When thinking of a four-door pickup dating from before the current century, one envisions work crews heading to a construction or logging site. Now, these vehicles ferry mom, dad, Caden, and Brayden to Lowes.
The transformation of the pickup from utilitarian hauler to plush, well-appointed family ferry has done wonders for truck sales in North America, with automakers giving thanks for the high-margin boost to their bottom line. However, keeping up with changing preferences isn’t always easy.
General Motors knows that, in order to keep up with its rivals, it needs to build many more crew cab versions of its next-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Speaking to Automotive News, GM product chief Mark Reuss said production of crew cab full-size pickups has been “constrained,” but there’s a plan afoot to change this.
“We’re solving things like that,” Reuss said, without going into further detail. GM claims crew cab models grew from over 50 percent of its full-size pickup sales in 2013 to over 60 percent today. Sales of Chevrolet full-size pickups rose 1.9 percent last year, with its GMC Sierra sibling dropping 1.7 percent in a segment that grew 5.6 percent.
The next-generation Silverado (which debuts Saturday in Detroit) and Sierra call three factories home. Crew cab light-duty models hail from Silao, Mexico, while regular and double cab pickups come from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Flint, Michigan builds heavy duty variants in both cab configurations, as well as light-duty Silverado crew and regular cabs.
Having spent $3 billion retooling the plants, GM needs to satisfy as many customers as possible with the new models. We’ve already had a glimpse of the 2019 Silverado, seen above, while the next-gen Sierra remains shrouded in mystery.
Judging by a report we brought you in 2016, it seems likely the Flint plant will play a role in the boosted crew cab output. According to a UAW shop chairman, GM decided to send additional Silverado 1500 production to Michigan starting last year, after its Mexican truck plant couldn’t satisfy demand.
[Image: General Motors]
I noticed that currently the discounts on a “double cab” (as GM calls the extended cab – so effin’ annoying – sounds like “double the size of the regular cab) are far greater than the discounts being offered on a “crew cab.”
Obviously ya built too many double cabs.
By observation around here the most extended cabs I see are RAM and the most crew cabs I see are Ford.
By making their “Double Cab” front-hinged doors, they effectively destroyed any utility you would get out of that stretched cab. It’s not meant to carry people, it’s meant to carry gear. And if you can’t access that gear from beside the front seat, what use is that extra space? Both GM and Ram have destroyed the utility of the extended-cab versions in their full sized trucks and the GM mid-sized trucks are just as bad with that tall plinth to support the back seat which wastes a good 5 cubic feet or more of behind-the-seat storage.
This fox is NOT happy.
“This fox is NOT happy.”
Try Fox News ;)
“‘This fox is NOT happy.’
>Try Fox News ;)”
Rather watch 21st Century Fox… at least they entertain. Rupert news has been worthless for decades.
Agreed. Ford is the only pickup manufacturer that still has proper suicide doors on their extended cabs.
“Agreed. Ford is the only pickup manufacturer that still has proper suicide doors on their extended cabs.”
… and access to the floor of the rear area is so easy with those “suicide doors” vs those front-hinged doors. So simple to move things front to back or even work with whatever’s in the back floor without having to constantly walk around that ridiculous half-length door every time you go front-to back-to front-to back, etc… These things are supposed to be designed for operator convenience and front-hinged doors accessing the behind-the-seat area is NOT convenient.
…..But…… As the article header says; pickups are now family vehicles. Wife’n’kid haulers. Back and forth to the grocery store parking lot. Where fat families refuse to park a single foot further from the entry/exit than absolutely necessary. Hence are slammed up against other family haulers. Each exactly as wide as the parking spot outline. Which makes rear opening doors more convenient for getting Michelin Man Jr. into his car seat than some layout designed to haul “gear.”
“Michelin Man Jr.” would not be riding in the back of an extended cab; he’d be in a full 4-door. Extended cab doesn’t offer enough space for a proper child carrier.
I bought a double cab since they got rid of the suicide doors. I can live with it. But with a 6.5′ box on a crew cab why compromise.
@cartime – up until recently, the only way to get a 6.5 box in a 1/2 ton GM or Ram was with a reg cab or extended cab. Ford always offered that configuration in the F150 Supercrew.
Actually, the early Supercrews were 4.5 flaresides only.
That’s what I’ve got – a 2010 XLT. 6.5′ box; suicide doors; and enough room for my young family. My brother often trades his King Ranch short bed with me so he can haul bikes and whatnot. It rolls like a top-heavy boat but the baseball-leather seats are nice, I guess. I prefer my truck.
I have the SuperCrew XLT with the XTR package. In USA that would be XLT with Chrome appearance package.
It’s a shame that 8-foot beds are only offered on base trims. Personally, my ideal pickup would be a standard cab with an 8-foot bed, but you can only get this on XL and XLT trims (or their Chevy equivalents). And that means you can’t get a 360-degree parking camera or adaptive cruise control.
You can get 8-foot beds on 3/4-ton and 1-ton trucks.
Most of the Traveling Elks of my Lodge use the 8-foot bed F250/350 with a Goose Neck or Fifth Wheel in that long bed. And all of them are pretty well up-trim with ALL the bells and whistles, 4-doors and 4×4, some DRW as well.
Ditto for the guys who choose GM or RAM trucks.
They’re willing to pay the price because this is their home away from home, while on the road.
I saw a newer regular cab that was pretty well appointed the other day. I was really surprised to see one that wasn’t just a plain white tradesman. It looked good and I kind of want one.
The only regular cab trucks I see that aren’t work trucks are driven by young men or elderly men.
Kind of like the flu the mostly claim the very young and very old.
LOL
I think it was Dodge that used to have a “Club Cab”, which was actually an extended cab, or was it a “Quad-Cab”? There aren’t even this many cabs in Times Square anymore.
Is the mega cab still around? Anything less is for wimps.
Ram still calls the extended cab with the small rear doors “quad cab”.
“Is the mega cab still around?”
Yep. Available on HDs. True cowboy limos.
I’m not sure how much aesthetics matter in this segment, but I personally think the reg cab/long bed and crew cab/tiny bed combos look weird on today’s trucks.
The reg cab/short bed and quad/double/ext versions look the best.
I think anything with a less than 6.5 ft box looks terrible on a full size regardless of cab configuration.
I was watching “The Rockford Files” the other night and Jim’s dad had a ‘73 GMC pickup, the hood and the bed were the same length. You couldn’t tell which way it was going, lol.
Ya but Rocky had the sharpest P/U in TV Land. Rocky would always cringe when Jim wanted to borrow it for stealth or because his Firebird was in the body shop.
Yeah, Rocky had a sweet truck. The Firebird must have gone through two dozen quarter panels, lol.
CREW CAB shortage?!
Crew Cab SHORTAGE?
There are more crew cab trucks on the roads today than ever before in history. It’s getting to the point where you can’t even FIND a decent extended cab, much less a standard cab.
WHAT SHORTAGE?!
Looks to me like they’re setting themselves up to lose much of the market they’ve gained if they make it so you have to go to a completely different vehicle for actual work purposes. This is ridiculous!
“WHAT SHORTAGE?”
Obviously there is one since they cannot build enough to meet demand.
“This is ridiculous!”
That is true if you view free-market pressures as such!
“Obviously there is one since they cannot build enough to meet demand.”
—- Couldn’t tell that by my local Chevy, GMC, FCA or Ford dealer; half their lots are full-sized 4-doors with the rest a scattering of sedans and CUVs. And honestly, the only way you can tell the mid-sizers from the full-sizers at Chev/GMC is by the grill. On the lot they all look the same size.
@Vulpine – “half their lots are full-sized 4-doors with the rest a scattering of sedans and CUVs”
Most of the dealers in my region have a few token cars. The rest are SUV’s and pickups. I looked up the inventory of the largest ford dealer in my region.
213 vehicles listed:
80 – F150’s
42 – F250/350/450/550
7 – cargo vans
64 – SUV/CUV’s
20 – cars
Why stock what doesn’t sell?
Like I said… Half their lots. In your case, about 60%.
“CREW CAB shortage?!”
what, you dont think TTAC comes out with articles with paid headlines do you? :-)
Because of this picture, I think I’ve finally figured out why I don’t like the looks of this truck compared to the old one. It’s the way the hood slopes up, and doesn’t align with the side windows. Well, if they did line up, that would mean smaller windows, so what are you going to do?
Lower the hood, front and rear, to keep the same slope but at least line up the shoulder.
There are similar fender creases on my Cruze. I think that’s a tasteful motif. The rest of the truck, however, I have reservations about, especially the pinched headlamps. Let’s see what the GMC looks like.
“Let’s see what the GMC looks like.”
That is one reason why I like GM’s two truck line strategy. I tend to alternate with preference between GM & Chevy depending on the design year.
Ditto. For instance, I thought the Chevrolet versions of the GMT900s looked better, but with the current K2XX trucks and SUVs, I think GMC has a better look.
Crew cab = G37 sedan
Extended cab = G37 coupe
Regular cab = 370Z
After driving a U-Haul Sierra I dig the whole pickup thing now… though I don’t think I’d want one any bigger than that version, and I’d need AWD. RWD trucks have awful traction
This is terrifying! These things are extremely dangerous to regular cars in a collision. Having driven a crew cab F-150 recently, I can think of the only reason why it would be so popular — cowardly people buying the biggest and heaviest vehicle they can afford. Because they are scared. They want to win in a crash against another vehicle. This is an arms race that can only lead to bigger and heavier monsters clogging up American highways. The F-150 I drove was just amazingly bad at everything, except being incredibly big. No pleasure can be extracted from driving one. The suspension is terrible, the steering is terrible, the cabin is extremely uncomfortable. It is extremely difficult to climb up into. Little kids need assistance because they cannot reach that high. Old people cannot climb in at all. The interior is incredibly wasteful of space with huge seats and huge center console. The bed is not possible to use to carry anything because it is just too high to reach. It cannot be parked without taking up the entire width of a parking space that makes the doors impossible to open without hitting the vehicle parked next to you. It does not fit in a garage. It does not fit in the driveway. It does not fit in the city. The tires cost a fortune to replace. Did I mention it is terrible to drive? Utterly disgusting!
I can see people using these for work, although it seems that a reasonably sized van would be more economical and practical. But I cannot see using one as a family vehicle. It fails on all counts at that, except for winning in a two vehicle crash.
Glad to see someone agrees with my depiction of them as Road Whales™. They’re simply too big to be safe and a huge proportion of single-vehicle accidents with them are fatal… not even considering the effects of multi-vehicle accidents against smaller vehicles.