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GM planning to put its fullsize pickups on a big diet, too

General Motors is just coming off a complete redesign of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra for 2014, but in the US fullsize truck market, there is no rest for the weary. According to Reuters, plans are already unfurling for both trucks to drop pounds from their curb weight over the next few years, but this will unlikely be able to keep pace with the 700-pound diet targeted for the next-generation Ford F-150, a truck expected to debut late next year.
The biggest weight reduction for these trucks might not be available until the next full redesign, which will likely happen around 2019, but the article says that smaller updates could shave pounds in the meantime. Two examples given include an "aluminum-intensive" version of the Silverado that could shed 250 pounds and debut around the same time as the lighter-weight, aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford, and there is also talk of reducing weight for driveline components such as axles and driveshafts. These changes are all part of an attempt to meet strict new fuel economy standards coming in 2017, targets which will get even tougher in 2025.

GM updating fullsize pickups for 2015

As Ford prepares to hit the market with its x-factor, aluminum-intensive F-150 and Ram sales stand tall enough to meet General Motors truck sales eye-to-eye, GM is putting the word out that it's going to add more features to its trucks and do so more regularly. An executive engineer for pickups told reporters that "a whole array" of changes are on the way as soon as the 2015 model year and then would likely come "the year after that, the year after that, the year after that."
Only GM knows the way it plans to go with its fullsize trucks, with almost everyone else - including its dealers - griping about market share at the same time as they applaud profits and hope for clarity and growth. GM raised prices on the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra not long after launch even as it was losing market share and getting called "the least successful large pickup launch over the last 15 years," further upsetting dealers, then Ram outsold the Silverado in March of this year and led GM to increase incentives. But transaction prices rose with the premium; in the first quarter of this year more than 37 percent of the trucks costing more than $40,000 were the Silverado and Sierra, leading one dealer to say of the Sierra, "You can't sell a cheap one," and the analyst who made that "least successful launch" comment to opine, "GM may have made the right call to go for price over share."
We won't know for a few months what any of these updates will be, but the rumored changes for the Silverado and Sierra appear to cover all the bases, including appearance, capability and fuel economy. Rumors run to higher gear counts, stop-start technology and diesel engines before brand-new pickups come for the 2019 model year, those next-generation models supposedly to be engineered with a lot more aluminum.

GM issues CUV stop-sale due to Goodyear tires [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that only 6,281 tires were installed on the CUVs, when in actuality, there were 6,281 CUVs affected by the stop-sale order, totaling 25,124 tires. The story has been edited to reflect this. General Motors has issued a stop-sale order on some 6,300 of its Lambda platform crossovers due to a pending recall on their 18-inch Goodyear Fortera HL tires. The affected vehicles include all three flavors of GM's large CUV platform, consisting of the 2015 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave. Goodyear is recalling a total of 48,500 Fortera HL tires after discovering "very small" cracks in the tread, found during internal testing. Of the affected tires, 32,100 were made for GM, Goodyear told Automotive News. According to GM, 6,281 CUVs were fitted with the questionable rubber, totaling 25,124 of the company's 32,100 tires. The remainder were stocked as replacements, a GM rep told Autoblog. The remaining 16,400 tires were built specifically for the aftermarket. Goodyear reports that the cracks do "not indicate a safety issue." Meanwhile, a GM spokesman told AN that stop-sale "will eventually lead to a non-compliance recall by GM." Featured Gallery 2015 Chevrolet Traverse View 21 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Recalls Buick GM GMC Safety Crossover gmc acadia chevy traverse goodyear