Autoblog

General Motors has informed its dealers that production of some of its 2008 full-size trucks and SUVs has been halted due to the ongoing American Axle strike. The affected vehicles include the GMC Yukon, Denali, Sierra heavy-duty regular and extended cab, its commercial-duty pickup and variants of Chevrolet trucks and Tahoes. According to the General, a basic lack of parts is the reason for the stoppage and dealer orders for the week of May 8th and May 15th have been cancelled. While a lack of production is bad news for any automaker, we can't help but think that it couldn't have come at a better time for the General as SUV and truck sales are down overall.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req'd]

So, who else noticed the complete lack of truck photos in John's otherwise excellent gallery of wallpaper-worthy shots from the 2007 Detroit Auto Show? Well, not every Autoblogger grew up watching Colt Seavers thrashing on a beautiful GMC, so the task of gathering up shots of the latest heavy-duty light trucks fell upon yours truly.

For those with diesel fuel running through their veins, we'd like to present photos of Ford's new F-250 and F-450 King Ranch, and Chevrolet's K3500HD Big Dooley and Kodiak C4500. We'd be proud to hit a worksite with any of these vehicles, and the new 4500-series vehicles are particularly interesting to those of us accustomed to occasionally violating the GVWR of our 3/4- and 1-ton pickups.

Click on the photo above for 36 pictures of pickup goodness, or use this link.

GM has revealed the details for its new full-size heavy-duty pickups, the 2500HD and 3500HD versions of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks.

The big trucks offer a huge range of configurations. Buyers can chose the ¾-ton 2500HD or full-ton 3500HD with rear wheel drive or 4WD; with standard or "dually" rear axle; regular, extended or crew cab; 6'6" or 8-foot pickup bed; a large range of gas and diesel engines; smooth-ridin' Z85 or Z71 off-road suspension package; and a variety of trim levels and interior configurations. That'll give you more choices than a McDonalds menu.

Like the Ford Super-Duty, the Silverado and Sierra heavy-duty trucks now feature unique, bolder styling to set it apart from the light-duty 1500 models. The difference can be seen in the shape of the hood, front fenders, grille, headlamps, taillamps and pickup box. The windshield is raked back at a steeper 57-degree angle (making it now slightly more aerodynamic than a barn in a hurricane), and the suicide rear doors on the extended cab now open a full 170-degrees, making it easier for the entire construction crew to squeeze in.

Inside, contractors buyers can specify the standard pickup interior for the WT, LT/SLE models, or a new, more luxurious (you'll swear you were in a Bentley) interior for Silverado LTZ and Sierra SLT. GM is boasting improved interior fit-and-finish, increased sound-deadening insulation, use of higher-quality materials, more nooks and crannies to store yer stuff and improved ergonomics (there's really only way to go). The ravine between the cab and the box has been reduced by a whopping 50%, meaning you'll lose fewer wrenches back there. In the cab you'll also find a host of electronic do-dads including touch-screen sat-nav, DVD entertainment center (with theater-style folding seats in the back – arguably more for ease-of-loading than ambiance), MP3-enabled CD stereo and OnStar.

(Full press release after the jump.)

[Source: GM]

Most of us - even dyed-in-the-wool truck guys - would think that Dodge's latest take on semi-truck styling imbues the Ram with sufficient big-rig credibility (especially when equipped with the Cummins diesel). Greg Severt apparently does not, and that's probably because his day job involves playing with the real thing. So he did what seemed right, removing the cab and bed from a 2005 Ram 3500 and replacing it with sheetmetal from a 1994 Peterbilt. Rounding out the conversion is a bed from a '53 Chevrolet pickup, with a set of Peterbuilt front fenders replacing the original stepside quarter panels.

The stock Cummins engine remains intact, and resides under the forward-tilting hood. That particular feature required shortening the front frame rails by two inches - a move that had to be rather nerve-racking on a brand new pickup. The look is rounded out by a set of 40" tall Mickey Ts on some 20" Weld Racing wheels, with a mild lift providing the required clearance.

Interestingly enough, the conversion actually resulted in a weight reduction, as the cab and hood are aluminum (weight being very important in the heavy truck industry, where every pound of truck is one less pound of cargo).

[Source: Diesel Power]

GM has stated that it will be rolling out the full lineup of Silverados and Sierras early next year, and judging by this spy shot of what looks to be a production-intent Sierra 2500HD, fans of heavy hauling indeed will not have to wait long.

What we see is of little surprise - the sheetmetal appears to be largely carried-over from its half-ton brethren, but we wouldn't be shocked if there's another inch or two of hood budge hiding underneath the camo. The interior will also be brought over from the 1500 lineup. The independent front suspension remains, although we'd expect it to employ somewhat more massive components than the lighter-duty version. What we don't see yet is whether GM will use its new coil-over spring and rack-and-pinion steering architecture, or if the new HDs will continue to use torsion bars and a recirculating-ball steering box.

Don't expect much in the way of powertrain changes at the top of the lineup, as the Duramax already possesses class-leading horsepower (360 hp) and torque (650 ft-lbs.), and the existing six-speed Allison transmission does a great job harnessing that power. The 6.0L LY6 version of GM's GenIV pushrod V8 with approximately 350 hp and 380 ft-lbs. of torque will most likely be the base engine, and will be backed by the 6L90E heavy-duty version of GM's new corporate automatic transmission. A twin-turbo variant of the Duramax is rumored to be coming by the end of the decade for those who are not yet confident that they can tow their house around the block.

UPDATE: The folks at Cheers & Gears have some shots of the GM HD pickups in the open from this week's official introduction.

[Source: Popular Mechanics, GM]