Truck and SUV Design To Change At General Motors
With increasing scrutiny on fuel consumption and efficiency, General Motors may be switching gears and reducing its dependency on truck- based sport utility vehicles.
Demand from consumers as well as the government has been putting pressure on GM to boost fuel efficiency, causing a reported interest in creating lighter, car-based SUVs. This trend is evident among Bob Watson Chevrolet drivers who have felt the increased cost at the pump. Many of GM’s SUVs such as the full-size Chevrolet Tahoe currently rides on a heavy truck chassis which is shared with pickup truck platforms.
The Chevrolet Silverado and other GM pickups essentially share identical chassis with a wide range of large SUVs including the Chevrolet Suburban, Cadillac Escalate, and GMC Yukon. By switching to a car based chassis, the formula changes dramatically as their popular SUVs will have to be changed from the ground up.
This move is partially aimed to satisfy new government requirements. By 2020, the government demands that vehicles will need to cut down on fuel consumption by 40 percent and boost the consumption average up to 35 miles per gallon.
Making vehicles lighter is part of the new equation to curb excessive fuel consumption. As the price of fuel continues to skyrocket across the country, dealers such as GMC Rochester need vehicles that get consumers excited and offer greater efficiency, and the move is not only to appease government demands, but is also a way to satisfy growing consumer demands for efficiency.
The move to a unibody or car-based design will force GM to spend more money on developing new platforms. Even Ford has struggled to provide additional crossovers and fuel efficient vehicles, resulting in strong sales of the Ford Edge and Escape at Ford Dealers Ashland. Sharing platforms between trucks and SUVs has helped the company save since the vehicles used common parts and components.
Sales of gas guzzling
trucks and SUVs have declined dramatically recently as the price of gasoline
hovers around $4 per gallon in many parts of the country. With a costly move to
make larger SUVs more efficient, it could make the automaker more profitable in
the long run. Raynham New Buick dealers have already seen improvements, as vehicles such as the Buick Enclave offer both incredible size and cargo capacity as well as moderate efficiency.
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More GMC vehicle news coming shortly.
