GMC

GMC

GMC

Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

GMC

GMC

GMC

GMC

DETROIT—Here in 2018, the luxury car is dead. It's not that people don't want vehicles packed with gadgets and leather, it's just that they want them to come in the shape of a truck or SUV. In 2017, the top three selling vehicles were all light trucks, plenty of which are used for commuting rather than hauling heavy loads to work sites. GMC has been selling loaded pickups for almost two decades now, and the company has high hopes for its new 2019 Sierra, which it revealed to the world on Wednesday afternoon in Detroit.

"The heritage of the GMC brand is rooted in full-size trucks, of which the Sierra is our cornerstone, with our SLT and Denali models contributing 87 percent of our total crew cab sales," said Duncan Aldred, vice president of Global GMC. "The next-generation Sierra caters to these unique customers who demand a premium, innovative truck that supports their professional and personal passions."

Normally we might not be that interested in a new truck reveal here at Ars, but the Sierra Denali piques my interest on more than one front. For one, it's apparently the first truck to be offered with a heads-up display. Plus its V8 engines use that clever new cylinder-deactivation technology we wrote about recently, called Dynamic Fuel Management in GMC-speak. That should make them about 15 percent more efficient than the V8 models they replace.

Carbon fiber? I thought GM’s trucks were made from submarines

Recently, General Motors' commercials have been throwing shade on rival Ford for its use of anything other than steel in truck beds. And the stock model continues to use steel, albeit a new alloy that GMC says is 50 percent stronger than before. But there will be a better option available, called CarbonPro. As the name suggests, this uses carbon fiber in place of steel for the inner panels and bed. The weight saving for the truck bed alone is 62lbs over the conventional unit. The weight saving continues throughout the vehicle, with aluminum used for body panels like the hood, fenders, and tailgate; in all, it weighs up to 360lbs (163kg) less than the outgoing truck.

The Sierra's tailgate also got a redesign. You'd think a tailgate just has to open and close, but this one will assume six different positions, including one that becomes a workstation. Other modes work as steps to get into the bed or make it easier to load things into the truck. GMC says that the MultiPro tailgate has "undergone more testing and validation than any tailgate in GM’s history" and is capable of supporting up to 375lbs (170kg).

Advanced truck assist technology

In addition to the heads-up display, the Sierra has a few other techno-tricks. It uses the rear camera mirror that we've seen in a few other GM vehicles, although now you can zoom in or tweak the viewing angle. There's blind-spot monitoring and pedestrian detection, and 360-degree cameras with a top-down view for parking or low-speed maneuvering.

Finally, GMC wants to make trailering a lot easier with the new Sierra. To that end, it's making the ProGrade Trailering System standard equipment. This uses an infotainment app (as well as working with GMC's Android and iOS smartphone apps) and sensors on the truck to give drivers a pre-departure checklist and maintenance reminders. The system also tests that the trailer's lights are working, its tires have air, and so on. There are also optional cameras that can add side- and rear-view video feeds of the trailer, and a theft-detection system integrates with OnStar to let you know if some miscreant is messing with your stuff.

The 2019 Sierra Denali and Sierra SLT will go on sale this fall, with pricing announced closer to the time.

Listing image by GMC