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Auto blog

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.

Chevy Trax engineer says GMC version possible

The Buick Encore is doing so well and its platform-mate the Chevrolet Trax has such good reviewer vibes going for it already, that a GMC version hasn't been ruled out. During the recent press launch, Automotive News asked lead engineer Al Manzor if the Trax could wear a GMC-branded suit, to which Manzor replied, "I think that is certainly possible." That's a long way from telling us anything about the probability of a GMC version of the Trax, and a legion of questions would need to be answered before it could happen. How would a GMC version be priced to leave room for the $26,465 GMC Terrain but not eat into sales of the $20,995 Trax or the $24,035 Encore? Or would that matter? Could it primarily be considered to encourage a new faction of The Yukon Set at the compact end, GMC buyers being famously committed to the marque? And of course, would there be a Denali version? It'll probably be a long while before we have any kind of answers, but if you want to see it happen, the door to your campaign of persuasion is at least ajar.

GM files to trademark name Badlands

If you've been hoping for General Motors to come out swinging at the Ford F-150 Raptor, we've had some tantalizing news for you of late. Last month we brought you a report that indicated GM has trademarked the name "Z71 Trail Boss," suggesting a potential hardcore off-roader. Now it seems the General has filed for a potentially even better name. That name, as our friends over at GM Authority have discovered, is "Badlands." The application, filed on February 16, indicates that it's for a truck, but of course it doesn't specify just what form it would take... or for that matter, under which division it would fall. So we could, in theory, be looking at the nameplate for a Raptor rival from Chevy or GMC (like the 2011 Sierra All Terrain HD concept pictured here), or for some other trim level, a concept truck, a special edition... just about anything. Heck, it could be for a Vauxhall, Opel or Holden for all we know at this point. Or GM could choose not to use it on anything at all, but here's hoping it'll emerge as something awesome in US showrooms sometime soon. Featured Gallery 2011 Detroit: GMC Sierra All Terrain Concept News Source: GM AuthorityImage Credit: Copyright 2015 AOL Government/Legal Chevrolet GM GMC Truck Off-Road Vehicles trademark