First Look: 2011 GMC Sierra 3500 HD Denali

It was only a month ago that we had our first look at the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty pickups. Now, it’s GMC’s turn in the spotlight. The “professional grade” brand is unveiling the 2011 GMC Sierra HD lineup at the NTEA Work Truck Show. While most of the technical specifications of GM’s HD pickups are identical, GMC is adding a new high-end Sierra Denali HD model to its work truck lineup.

The luxurious Sierra Denali will only be available as a crew cab four-wheel drive 2500 model with a choice of either the standard 360 horsepower / 380 pounds-feet of torque 6.0-liter V-8 gas engine or the class-leading 397 hp and 765 pounds-feet 6.6-liter Duramax V-8 turbodiesel.

To separate it visually from the rest of the Sierra HD trucks, the exterior of the Denali HD will feature a four-bar chrome grille along with body-color bumpers, chrome door handles, chrome accents and 18- and 20-inch polished forged aluminum wheels. As with other Denali models, the cabin will be unique with standard premium touches. It will include Denali-specific brushed aluminum trim, power-adjustable pedals, a Bose premium surround audio system and 12-way power seats. Along with an optional heated steering wheel, heated and cooled leather-appointed seating is available. The exterior will be offered in three colors: Black, Stealth Gray and White.

The rest of the new 2011 Sierra HD lineup receives new three-bar grilles and prominent louvered hoods, along with a revised chrome steel front bumper and new 17-, 18- and 20-inch wheels. The interior, though, is mostly unchanged.

GM made the biggest changes to the Sierra’s frame, powertrain and running gear to increase towing and hauling capacity.

Maximum trailering is rated up to 20,000 pounds pulling a fifth wheel trailer with a dual rear wheel Duramax diesel and up to 14,500 pounds pulling a fifth wheel trailer with a single rear wheel 6.0-liter gas V-8.

Maximum payload is rated up to 6,335 pounds with the DRW 6.0-liter gas V-8 and up to 5,724 pounds with the DRW 6.6-liter Duramax V-8. Five of 12 Sierra 3500 models offer a payload capability greater than 6,000 pounds.

Jeff Luke, GM's chief engineer for full-size pickups, said the new frame has five times the torsional strength, 92 percent better bending stiffness and 20 percent better beaming stiffness. The front frame bay cradling the engine is 125 percent stiffer than the old frame.

Torsional strength is how much the frame will twist side to side under load. Bending stiffness is how much the frame will bend under load. Beaming stiffness is how much the frame will flex as it's loaded in the center and supported at both ends. The stronger frame is also said to help reduce noise, vibration and harshness, particularly up front. The engine mount brackets have been strengthened, and their positions supporting the engine are optimized so that the bracket attachment points are now set relative to the center of the frame rail instead of offset at an angle, which had caused unwanted engine vibration.

There are a total of 11 different frame assemblies, depending on cab configuration, wheelbase, weight class and whether it's a pickup or a commercial chassis cab.

In the front suspension, the upper control arm is now made from forged instead of cast steel, for increased strength and weight savings, while the cast-iron lower control arm has been bolstered to handle greater loads. To help improve ride quality, two urethane jounce bumpers instead of one are mounted to the frame to cushion each side of the lower control arm, and there's also a new upper shock mount attachment design as well as all-new shocks.

There's also a new steering box with a 16-1 turn ratio and larger front linkage to manage increased front-end loads resulting from the improved front gross axle weight rating, which has jumped from 4,800 pounds to 6,000 pounds.

It's not just the stronger frame and suspension that support the increased towing and hauling numbers in the 2011 GMC Sierra HD. There's also a revised 6.6-liter Duramax clean diesel. Sixty percent of its parts are new, and Duramax chief engineer Gary Arvan said it will be 11 percent more fuel efficient than the previous LMM Duramax.

To ensure that the driver refills the DEF tank, Duramax-equipped trucks will warn the driver when the fluid is down to a 1,000-mile range. A series of start-up warnings — including lights, chimes and messages — will become more frequent until the tank is empty. When the DEF fluid is down to a 100-mile range, the truck will be limited to only 55 mph. As the range declines, so will the vehicle's top speed. If the driver continues to operate the truck with a dry DEF tank, after a final warning and restart, the truck will operate in a “limp home” mode that limits speed to just 5 mph until the tank is refilled.

The 2011 Sierra adds the first application of trailer sway control to GM's full-size pickups. It works using the truck's antilock braking system and integrated trailer brake controller to brake individual wheels on the pickup automatically when it senses dangerous yaw in the rear of the truck from the trailer, which could happen if weight unexpectedly shifts inside the trailer. If the trailer has electric brakes and is connected to the Sierra's 7-pin trailer connector, the truck can also automatically apply the trailer's brakes to stop dangerous sway. TRW is the supplier for the system.

The Sierra also has bigger wheel brakes that have increased from 12.8 inches to 14 inches in diameter and widened from 1.5 inches to 1.57 inches. They feature a larger swept area for better stopping power, and the operating pressures have been changed to provide a firmer feel during application with less pedal travel required. The bigger brakes are a necessary improvement to reach higher gross combined weight ratings across the line.

Another new safety feature can help with hill starts. Hill-hold assist will automatically apply the vehicle's brakes for 1.5 seconds once you lift your foot off the brake when you're on an incline. It's part of the Sierra's integrated trailer brake controller, so it will apply the trailer's brakes, too, if it has electric brakes.

Finally, all single rear-wheel Sierra HD pickups will come standard with GM's StabiliTrak stability and traction control system. Though it's not required on trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds, on the GM pickups it will run up to the heaviest 11,600-pound GVWR.

We can't wait to drive the heck out of these trucks this summer when they go on sale.  To order your GMC HD, contact Bradshaw GMC in Greer, South Carolina.  Visit us 24/7 at www.BradshawGreer.com.  We have the complete line of GMC as well as Chevy,  Buick, and Cadillac

GM Receives Consumer Guide Automotive Awards

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For more than 40 years,Consumer Guide has empowered car buyers to shop with confidence, providing reviews in 18 vehicle categories. The following GM vehicles have been awarded with a best buy or recommended buy from the 2010 Consumer Guide: ·

Cadillac CTS – premium midsize car, best buy·
Cadillac DTS – premium large car, recommended buy·
Cadillac Escalade – premium large SUV, recommended buy.
Cadillac was not the only GM brand to do well.·
Chevrolet Malibu – midsize car, best buy·
Chevrolet Corvette – premium sporty/performance car, best buy·
Chevrolet Equinox – midsize SUV, recommended buy·
Chevrolet Traverse – midsize SUV, best buy·
Chevrolet Tahoe – large SUV, best buy·
Chevrolet Suburban, large SUV, best buy·
Chevrolet Silverado, large pickup, recommended buy·
Buick LaCrosse – large car, best buy·
Buick Enclave, premium midsize SUV, best buy·
GMC Acadia – midsize SUV, best buy·
GMC Terrain – midsize SUV, recommended buy·
GMC Yukon – large SUV, best buy·
GMC Sierra 1500 – large pickup, recommended buy

See the best selection of Chevrolet Buick GMC and Cadillac at Bradshaw in Greer, SC. Shop 24/7 at http://www.bradshawgreer.com/

'Clunker' Rebates Stir Car Buyers

By ALEX P. KELLOGG and JOSH MITCHELL

The first weekend of "cash for clunkers" rebates boosted new-vehicle sales, despite minor snags and worries the program might not have a long-lasting effect.

On Monday, Daryl Little turned in his dusty 1995 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with 362,000 miles at Cook Chevrolet Pontiac Buick in Vassar, Mich., and drove off with a new, 2009 Silverado that qualified for the rebates because it gets much better gas mileage than his old one.

Mr. Little said he would have been lucky to get $1,200 for his old truck and wouldn't have had the money to buy the new one without the $4,500 clunker rebate. "I thought I'll never get a better deal," the construction-company manager said.

A sign advertises the government's cash-for-clunkers sales incentive at Tropical Chrysler Jeep in Miami Shores, Fla. Dealers reported strong sales over the weekend by buyers seeking the up to $4,500 allowances.

It is unclear, however, whether the $1 billion program -- officially the Cash Allowance Rebate System -- is going to boost sales over time or merely pull forward purchases by customers planning to buy new vehicles in the weeks or months ahead. The program is due to expire Nov 1.

"I don't think this is permanent by any means," said Emir Abinion, a former Ford dealer who owns two Volkswagen dealerships in suburban Chicago. "It's just a shot in the arm...I don't know one dealer who would think this will be a catalyst for sales."

George Fowler, a Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealer in Dearborn, Mich., said he has made seven sales so far through the program. More than 30 people have come in hoping to buy, but most didn't meet the qualifications. Most of those participating, he said, would likely have bought a new vehicle in the coming months regardless of the discount.

"These are people who would have been in the market anyway, and they have a trade that was worth $1,500 and now is worth $4,500," he said.

Under the program, new-car buyers can get $3,500 or $4,500 in rebates when they trade in older vehicles for more fuel-efficient models. The program was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in June, but the rules and details were only laid out Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The White House is counting on the rebates to spur vehicle sales at a time when auto makers have been hit particularly hard by the recession. U.S. auto sales are on pace to total about 10 million vehicles, down from about 13 million in 2008 and 16 million in 2007. Boosting new-vehicle sales would also help the administration's efforts to turn around General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.

Nearly 16,000 auto dealers signed up to participate in the program, and a government hotline has handled more than 45,000 calls from people seeking information, a Transportation Department spokeswoman said. A Web site for the program registered 1.5 million hits since Friday.

A few glitches have appeared. Some dealers said junkyards in their area are ill-prepared to handle the influx of older cars expected to be scrapped. Others said the 136-page instruction manual provided by the government is confusing. Some consumers have been disappointed their cars don't qualify. The NHTSA Web site where dealers must register to participate crashed for a time on Friday due to heavy use.

But the program is bringing car buyers into showrooms, said dealers. At Paragon Honda in Queens, N.Y., General Manager Brian Benstock said he started working out clunker trade-ins before the program's official launch and has sold 50 cars this month, including eight over the weekend.

Few older Hondas qualify for the program given their fuel-efficiency, but it has been a bonus for
foreign auto makers, he said. Many of the vehicles turned in are GM and Ford pickups, he said. "This has all been a market-share gain for us," Mr. Benstock said.

Steve Cook, owner of the Michigan dealership where Mr. Little bought his new Silverado, said the past weekend was the busiest he has had in months. "I'm going to sell in a week what I sold in a month."

Mike Adamson, who owns three franchises around Rochester, Minn., has seen the clunkers program triple overall sales at his Lincoln Mercury, Hyundai and Chrysler Dodge dealerships. On Monday, his dealerships had sold 50 vehicles that were awaiting final government approvals.
"It's way more than I could have anticipated," said Mr. Adamson.—Sharon Terlep, Matthew Dolan and Jeff Bennett contributed to this article.

Write to Josh Mitchell at joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B2