2024 Gmc Sierra 1500 Elevation on 2040-cars

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Despite strong profits, GM still fighting flat market share

Looking at the progress General Motors has made since it entered bankruptcy, it's easy to forget that the company still has a long way to go before it's the juggernaut it once was. A recent report from Reuters points out that, while GM is making money, it isn't making any gains in terms of US market share. Quite the opposite, really. Consider this factoid: In 1963, nearly half of the cars sold in the United States were from Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC or Pontiac. Now, the company's US market share is stagnant at 17.9 percent. That same number is half of just Chevy's 1963 market share. This is all despite GM going on a binge replacing or updating its models. "Market share increases are not instantaneous," Mark Reuss told Reuters at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. "We've got a lot of baggage. Don't underestimate what people though of us, or these brands, through these hardships and 30 years." The reasons for the stagnant market share are numerous. Reuters points out that retooling of factories and a focus on limiting incentives are both good things for profit, but not necessarily for market share. There's also the troubling turnover of the brand's marketing department. These issues don't change the fact that Chevrolet has lost 1.4 percent of its market share in two years, and that Cadillac - arguably GM's most improved brand overall - has lost 1.2 percent in the same period. Part of that can be blamed on GM's avoidance of fleet sales in favor of more profitable customer sales. "Our focus has really been on retail and that's where we've got the growth," said Alan Batey, GM's interim global marketing boss. "We want to grow GM and that means growing market share and profits, but it's not at all costs," Reuss said. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: paul bica - Flickr CC 2.0 Earnings/Financials Buick Cadillac GM GMC sales profits

GM seeks national mandate for zero-emissions cars

DETROIT — General Motors says it will ask the federal government for one national gas mileage standard, including a requirement that a percentage of auto companies' sales be zero-emissions vehicles. Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of product development, said the company will propose that a certain percentage of nationwide sales be made up of vehicles that run on electricity or hydrogen fuel cells. GM says a nationwide program modeled on such a requirement in California could result in 7 million electric vehicles, or EVs, on U.S. roads by 2030. California wants 15.4 percent of vehicle sales by 2025 to be EVs or other zero emission vehicles. Nine other states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, have adopted those requirements. In January, California Governor Jerry Brown set a target of 5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2030. The Trump administration criticizes California's ZEV mandate, saying it requires automakers to spend tens of billions of dollars developing vehicles that most consumers do not want, only to sell them at a loss. Reuss told reporters that governments and industries in Asia and Europe "are working together to enact policies now to hasten the shift to an all-electric future. It's very simple: America has the opportunity to lead in the technologies of the future." A national mandate also would create jobs and reduce fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and "make EVs more affordable," Reuss added. GM, the nation's largest automaker, will spell out the request Friday in written comments on a Trump administration proposal to roll back Obama-era fuel economy and emissions standards, freezing them at 2020 levels instead of gradually making them tougher. Under a regulation finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency at the end of the Obama administration, the fleet of new automobiles would have to get 36 miles per gallon by 2025, 10 mpg higher than the current requirement. But the Trump administration's preferred plan is to freeze the standards starting in 2021. Administration officials say waiving the tougher fuel efficiency requirements would make vehicles more affordable, which would get safer cars into consumer hands more quickly. GM on Thursday said it doesn't support the freeze, but wants flexibility to deal with consumers' shift from cars to less-efficient SUVs and trucks.

2019 GMC Sierra 1500 prototype shows off differences from Silverado

Now that the new Silverado has made its debut, we're awaiting the reveal of its mildly restyled twin, the GMC Sierra 1500. While it likely won't be that different as far as capability and major equipment are concerned, we are looking forward to seeing what design changes it will have. Based on these recent spy shots, the changes will be mild, but still enough to make it visually distinctive. One of the more obvious differences will be in the front fascia treatment. Unlike the Silverado's grille that's level with the top of the headlights, the GMC's will rise above the lights, which will also yield a slight drop on each side of the hood to meet the lights. The grille is quite tall, extending far below the headlights, too. We can make out, behind some mesh, two dips on the outer edges of the grille that give the Sierra a more menacing frown. Large foglights are also found right near where the scoops for the wheel air curtains, and the headlights are unified on the edges, rather than split on the Silverado. Along the sides, the sheet metal looks relatively unchanged. At some angles, we can make out the distinctive shoulder line from the Silverado that runs up to about the rear mirrors where it stops to make room for another crease that rises up from somewhere in the middle of the front doors to lead to the front. The wheel arches are decidedly different from the Silverado's though. While the Silverado has fairly rounded arches, the Sierra's have a rear-slanted bevel to the fronts of the arches and a rounded 90-degree corner at the rears. There isn't much we can tell about the rear except for the taillights. They're quite large, and unlike the Silverado's, there aren't any areas where the sheet metal intrudes. It also appears that the tops of the taillights extend farther forward into the bed sides than the Chevy's. Because the Sierra has almost always been a mechanical twin of the Silverado, we expect it to offer the same 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter V8s, as well as the new 3.0-liter diesel inline-6. Also, being a GMC, it will likely have a flashy, chrome-laden Denali trim level. We also will see the fully revealed model soon, as Automotive News reports the debut will be on March 1. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 spy shots View 39 Photos News Source: Automotive News Spy Photos GMC Truck chevrolet silverado