Chevrolet News:General Motors Ponders Whether To Add More Niche Models To The Silverado

[William Maley]

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

May 28, 2013

General Motors looks to be copying Ford's playbook with pickups. The company is considering adding niche models to the Chevrolet Silverado lineup.

"Ford does a lot with co-branding. I can't comment on anything going forward, but I will say our leadership is very aware of not only the (Ford) Harley-Davidson pickup, but also the Raptor. There are a lot of halo vehicles at Ford. They do sell well and they do set a tone for the vehicle. We definitely are looking into that," said Chris Hilts, manager of creative design for GM's full-size pickup truck interiors.

General Motors has introduced the first niche model for the Silverado lineup in the form of the High Country, which becomes the flagship model for the Silverado lineup and will compete with the likes of the Ford F-150 King Ranch and Ram 1500 Longhorn.

Hills didn't say if GMC would see any of these niche models as well, but did say there are no plans to develop a new model that sits above the GMC Sierra Denali.

Source: Edmunds

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.

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[Carguy]

Chevrolet needs to do a new Silverado SS using the LS7 V8 with a manual opt and GMC needs to do a new AWD Syclone based on the Sierra using a twin turbo LT1 V8 with more power then the Silverado SS at a higher price! Then GMC needs to do the as mentioned Sierra positioned above the Denali model to better split it from Chevrolet! Then let GMC do an off road version of the new Syclone to compete with the Raptor as well!

[Drew Dowdell]

uh.. Chevy.. you just KILLED a niche model.... KEEP BUILDING THE AVALANCHE!

[Z-06]

uh.. Chevy.. you just KILLED a niche model.... KEEP BUILDING THE AVALANCHE!

No beancounters disagree.

~30,000 vechicles was not a bad niche to keep, but somehow GM thought such was not the case.

[Drew Dowdell]

~30,000 vehicles that were essentially another bodystyle of the very popular Tahoe or Suburban even! The only differences between a Tahoe and Avalache are the rear seats, the pass through area, and the body panels that form the bed. Cadillac moves far fewer CTS Coupes than they did Avalanches.

[G. David Felt]

I would agree with you that Chevy and GMC both need their up level versions.

GMC Needs to have a modern day small Canyon Syclone and use the Modern day Twin Turbo V6. Then you can have a Twin Turbo V8 for the full size truck.

GMC should have the Sierra Grizzly to compete against the Ford Raptor. Use the LS9 engine and a Kick ass Baja off road suspension with BF Goodrich AT tires. 36" diameter.

Chevy could have their version also called the Silverado Banshee or Silverado Cougar.

[GMTruckGuy74]

You have to remember that the Ford's they're talking about are essentially trim & sticker/decor packages (Harley Davidson; Limited; King Ranch, FX4); the Raptor is a different animal of course. But GM should not ignore this market. I'm sure there are plenty of buyers ready to sign on the dotted line for a factory special edition. The High Country is a good start for Chevy, and I'm sure the next Sierra Denali will please those buyers. Now offer performance trucks - Chevy can have a Silverado SS again (or some Z-name package) and GMC can get their own performance-oriented model too (make it different from the Denali). Both need to offer an off-road model too, whether it is more Raptor-like or Power Wagon is up to GM. Go one step ahead and make the Silverado version the Raptor-competitor and the Sierra version the Power Wagon-competitior - this way GM covers the market on both sides (hey, if you're going to have two truck brands don't make them compete for the same customer). But GM needs to also look at how RAM offers the sport, tradesman and express packages on their lower & mid level pickups in addition to the R/T model, Laramie and Longhorn. You don't need niche vehicles when you can effectively target the market with niche packages on your existing product.

I don't know the reason why 30k units of the Avalanche aren't enough to keep it alive; maybe 30k units less of the Suburban is the real reason? And maybe there's a chance the Avalanche (and a GMC version this time) could return in the near future if demand is there? Maybe GM is thinking that they would rather have 30k units of Silverado/Sierra sales instead - though we all know that Avalanche owners won't necessarily consider the full-size pickups (maybe that's what GM is banking on, biut it would be interesting to see how many current Av owners trade-in for a GM pickup).

Syclone does not need to apply to the Sierra. Syclone was a S-15/Sonoma derived model and should be saved for the Canyon's 2015 replacement should GM want to issue a performance model (instead of calling it a Denali). Of course GMC makes a lot of money when they apply the "Denali" name to a GMC vehicle, so who knows? The Sierra should have it's own creative package name and not take from the Sonoma.

[regfootball]

It's not 2004 when the market could support a plethora of niche vehicles.

And the economy is more bread and butter right now.

COnversely, you distinguish yourself with niche models more than bread and butter.

Honda sells 90+ percent of volume with only like half their models. I don't want GM that way. Toyota seems rely on its volume models and they become appliances, I don't want that either.

It could be argued that Buick and Cadillac as brands are niche.

CTS wagon, now that is a niche that could be axed.

[Z-06]

To be fair as always Avalanche did not receive any service from GM's marketing department - it sold on its own.

Time to put baby-Duramax diesel in the 1500s and SUVs.

[G. David Felt]

To be fair as always Avalanche did not receive any service from GM's marketing department - it sold on its own.

Time to put baby-Duramax diesel in the 1500s and SUVs.

Agreed, having a 4.5 to 4.9 L Baby Duramax Diesel would rock in the Half ton trucks and half ton and three quarter ton SUV's.

[ocnblu]

I support this idea... niche models within the Silvy/Sierra line. Heck, just a cheap Sport trim package, a la F-150 STX or Ram Express would spice up the Chevy line.

[Camino LS6]

Killing Avalanche was just plain stupid.