1990 Gmc Suburban 4x4 3/4 Ton on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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

Torque time | 2017 GMC Sierra HD First Drive

It's not the truck that counts, it's how you use it. It's the heavy stuff you fit in its bed or the extremely heavy stuff that gets hooked up to the tow hitch. The ATV, the Jet Skis, the trailer with more square footage than a Greenwich Village apartment. Perhaps you need to get Seabiscuit or, uh, Mr. Ed to wherever they need to gallop next. In our case, there's a pair of very serious-looking snowmobiles perched atop the bed of a GMC Sierra. They spread out as wide as the extended tow mirrors, and their back halves are dangling precariously beyond the truck. Sterling Archer would be giddy; I'm a little nervous. But only because canyon roads and wide vehicles with a high center of gravity go together like peas and custard. The added weight is no sweat at all. That's because this is the 2017 GMC Sierra HD Denali, a truck with the sort of enhanced power, torque, suspension, and stopping capability expected of a heavy-duty pickup. And for this year, the power and torque get a serious bump courtesy of a new 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel engine reengineered from almost the ground up with 90 percent new parts. It's quieter and more efficient and it emits less, while most importantly producing 445 horsepower and 910 pound-feet of torque. That's up from 397 and 765, respectively. Chevy fans will note that the same engine is also available in the updated 2017 Silverado HD. Now, for those keeping score at home, that horsepower is best-in-class but the torque number still falls short of the new Ford Super Duty and its Power Stroke diesel V8's 925 lb-ft. Aw shucks. For the record, GM's engineers didn't seem too concerned that they weren't able to eke out an extra 16 torques just to say they're No. 1. "We wanted to first meet emissions and then deliver the maximum horsepower and torque we could, and deliver it over the widest usability range possible," said chief engineer Eric Stanczak. And let's be honest here, 910 pound-feet is herculean, and once again, a jump of 145 lb-ft. Or one Subaru Impreza's worth. Or 110 more than the best Ram can do on a 2500, and its Cummins turbodiesel's 800 pound-feet was eye-popping not too long ago. (The Ram 3500 maxes out at 900 lb-ft with the right transmission.) Ah, but here's the rub. That Cummins-equipped Ram 2500 can still tow more weight according to SAE-compliant measurements – 17,510 pounds for a Ram crew cab with a short bed versus 13,000 in the similar Sierra 2500. The Ford F-250 can manage 15,000.

Redesigned 2021 GMC Yukon gets a diesel, AT4 model, Denali-exclusive interior

GMC's most robust family hauler is getting a complete redesign for the 2021 model year, including a new, off-road centric AT4 model, an upscale interior exclusive to its luxurious Denali model, an available air suspension, and, last but not least, a diesel engine.  With Americans obsessing over trucks, it's no surprise that GMC is going hard with its AT4s-for-everybody strategy; the Yukon is no exception. This will be the first model year for the new trim on GMC's largest SUV. This off-road model gets all the goodies you'll need to veer off the beaten path with confidence, including an extra 2.0 inches of ground clearance with the adaptive suspension option (more below), a two-speed transfer case, standard Goodyear all-terrain tires, an off-road mode for GMC's "Traction Select" drive mode system, hill descent control, and some extra underbody skid plates. Since GMC is a premium brand, even the AT4 gets some luxury appointments, such as a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, and heated outboard second-row seats. The interior is also adorned in black leather with tan accents and "AT4" embroidery in the seat backs.  Speaking of premium, GMC will introduce an air-ride adaptive suspension with an off-road ground clearance mode as a late-availability option for several Yukon models, and this feature will be included on the Denali trim.  The Yukon and Yukon XL are GMC's variants of Chevrolet's full-sized SUVs, the Tahoe and Suburban. Their fundamental body-on-frame architecture is also shared with GM's half-ton pickup trucks, and thanks to that common engineering, they can also share powertrains. That's normally just a trivial side note when it comes to a new GM SUV announcement, but this time around, it's a bit more meaningful thanks to the introduction of a new light-duty, inline-six diesel in GM's truck lineup last year.  Yep, that means that for 2021, like the Tahoe and Suburban, the Yukon is getting a diesel option. The 3.0-liter Duramax makes the same 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque as it does in GM's trucks.  GMC's standard engine is still the 5.3-liter V8 that makes 355 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque. The 6.2-liter V8 is also an option like before, producing 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. All engines come with a 10-speed automatic and a choice of rear- and four-wheel drive.