GM, too, removes parts to weigh pickups, boost payload ratings

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General Motors now says it deletes heavy items such as the rear bumper from certain pickups when it weighs them in order to boost the vehicles’ maximum payload ratings.

GM says it adopted the practice for the 2014 model year in response to competitive pressures as it launched redesigned full-sized pickups.

The practice is similar to one adopted by Ford Motor Co. about four years ago to show a maximum payload that is larger than would be possible if the automaker used the standard base curb weight of a pickup.

Chrysler Group’s Ram brand uses only an unmodified base curb weight on the Ram pickup, as does Toyota Motor Corp. to set the payload of its Tundra pickup, spokesmen for those two pickup makers said.

In a July 28 Automotive News story about a feud between Ford and Ram over towing claims, a GM spokesman said the automaker does not delete any items from its pickups when it sets their maximum payload capacities.

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http://www.autonews.com/article/20140730/RETAIL03/140739979/gm-too-removes-parts-to-weigh-pickups-boost-payload-ratings

Douche move on both manufacturers part. You'd think that would be illegal as it is a blatant misrepresentation of reality.

The Society of Automotive Engineers should be doing their own tests to determine what rating each vehicle gets under J2807, as apposed to letting the manufacturers follow the guidelines and ultimately come up with their own specs. And come up with standard criteria to determine a common procedure for weight ratings as well. As long as it's left up to the manufacturer, accuracy will be limited.

Same spiel with the EPA ratings. Rare it is the EPA actually verifies the certified number of the manufacturer.

Driver 1) Ha ha, my truck can out haul/tow yours.

Driver 2) Yea it can. By about 60 pounds. But my truck is a place you actually want to sit in. And I'm not stranded if I get a flat. And I have a bumper with a little notch in it. And a console to store my stuff in, so on and so on.
By the way, I weigh 200 pounds and you weigh 360. So my truck is better than yours, and I can still haul 100 pounds more than you. And if one more bag of cement for my project from home depot puts me 80 pounds over the max payload I'm gonna put it in the not strip down truck anyway.

Driver 1) My truck is half striped away, and I can't brag about the bumper with a notch in it, and you still can haul more than me?

Driver 3) The commercial I saw said my truck could have your truck in the back of mine, while pulling another truck, and a mountain, so mine must be better.
It is ridiculous. Ford and GM are both playing stupid games and it only makes them look bad to those that understand what they are doing. On top of that, As far as I'm concerned they are both being deceptive to the average consumer.

GM will no longer remove parts from trucks to calculate curb weights

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Following last week's mild uproar after it was discovered that Ford and General Motors were removing some optional parts from their pickups to lower the curb weight and consequently increase the maximum payload, GM has come out and committed to a base curb weight for its upcoming Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon compact trucks (although it has yet to publish them) and its current Silverado and Sierra. The company will do the same for its heavy duty offerings, although those numbers have not been finalized yet.

"This will make our curb weight and payload specs more consistent with those of most other truck makers, making it easier for customers to compare vehicles," GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson told Autoblog in an emailed statement.

As GM notes – and as every manufacturer has noted since this story broke – customers still shouldn't take max payload ratings as gospel. Instead, they should refer to their truck's Tire and Load Label, like the one shown at the inset, which will offer detailed information on max payload, specific to their truck.

Automotive News, meanwhile, reports that Ford has not made any changes to the way it figures out max payload ratings, despite the GM announcement. The company was at the center of last week's news, when it was revealed that it removed items like the spare tire, jack, radio and even the center console, to determine the curb weight for the F-Series Super Duty.

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Scout wrote:

Driver 3) The commercial I saw said my truck could have your truck in the back of mine, while pulling another truck, and a mountain, so mine must be better.

I remember those commercials when they came out!
Was it a blue chevy on the back of a Ford? I do recall you could see right through the engine compartment, no engine.

Sure was!


Haven't seen that commercial for years!
The later commercial had a white chevy on back.