-road, the H2 and H3 weren't nearly as single minded. It's unclear if a Hummer-inspired, off-road-ready GMC would lean more towards the former than the latter. According to WSJ's report, the GMC Jeep appears to be in the very, very early planning stages, with one unnamed source saying the idea was "being kicked around real hard." GM is still courting dealers for feedback, while it refused the Journal's request for comment. What are your thoughts? Is a Wrangler competitor long overdue for GM? Do you think GMC is the best brand to introduce such a model? Have your say in Comments. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 4X4 View 12 Photos News Source: The Wall Street JournalImage Credit: Copyright 2015 AOL GM GMC SUV Off-Road Vehicles