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GM mulling off-road variants of fullsize SUVs

According to General Motors, owners "just love off-roading with [its fullsize body-on-frame sport utility vehicles]," namely the 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and GMC Yukon. If that's the case, it's a bit odd that sales of the previous generation of these models with the Z71 off-road package didn't sell particularly well.
Perhaps, considering this disconnect between owner's thoughts and desires with actual sales, it's not surprising that General Motors is reportedly "considering" an off-road specific model. That means the package would include styling changes and badges along with suspension modifications and larger wheels with appropriately sized fender flares.
There's no indication if the off-road model would be called Z71 or when it may potentially go on sale, assuming it ever goes on sale at all.

2019 GMC Sierra carbon fiber bed: How it's made

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The redesigned 2019 GMC Sierra has some pretty nifty features, and the one that has had the most attention is the MultiPro flipping and folding tailgate. But the Sierra also features the first-of-its-kind carbon fiber truck bed. It's interesting, of course, for its capabilities, such as being 62 pounds lighter than the all-steel box. It even adds more cargo volume since the material can be assembled and shaped differently from steel. As it turns out, the assembly process is cool, too, which we learned when GMC invited us to see the beds being made. Every GMC carbon fiber bed starts out as perfectly flat sheets of thermoplastic carbon fiber. The sheets consist of a mix of fibers and resins, a bit like the molded carbon fiber parts Lamborghini uses. The sheets are manufactured by Japanese company Teijin, which collaborated with GMC to develop the bed. They're all delivered to Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) in Fort Wayne, Ind., for construction into the actual bed. The company, a subsidiary of Teijin, makes a wide variety of composite and plastic parts for the car industry, including body panels for the C7 Chevy Corvette. The rectangular sheets are cut to shape and stacked up at a giant stamping press. Robots pick up sheets and slide them onto a conveyor that goes into a large oven. The heat softens the parts so they can be stamped. The large primary bed parts such as the base are stamped by CSP's enormous 3,600-ton press, and the smaller ones go through a 1,000-ton press. Each press can do different parts using different stamping dies, and CSP switches between dies to produce different batches of parts. After stamping, the parts roll out mostly ready for assembly, but there are rough edges that are trimmed off by water-jet cutters. These cutting machines also create holes for fasteners and for parts such as tie-down hooks and lights. The stamping process also provides the carbon fiber bed with a unique Easter egg. On the bottom of the base of the bed, there are two words: "Connors Way." This is a tribute to Tim Connors, who was the chief engineer of manufacturing at GM and a strong proponent of the carbon fiber bed. He was tragically killed in a motorcycle crash a few years ago. The words were added to honor him, and they were fortunately approved for production. There are some components to the bed that aren't stamped from the flat sheets of material.

2019 GMC Sierra Denali MultiPro tailgate and CarbonPro bed explained

When the 2019 Chevy Silverado debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in January, GM's Mark Reuss promised that the new 2019 GMC Sierra would have some significantly different styling and features than its corporate sibling. Previously, the Sierra has been little more than a Silverado with new front and rear fascias and some extra chrome inside and out. Well, Reuss was right. In addition to new sheetmetal, the Sierra exclusively gets the slick MultiPro tailgate and CarbonPro carbon-fiber bed box The tailgate really is trick. At the debut, GMC had multiple demonstrations, with engineers walking us through all six different configurations. Like all Sierra tailgates, the MultiPro version uses an aluminum skin to reduce weight. It's easy to tell which tailgate is which, as the MultiPro has a distinct cutout in the middle where it can fold down or extend. It can be used to extend the bed, drop to allow easier access, provide a sort of workbench, or be used as a step to help get into the bed. Yes, there's even a handle. Ford who? The step itself can support up to 375 pounds, 75 pounds more than Ford's similar tailgate step. This tailgate really is unique to the Sierra and is standard on SLT and Denali models. That said, the power-operated tailgate from the Silverado won't be coming to the GMC. Chevy gets its own exclusive, too. The Sierra's other big exclusive is the carbon-fiber reinforced plastic bed box. CFRP replaces steel inside the bed though not on the fenders. The bed uses four pieces; one for the bottom, one in the back and two along the sides. This isn't a CFRP. There is no steel hiding underneath these panels. Just take a peek underneath. The bed is a composite that uses 1-inch carbon-fiber threads, not a weave. Sheets of CFRP are molded and quenched — a process where the plastic coagulates and solidifies, locking in the carbon fiber — in just 60 seconds. That allows GMC's supplier to crank out these much more quickly. The finish looks like black fiberglass, though an engineer said that this wasn't the final production version. The final model will have different textures in order to improve grip and keep things from sliding around. GMC is touting the material's dent and corrosion resistance, though it remains to be seen how well it holds up to cracking. A video at the reveal showed people going after it with hammers and cinder blocks, but in-person demonstrations weren't available.