While Honda and others are reaping the benefits from selling loads of smaller cars, the makers of big trucks an SUVs are taking it it on the chin. In it's latest move GM will cutting one shift in all four of their factories that make full-size pickups and SUVs. The cuts will occur at Pontiac, Flint, MI;  Janesville, Wis; and Oshawa, Ontario.

States GM North America President Troy Clarke: “With rising fuel prices, a softening economy and a downward trend on current and future market demand for full-sized trucks, a significant adjustment was needed to align our production with market realities.”

Full story here and here.

Dodge Ram hurting too
AutoObserver points out that Chrysler LLC is spending more than anyone on truck incentives in order to move Ram trucks off dealer lots.

Dodge Ram: Spending Most for Incentives

Same with Toyota
High inventories of Tundras and Sequoias are hurting the "Big T."

Image: Patricia Beck / Detroit Free Press

Checking in on Peter De Lorenzo over at AutoExtremist.com, and as usual, he has some interesting if not thought-provoking ideas. This time it's a "What if" scenario for a future GM, and this of course, is in a perfect world. By that I mean if franchise laws, etc., could be resolved to make this work.

Here's the short story version: The only divisions that would exist here would be Chevrolet, Cadillac and Hummer. Buick would only be sold outside the USA. GMC, Pontiac, Saturn would disappear altogether. Saab? It would be sold off or disappear. As usual, De Lorenzo makes a strong case supporting his ideas.

So, do you agree with him or not?

For the details check it out here.

We've done something a little unorthodox. Instead of comparing direct competitors, we put different types of vehicles together to find the best family car.

We took a minivan, an SUV and a crossover -- a Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sequoia and GMC Acadia.

Which one would you choose?

Read the comparison test on Inside Line.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

 

GM had to shut their Pontiac, MI truck assembly plant due to the strike at American Axle. The plant builds full-size SUVs and pickup for Chevy and GMC.

Not only is the strike hurting GM, but it could soon affect Chrysler as well, as they also supply parts for Dodge trucks.

“It is unfortunate that a market-competitive labor agreement for American Axle’s original U.S. locations could not be reached,” said company president Richard Dauch. “All of the changes we have proposed have been accepted by the UAW in agreements with our competitors in the United States.”

Full story here.

Here's AutoObserver's take: GM Closes Plant Due to Supplier Strike

The prospect for actually selling any of these is anybody's guess. If the 2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid follows the example of GM's hybrid SUVs and is $6 or $7 grand more than the conventional truck, we're not seeing much hope.

The truck buyers who are really serious about fuel economy spend their $6,000 to buy the Duramax diesel. It's an investment in a known quantity. Which would you buy -- a diesel with gold-standard residual value, or a hybrid powertrain with absolutely no track record in the resale market?

A lotta "green" feel-good here -- after all, GM is the first to market with a hybrid in an exclusively American segment -- but this is mainly PR smoke. -- Bill Visnic, Senior Editor, AutoObserver

So you're GMC. You're selling somewhere around 450,000 professional-grade products (read: trucks) a year. You are the second-best-selling brand in all of General Motors. You're selling like 7,000 Acadias per month. Times are sweet, right? Yes.

But here's the hitch: You can only sell trucks. Gas prices are rising and so are fuel-economy standards. Also, truck-based utes are fading to black. The Acadia is a nice step away from Envoy but what you really need is a carlike, truck-type thing. Hence, the Denali XT Concept.

In person, this Pontiac G8-based car/truck hybrid looks brutish in the best possible way. Forget what the designer Bryan Nesbitt says. (It's a precision tool for professional-grade fun.) We think Buick-Pontiac-GMC general manager is closer to the truth. "It takes the Ridgeline-type concept to a new place," he said. "Like an attractive place?" we ask. "Yes," he said, "to an attractive place."

It's not exactly a no-brainer for production, though. Forget about the Ridgeline for a second and forget the talk of the return of the El Camino (or Caballero). In concept the Denali XT most resembles the unloved Subaru Baja. There's a cautionary tale if ever we've seen one. Tread lightly, GMC. -- Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

GMC will be showing this flex-fuel, 2-mode hybrid 4.9L V8 pickup concept at the Chicago auto show.

As we all know SUVs have been getting serious makeover in that many (most!) are now adapting many car-like engineering features (IRS, etc.), and now we're starting to see this occurring also on pickups. Well, concept pickups that is—but, if you read between the lines here, you just know it won't be too long before some of these ideas will hit the showroom. In fact one already has: the Honda Ridgeline—and I expect more to follow.

This Aussie-designed GMC Denali XT concept is based on the GM Zeta car platform. I would rather, however, see this mid-sized truck based on the Acadia SUV platform. I just think it would be a better platform for this type of vehicle.

While I do like this direction, one thing that absolutely mystifies me about this concept is that it has only 47.5" between the bed wheel wells. Couldn't they find an extra inch so that it could handle 4x8 paneling flat on the bed floor? The Honda Ridgeline has 49" between the rear wheel wells.

Also, it only has a 1,100 pound payload? That certainly won't cut it. Heck, the Ridgeline has a 1,550 or so payload. Towing is also marginal at 3,500 pounds; again, the Ridgeline is rated to tow 5,000.

Another thing I'm not wild about is the tailgate that wraps around the taillight. As you can see, when the tailgate is lowered, those turned up corners are sure to get damaged sooner or later.

Styling vs Substance
No question that GM is a master of styling, but is that what's needed here? I'm not so sure. Whatever the General green-lights for production, I sure hope will match or exceed the Ridgeline in terms of "work capability," otherwise... who knows, it could be DOA.

Full story here at AutoblogGreen, and here at Jalopnik. PickupTruck.com has some interesting videos as well as some vehicle comparisons on their link.

Here's Inside Line's take: 2008 Chicago Auto Show: GMC Denali XT

The best part about the Big Game when your team is not involved (um, go Eagles?) are the commercials.

Those 30-second spots that are usually your chance to run to the bathroom or throw some nachos into the microwave, morph into multi-million dollar mini movies. And the car companies compete every year in hopes that theirs will be the one that everyone is talking about the next day.

This year expect masterpieces from Audi, Cadillac, Ford, GMC, Hyundai and Toyota.

Super Bowl XLII will be broadcast live on the Fox network on February 3 at 6:18 p.m. Eastern Time.

So, enjoy the Big Game but check back on Inside Line to watch your favorite ads again and again on our Super Bowl car commercial page.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

 

Not sure if this image is the real deal or just a Photoshop effort, but either way, it gives you a pretty good idea as to what to expect. It's a Holden Crewman Ute, that has been GMC-ized. The concept will be on display at the New York Auto Show, so says GM's Bob Lutz.

“It is very tough looking, with a sport-utility look that is very low, very aggressive looking, a blend between a sport utility and the classic Australian four-door Ute,” states Lutz.

I suspect, that if such a project gets green-lighted, that the finished vehicle may actually have some real-world work capability. The reason being is the impending tough fuel regulations. That means smaller, more efficient vehicles of all sorts, including trucks. If GMC can convince buyers that a vehicle like this could indeed do some of the tasks that a 1/2-ton Sierra can do, maybe some of those folks will end up buying these instead.

Full story here.

On the outside, this GMC Acadia looks like a normal SUV. Inside, it’s a technology powerhouse with lots of futuristic features courtesy of Delphi.

First there’s a new gauge cluster that’s basically just a display screen. That means anything can be displayed there. When the Acadia is in park, the entertainment menu can replace the gauges. When the car is moving, the entertainment menu moves to the head up display (which isn’t visible here). The dash and center stack are noticeably cleaner and leaner. Delphi believes wireless technology means hard drives and media players can be relocated out of sight, not just in the dash. The dash houses only controls for the hidden hardware.

The outside rear view mirrors have been replaced by cameras with monitors mounted INSIDE the car near the typical mirror position. A shorter distance between the gauges and mirrors means a quicker glance when changing lanes. The view is also more expansive than with a typical mirror.

Finally, Delphi has outfitted this Acadia with a face recognition sensor – that purple glow isn’t a flash reflection, its an eye that analyzes the driver’s face. If the wrong person is sitting there, the vehicle won’t start. The system doubles as a driver fatigue monitor – if it looks like you’re gonna nod off while on the road, a buzzer sounds and a light flashes.

It may seem like nothing more than a vast collection of pipe dreams as some of these features have been seen before on various concept cars. The difference is that Delphi put all this stuff into a production car and company officials say they’d expect to see real world applications by model year 2011 or 2012 – Brian Moody, Road Test Editor.