joemac
Posts : 1916 Join date : 2013-04-17 Location : Texas
| Subject: GM downplays shortage of popular pickups and SUV's May 2nd 2014, 11:02 pm | |
| GM downplays shortage of V-8 pickups - Quote :
- General Motors, beguiled by the sales potential of the updated V-6 in its redesigned 2014 full-size pickups, didn't order enough parts for the more-popular V-8.
As a result, Chevrolet and GMC dealers only are getting about 80% of the V-8 Silverados and Sierras they order. The automaker says that won't last long, but won't get more specific.
The shortage is bad for GM. It comes at a time of fast-growing truck sales, often to tradesmen and others who have nursed their old trucks though the recession and can't afford to wait the way personal-use buyers can.
Every sale GM loses for lack of the right engine is one it might never get again. Work users keep their vehicles a long time and once they're out of the market, driving a Ford or Ram or Toyota, it could take very big GM discounts to draw them back to their home brand.
Pickups are among the most profitable vehicles, and truck rival Ford Motor has a new version of the F-150 coming next year. F-150 is the best-selling vehicle of any kind in the U.S., thus it's formidable competition. GM needs to draw as many buyers as possible before the competition gets hotter.
GM thought the V-6s would appeal to more buyers than has been the case because the 4.3-liter base engine now has V-8-level power ratings of 285 horsepower, 305 pounds-feet of torque.
Chevy Silverado product manager Carl Hillenbrand notes that is the same as the now-discontinued 4.8-liter V-8 in the previous generation of Silverado and GMC Sierra. Plus, he says, "Our friends down in Dearborn are doing well with V-6s." That's a reference to Ford, which sells a bout 55% of F-150 pickups with either the base 3.7 V-6 or the optional 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6.
No doubt aggravating the problem: The V-8 models are the ones heavily advertised.
GM is rolling out the new trucks in stages and the fist ones produced were crew-cabs with the 5.3-liter V-8. And that's what GM's advertised heavily, including a poke at Ford by saying the GM 5.3-liter V-8 gets better mileage than Ford's EcoBoost V-6.
Nealry all crew-cabs are bought with V-8s.
Lower-price work trucks only recently have been available and those attract V-6 buyers. More here -> http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/10/02/gm-general-motors-chevrolet-silverado-gmc-sierra-shortage-v-8-v-6/2904761/ | |
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