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2019 GMC Sierra Denali First Drive Review | The more things change...

ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland — Canadians love their GMCs. Both anecdotal and statistical evidence supports this. In certain areas of Canada, the Sierra outsells the Chevy Silverado. But in this area of Canada, Cape Spear, the morning fog and salt air are thick. This is the most eastern point in Canada, and the most eastern point of North America if you don't count Greenland. We woke up early and drove to the coast in the new 2019 GMC Sierra Denali, hoping to catch what was promised to be an absolutely spectacular sunrise. The sunrise was a no-go thanks to the fog, turning the sky into a grey mist that melted into the Atlantic. Still, if the world had an edge, this is what it would look like. Driving in an inspiring place like this invites introspection, and since we're in an GMC Sierra, why not examine the brand's place in the world? Recall that for years, a GMC showroom was just packed with slightly more expensive versions of other GM products. Badge engineering, if you will – a dirty word in our business, applied to such notable machines as the Cadillac Cimarron, Buick Terraza, Chevy Aveo and Saab 9-7X. Things, at least on the surface, seem to be changing. GMC says it's making a concerted effort to differentiate its product portfolio from the rest of GM, but the results have been mixed. The brands were supposed to have less product crossover. There's no GMC version of the Chevy Traverse and, initially, there was no Chevy equivalent of the GMC Acadia, though the new Blazer kills that advantage. The Equinox and Terrain are still basically the same vehicle, as are the new 2019 Silverado and 2019 Sierra. At least the two trucks look decidedly different. There's still a family resemblance, but most of the bodywork has been changed. Where the 2019 Silverado adopted some curves, the Sierra stuck with straight lines. Compare things like the headlights, wheel wells and doors. The Sierra still has a massive grille and — aside from the AT4 off-road trim — packs on as much chrome as a 1958 Cadillac, but that's what customers want these days. The Ford F-150 and Ram 1500 are no different in this regard, packing lots of chrome, hard edges, and frontal areas that would give passenger trains a run for their money. At first glance, you'd be hard pressed to tell the Sierra and Silverado's interiors apart from both each other and the outgoing models. It's basically the same design, though the Sierra makes do with some slightly nicer materials.

Chevy Express 1500, GMC Savana 1500 get the axe

Fans of truck-based, light-duty vans can officially pour one out for the Chevrolet Express 1500 and GMC Savana 1500, as General Motors has officially put its long-serving big/little rigs out to pasture. Things aren't quite as sad as they sound, though. The heavier-duty 2500 and 3500 vans will soldier on, in order to duke it out with the largest members of Ram ProMaster, Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter families.
The move does seem to make a lot of sense. According to GM, customers only purchase the 1500-spec Chevrolet 23 percent of the time, while the GMC captures a mere 7 percent of the Savana family's sales. With numbers like that, it's no shock that GM thinks it can shift some of its buyers into its van family's more capable variants. "We knew we could move a lot of our 1500 customers into 2500-series territory," said GM's Joe Langhauser, the product manager for the company's full-size vans.
It's not just simple sales figures dictating the move, though. The 1500 line is taking up some valuable factory space that will be better spent on an eagerly anticipated new product.

GM recalls 3,300 pickups and SUVs for new ignition-switch issue [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A statement from GM about the recall has been added below. The exact total of vehicles affected is 3,296, including 3,073 of them in the US. General Motors isn't letting an ignition-switch problem grow into a massive scandal again. The automaker is recalling about 3,300 North American trucks and SUVs. They are: the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra and the 2015 Chevy Suburban and Chevy Tahoe, as well as 2015 model heavy-duty pickups, the Detroit News reports, citing an Associated Press story. The issue appears to have been caught fairly quickly. In this case, the keys can get stuck in the "start" position and then slip to "accessory" if bumped. This is because the ignition lock gears have an outer diameter that's larger than the specifications allow. When that happens the engine shuts off, and the driver loses assistance to the steering and brakes. The airbags might also be affected. The vehicles get a new ignition-lock housing to fix the problem. According to the Detroit News, an employee who experienced the problem with the switch discovered the issue, and this person then let officials at the automaker know as part of the Speak Up for Safety program. A total of five reports of the fault were discovered. However, there are no cases of injuries or crashes. The claims to the automaker's resolution program eventually tallied that GM's previous ignition switch problem included 124 deaths and 275 injuries. The company also had to recall millions of vehicles and pay significant fines to the US government. GM Statement General Motors is recalling 3,073 full-size trucks from the 2014 and 2015 model years in the U.S. Some of these vehicles may have an ignition lock actuator gear with an outer diameter that exceeds specifications, which may make turning the ignition key difficult. The ignition key could get stuck in the "start" position. This may be more likely at higher interior ambient temperatures. If the vehicle is driven with the key stuck in the "start" position, and the vehicle experiences a significant jarring event or the vehicle's interior temperature cools, the ignition lock cylinder could move out of the "start" position, rotate past the "run" position, and move into the "accessory" position, leading to loss of power steering assist, power brakes and potentially air bag deployment in certain crashes. Dealers will replace the ignition lock housing.