mikeyb
10-05-2005, 10:50 AM
<TABLE class=ImageBox><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.autoweek.com/images/articles/103274
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Biggest Launch Ever? GM says its 2007 full-size trucks are critical to the company’s success
WES RAYNAL (wraynal@crain.com)
Published Date: 10/3/05
They won’t be the biggest sport/utility vehicles ever introduced, but General Motors officials concede the company’s all-new 2007 full-size SUVs are huge when it comes to GM’s future. Officially, GM insists the trucks won’t make or break the company, but privately they say failure is not an option.
The trucks, pushed ahead in development to help shore up GM’s bottom line, have all-new sheetmetal, new engines, new chassis and suspension, and new interiors. GM says they offer more power and better fuel economy than the vehicles they replace.
The Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon/Yukon Denali and Cadillac Escalade go on sale early next year, followed by extended-wheelbase versions, including Chevy Suburban and Avalanche, GMC Yukon XL and Yukon XL Denali, and Cadillac Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT by mid-year. GM is mum on prices.
The new range of V8 engine offerings includes a base 290-hp 4.8-liter; two 5.3-liters (one aluminum block and one iron block), with Displacement On Demand making 320 hp; a 6.0-liter heavy-duty with variable-valve timing, 350 hp; and another 6.0-liter with both Displacement On Demand and variable valve timing good for 355 hp. At the top of the range is a 6.2-liter with variable valve timing in 380- and 400-hp versions.
Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups follow the SUVs to market later in 2006, with diesel and E85 (ethanol and gasoline mix) flex-fuel engine offerings. Hybrid technology comes to the trucks in 2007, with a two-mode system with electric motors built into the transmissions. GM says it should produce 25 percent fuel economy improvements.
GM officials use the word refinement often to describe the new SUVs, whether referring to the interior or the exterior or the driving experience. The trucks look slightly smaller than those they replace (they aren’t) and the look isn’t radically different from the old hardware, but they do look cleaner. “Everything’s new,” said GM vice chairman Bob Lutz, “but they are still instantly recognizable as our trucks.”
Lutz said designers spent a great deal of attention on the details, and the aim was for taut lines and tight, consistent body panel gaps. “We want you to focus on these details,” Lutz said. “A few years ago we were glad [if] you didn’t, but now we want you to.”
GM claims a 0.363 drag coefficient, the best among SUVs. GM also claims that because of the good aerodynamics, fuel economy is up to a combined 20.5 mpg for two-wheel-drive models and 20.1 mpg for four-wheel-drive versions.
The front suspension is coil-over-shock and the rear is a five-link setup. Four-wheel disc brakes and an all-new ABS system use larger front and rear rotors, 50 percent stiffer dual-piston calipers, and longer-life brake pads. The ABS works with the standard Stabilitrak stability control system.
Lutz said these newest utes “work like trucks but drive like a really nice passenger car.” Even if that proves true, GM needs them to perform just as well, if not better, in its showrooms.
source:http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=103274
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Biggest Launch Ever? GM says its 2007 full-size trucks are critical to the company’s success
WES RAYNAL (wraynal@crain.com)
Published Date: 10/3/05
They won’t be the biggest sport/utility vehicles ever introduced, but General Motors officials concede the company’s all-new 2007 full-size SUVs are huge when it comes to GM’s future. Officially, GM insists the trucks won’t make or break the company, but privately they say failure is not an option.
The trucks, pushed ahead in development to help shore up GM’s bottom line, have all-new sheetmetal, new engines, new chassis and suspension, and new interiors. GM says they offer more power and better fuel economy than the vehicles they replace.
The Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon/Yukon Denali and Cadillac Escalade go on sale early next year, followed by extended-wheelbase versions, including Chevy Suburban and Avalanche, GMC Yukon XL and Yukon XL Denali, and Cadillac Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT by mid-year. GM is mum on prices.
The new range of V8 engine offerings includes a base 290-hp 4.8-liter; two 5.3-liters (one aluminum block and one iron block), with Displacement On Demand making 320 hp; a 6.0-liter heavy-duty with variable-valve timing, 350 hp; and another 6.0-liter with both Displacement On Demand and variable valve timing good for 355 hp. At the top of the range is a 6.2-liter with variable valve timing in 380- and 400-hp versions.
Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups follow the SUVs to market later in 2006, with diesel and E85 (ethanol and gasoline mix) flex-fuel engine offerings. Hybrid technology comes to the trucks in 2007, with a two-mode system with electric motors built into the transmissions. GM says it should produce 25 percent fuel economy improvements.
GM officials use the word refinement often to describe the new SUVs, whether referring to the interior or the exterior or the driving experience. The trucks look slightly smaller than those they replace (they aren’t) and the look isn’t radically different from the old hardware, but they do look cleaner. “Everything’s new,” said GM vice chairman Bob Lutz, “but they are still instantly recognizable as our trucks.”
Lutz said designers spent a great deal of attention on the details, and the aim was for taut lines and tight, consistent body panel gaps. “We want you to focus on these details,” Lutz said. “A few years ago we were glad [if] you didn’t, but now we want you to.”
GM claims a 0.363 drag coefficient, the best among SUVs. GM also claims that because of the good aerodynamics, fuel economy is up to a combined 20.5 mpg for two-wheel-drive models and 20.1 mpg for four-wheel-drive versions.
The front suspension is coil-over-shock and the rear is a five-link setup. Four-wheel disc brakes and an all-new ABS system use larger front and rear rotors, 50 percent stiffer dual-piston calipers, and longer-life brake pads. The ABS works with the standard Stabilitrak stability control system.
Lutz said these newest utes “work like trucks but drive like a really nice passenger car.” Even if that proves true, GM needs them to perform just as well, if not better, in its showrooms.
source:http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=103274