1996 Gmc Sierra C3500 Hd Wrecker on 2040-cars

Auto blog

GMC Syclone spools up a storm on Jay Leno's Garage

A storm was brewing on American roads in the early 1990s. That's when Detroit's automakers were producing some of the hottest performance trucks ever devised – models like the Ford Lightning, GMC Typhoon, and its flyweight pickup sibling, the GMC Syclone. Jay Leno just happens to have one of the latter in his garage, and took it out to showcase in this latest video segment. The Syclone was an exercise in absurdity, and could not only trounce any other pickup on the road, it could outrun anything else GM made and just about anything else on the road – beating Ferraris and Porsches off the line. In a pickup, for crying out loud. The kicker is that its engine wasn't such a monster, either: under the hood sat a 4.3-liter turbocharged V6 pumping out what would seem by today's standards to be an adequate 280 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. Even the smaller of the EcoBoost V6s available in today's Ford F-150 produces more than that. But in a lightweight, compact pickup, those figures were enough to propel the Syclone to 60 in 4.3 seconds and run the quarter-mile in 13.6 seconds. Long before the dune-jumping Ford F-150 SVT Raptor or even the Viper-powered Dodge Ram SRT-10, GM made fewer than 3,000 Syclones based on the compact Sonoma (sister to the Chevy S-10) and another 4,700 of the Typhoon, which was mechanically similar but more practical (albeit heavier) wagon bodywork from the Jimmy. But as Jay aptly points out, the Syclone was the one you wanted. Scope it out in the ten-minute video clip above.

GM announces four new recalls, 507k vehicles affected

428,211 of these vehicles are located in the United States, 57,706 are in Canada, and 20,956 are in other markets. In its seemingly never-ending string of recalls, General Motors today announced four new campaigns covering some 506,873 vehicles. 428,211 of these vehicles are located in the United States, 57,706 are in Canada, and 20,956 are in other markets. First up is the 2013-14 Chevrolet Cruze, which is being recalled because "the inflator in the driver's front airbag may rupture and/or the airbag may not inflate during airbag deployment," according to GM. This could shoot metal pieces of the inflator into the cabin, injuring occupants during a crash. What's more, GM says that if the airbag does not inflate, this could, obviously, increase the risk of injury to the driver. A total of 29,019 Cruzes are affected in the United States, with an additional 4,066 units being recalled in Canada. The largest of the four recall campaigns involves four-wheel-drive versions of the 2014-15 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, as well as the 2015 Chevy Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL. A grand total of 392,459 vehicles are affected in the US, with 53,607 more found in Canada, and an additional 20,874 in other markets. Here, the transfer case "may electronically switch to neutral without input from the driver," GM states. The automaker adds that if this occurs while the vehicle is moving, power will not be sent to the wheels. On top of that, if the vehicle is parked, it may roll away unexpectedly if the parking brake has not been set. In smaller recall news, 4,794 2013-14 Chevy Caprice police cars and SS sedans are being recalled in the US. According to GM, "If the motor gear teeth become stripped, the wipers may not operate" in these models. Lastly, 1,939 2014 Chevy Corvettes fitted with the FE1 or FE3 suspension are being recalled in the US "to repair a possible insufficient weld in the rear shocks that could lead to a fracture and/or reduce the shocks' service life." In Canada, 33 additional vehicles are affected, as are 82 more 'Vettes that were exported to other markets. General Motors is aware of one injury regarding the Cruze recall, and is not aware of any crashes or injuries in the other three recalls. Scroll down for the automaker's official release. GM Announces Four Vehicle Recalls DETROIT – General Motors (GM: NYSE) today announced four safety recalls covering 428,211 vehicles in the United States.

Expect greater differentiation in GM's next-generation SUVs

General Motors says its next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade models will offer shoppers improved interior differentiation. Car and Driver recently caught up with Chris Hilts, GM's creative manager of interior design, who said that the cabins will all feature unique instrument panels, consoles, center stacks and switchgear moving forward. Apparently GM is now aware that consumers may be bothered by the fact that today's $85,000 Escalade has effectively the same cabin as a $45,000 Tahoe. Hilts says SUV buyers want more refinement than their pickup purchasing counterparts - and those same buyers also want their SUVs to have more exterior differentiation between the company's Silverado and Sierra pickup lines. Shocking.
That all sounds good to us, but we've heard this song and dance before. GM made big waves about how different the new-for-2013 Silverado and Sierra would look from each other, but judging by what we've seen so far, GM's stylists are painting in shades rather than with the full spectrum. For more on the what to expect out of GM's new SUVs, click on the C/D link below.