GMC News: Hi GMC Sierra Regular Cab

[William Maley]

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By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

May 16, 2013

This is an odd way to introduce a new body style. General Motors released a press release today talking about the aerodynamics of the new pickups. The pictures used for this press release was the regular cab version of the 2014 GMC Sierra.

Now it doesn't take that much imagination to figure out what the regular cab version would look like, but I have to say it looks very nice. The Sierra regular cab used in the photos is the Z71 model with the standard bed. We'll have more information on this when the truck goes on sale later this year.

Source: General Motors

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected]or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Press Release is on Page 2

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GMC Pickups 101: Busting Myths of Truck Aerodynamics

2014 Sierra gains fuel economy, quietness from time in wind tunnel

DETROIT – The all-new 2014 Sierra full-size pickup truck spent more development time in a wind tunnel than any GMC pickup before it, resulting in design changes that benefit both fuel efficiency and interior quietness.

To achieve improved airflow, aerodynamic engineers like Diane Bloch examined every millimeter of the truck to find areas of improvement, debunking some popular myths along the way.

To study the way air passes over, under and around the Sierra, engineers used General Motors' state-of-the-art Aerodynamics Lab, a 750-foot-long tunnel through which a 43-foot-diameter fan powered by a DC electric motor with the equivalent of 4,500 horsepower can generate winds of up to 138 mph. Aerodynamic advancement is one reason why the 2014 Sierra will be the most fuel-efficient V-8 pickup on the market.

"We can't stop air; we can only guide it through the path of least resistance. It's like electricity, without the shock," said Bloch, GM aerodynamic performance engineer. "The biggest misconception is that it's all about single components. But a certain side mirror design doesn't create a certain amount of drag, its interaction with the rest of the vehicle does."

For example, a new air dam below the 2014 Sierra's front bumper successfully reduces drag because it directs air toward the ground and away from the truck's rough underbody. And Sierra's ducted flow path between the grille and radiator prevents air from swirling inside the truck's front cavities.

Even the top of the Sierra's tailgate and the center high-mounted stop light are optimized to guide air cleanly around the truck. And because Bloch's team detected unwanted airflow between the cab and bed, new sealing has been added.

"We discovered that in the computational analysis we perform," said Bloch. "The most harmful air between the cab and bed was coming over the cab and down through the gap, so we paid the most attention to that specific area."

The pickup market has a great number of available aftermarket accessories, and Bloch says those have varying impact on aerodynamics. Add-ons like bug deflectors on the hood, wider tires or aftermarket bumpers can raise the drag coefficient, which is the measure of how air pushes on a vehicle as it moves down the road. The result: added noise and increased fuel consumption.

A long-disputed topic among truck owners is whether a tailgate raised or lowered is better for aerodynamics, but Bloch says a tailgate in the up position is more aerodynamically efficient. As air flows over the truck, it falls over the cab and pushes forward on the rear of the truck. With the tailgate down, the benefits of that airflow are diminished.

"Replacing the tailgate with an aftermarket net is worse than having no tailgate at all," Bloch said. "Imagine dragging a solid object and a fishing net through water. The net is going to require more muscle."

So what accessories can truck owners add to help aerodynamics? Tonneau covers for the bed help smooth airflow over the truck, and Bloch says soft covers are more beneficial than hard covers because they form to how the air wants to flow. Running boards can also help air flow smoothly down the truck's sides.

"Round, tube-style running boards can provide a minor improvement to the truck's drag coefficient," said Bloch, "Fully integrated, flush-mount running boards are even better."

GMC has manufactured trucks since 1902, and is one of the industry's healthiest brands. Innovation and engineering excellence is built into all GMC vehicles and the brand is evolving to offer more fuel-efficient trucks and crossovers, including the Terrain small SUV and Acadia crossover. The 2014 Sierra half-ton pickup boasts all-new powertrains and design, and the Sierra Heavy Duty pickups are the most capable and powerful trucks ever built by GMC. Every retail GMC model, including Yukon and Yukon XL full-size SUVs, is now available in Denali luxury trim. Details on all GMC models are available at http://www.gmc.com/, on Twitter at @thisisgmc or at http://www.facebook.com/gmc.

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[ocnblu]

hot!

[David]

Sweet Looking Truck. GMC is on a roll with their Trucks, now to just get the full size Yukon to look better than the girly style it has. I would love the look of the Terrain on the Yukon. That would be one hot Full Size SUV.

[Drew Dowdell]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I think the GM trucks are the worst looking in their standard cab models. Ram = best, Ford = Eh, Toyota = "why's it look so pudgy!?", GM = proportions are all wrong.

It's like they build the proportions for the extended or crew cab models and then shrink the cab down for the standard cab.

[GMTruckGuy74]

There isn't much out there in online photo land of the regualr cab trucks, but I spotted this printed poster of the '14 Chevy Silverado at the Baltimore Convention Center's Firehouse Expo 2013 back on July 26:

Production should be underway soon as the Double Cabs are just now arriving at dealers. I believe a timeframe I saw somewhere months back stated Regular Cab production for August/September.

PickupTrucks.com featured an article on a special 1/2 ton contractor pickup that will be offered, which showcases the 1500 Regular Cab models (both Sierra & Silverado) here.

[David]

Interesting mule trucks. True to form, they do cover the work world.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Yeah, but I'm puzzled by the fact GM will be offering 1/2 ton (1500) chasis cab trucks. I can't recall the last time they did that (2500 and 3500 are the norm in this field). I'm wondering how much they could carry and still offer decent performance. My fire station's 2006 Ford F350 Single Rear Wheel (SRW) Super Duty utility truck is a slug with the amount of equipment we carry (and the suspension lets you know it too). We inherited the truck from the police department in '07 or '08 I was told, as my previous captain said he would have gone with a F450 or F550 Dual Rear Wheel (DWR) set-up. I like looking at PUTC's article because there are not a lot of pictures of the regular cab floating around just yet.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Interesting Regular Cab, Short (Standard) Bed article here, with production pics of the 2014 Chevy Silverardo RCSB 4x4 (and the new base steel rims).

[GMTruckGuy74]

You can now "build your own" Standard and Long Box Regular Cab models on both the GMC and Chevrolet websites:

Build your own GMC Sierra

Buiild your own Chevrolet Silverado

[ocnblu]

I don't know if it's my computer or not, but it is way too easy to confuse the Silverado site and lock it up. Thanks, Roger, for posting the links!

[FAPTurbo]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I think the GM trucks are the worst looking in their standard cab models. Ram = best, Ford = Eh, Toyota = "why's it look so pudgy!?", GM = proportions are all wrong.

It's like they build the proportions for the extended or crew cab models and then shrink the cab down for the standard cab.

I'm in the same boat. Maybe its the colour, but that single cab GMC in the first post looks really weird. As if they decided to strap on extra bulk/sheetmetal to compete against Ford & Dodge, circa 2005.

It's like GM decided to make this truck generation undesirable in nearly every way. Why someone would purchase one of these over a Ram or even a Ford is a bit of a headscratcher.

[Intrepidation]

Personally I think all standard cab trucks within the last 20 years or so look off proportionately. Even worse if its a short bed standard cab. Then again the new generation Silverado isn't a looker in any form.

[ocnblu]

Nice, concerted effort, guys!

[GMTruckGuy74]

I found this Sierra picture on Google tonight:

[GMTruckGuy74]

I do find the GMT-900 and the so far seen K2xxx regular cab standard bed models to be "stubby". I've always been a fan of the regular cab, long bed models (with the exception of the sportside/stepside models). Here's the image I got from the GMC.com build your own Sierra:

[Drew Dowdell]

It's ...just.. too much nose for not enough cab.

[GMTruckGuy74]

[ocnblu]

HOT