The crew at GMC has decided to launch yet another off-road special of its Sierra 1500 pickup truck, continuing GM’s collaboration with aftermarket outfit American Expedition Vehicles. The AT4X AEV is a hotted-up AT4X, which is itself a hotted-up AT4.
This brings up a question – is GM slicing its off-road pie into vanishingly small segments?
Consider the following. On the bowtie side of its truck showrooms, one can select from a dizzying array of dirt road trims on the Silverado: Z71, Trail Boss (in Custom or LT), ZR2, and the upcoming ZR2 Bison. Most of those are replicated on the smaller Colorado midsizer. Across the tile floor at GMC, shoppers can find the likes of X31 Off-Road, AT4, AT4X, and now AT4X AEV. Rinse and (mostly) repeat for 4×4 variants of the little Canyon.
This is not a complaint. Your author welcomes every single off-road-focused truck a manufacturer can produce, whether that’s a factory-built brawler or some sort of blank canvas with which to build a Moab monster. However, spare a thought for customers who are not as indentured to the off-road lifestyle as this writer who perpetually has dirt under his fingernails and axle grease on his Levi denim jeans. Trying to explain the difference between an AT4, AT4X, and AT4X AEV to a befuddled customer is likely to be a trial, leading to them either walking out the door in confusion or simply buying the one they think looks best. And you better believe the latter happens more often than not – leading shoppers to palm the keys of a truck in which they will never use even a percentage of its capability.
Speaking of capability, let’s land the plane and circle back to the initial reason for this post: The new GMC. Teaming up with American Expedition Vehicles, the same crew with whom GM worked to create the ZR2 Bison, has resulted in a Sierra 1500 AT4X AEV with beefy new steel components compared to a non-AEV truck. Stamped front and rear bumpers are ready to take a beating from that rock you didn’t see and your spotter missed, a quintet of hot-stamped boron steel skid plates over expensive undercarriage bits like the t-case and rear diff, plus unique wheels and 33-inch Goodyear off-road meats.
The grille and front fascia are said to have been tweaked so they can be force-fed that bumper and those tires, while the typical smattering of trim-specific branding is scattered about the exterior. There are functional improvements to measures like approach angle, which climbs by more than a quarter compared to a stock truck, increasing to 32.5 degrees. The venerable 6.2-liter V8 and its 420 horsepower remain untouched.
Look for them later in the 2023 model year, barring meltdowns in the supply chain.
[Image: GMC]
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confusing nonsense.
The GMCs, more than the Chevy variants of this generation of half-ton, for some reason, just look more gargantuan than the actually are. I have reason to pull out and around one of these things which is usually parked in front of me in my work lot and into the adjacent aisle, and if there’s a larger vehicle or two in the spaces across the aisle, I’ll sometimes just back out of my spot and go down that aisle. (There’s a couple annoying speed bumps that I have to crawl over otherwise.) Not to mention that this truck’s rear usually sticks out a good foot over the line and into the space behind it! A typical GMT-900 3/4-ton looks shrewlike compared to this!
Sure, but no less than buying a Landau Town Car Mark VII Platinum Givenchy Edition back in the ’70s. Although those didn’t have a cock ring installed on the front bumper.
I’m torn between the AT4X AEV and the bZ4X… and anyone that I ask has no ides what the hell either of them are.
Somehow, my guess is that the Venn diagram of the people who might buy either one doesn’t intersect.
And, funny, on the days when that Sierra isn’t blocking out the sun in front of my car, there’s a damned Fiat 500 occupying the space, and it’s not an Abarth! Another non-intersecting Venn diagram!
I’d buy a regular Sierra for many thousands less and then buy a Suzuki Samurai for real off-roading. Knock dents out with a hammer and rattle-can it if paint is cheap that week. I’ve seen one of those wee rigs get up stuff that I passed on while astride a Yamaha 250. Amazing 4X4s in the heavy stuff.
I wonder how pedestrian friendly this front end is.
If you were driving, you probably wouldn’t even feel the thump! The presence of various body parts in the rearview mirror might give a subtle hint, but then again, GM is installing demented clown-looking frameless mirrors in those things that make the commodity Gentex auto-dimmers which comes in everything else now look gargantuan by comparison!
As long as they are selling every truck they can make, specialty trims, regardless of how worthless they are, are just another way to print money. There will be a sucker just begging for some dealer to take his money.
Hilarious headline, very Babylon Bee-like!
How much will the mandatory On-Star option cost on this one? (Yes, On-Star service is now a mandatory option listed on the factory Monroney window stickers of Buicks and GMCs that ranges from between $900 and $1600).
one of the worst marketing decisions ever. what about the people who trade every year? how about two year leases? how about people who don’t use or want OnStar? I pay $200 per year for each of my three vehicles. why on earth would I pay $1500 for three years on one? appears GM may be intentionally going BK again. the stock just hit $30. glad I sold out at $55.
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I read an article where fuel economy was broke down by model and trim. The Trailboss and AT4 with the 5.3 and 6.2 without stop/start and cylinder deactivation had worse fuel economy than the F150 Raptor.
At current fuel prices these phallic enhancement devices aren’t going to sell well. I’m seeing less pickups on the road.
I just spent a week in Upstate New York. the majority of vehicles were Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and lots of Subaru.
Can you refuse any On Star connection when buying new?
I will not participate is any of that bull shirt.
I dont anticipate ever buying any GM garbage, but I may need a V 8 truck before the pervert demon cats kill them off.
burn that oil.
Buick man.
Farm.
Real user here.
Not bro dozer.
redapple – If it is similar to my F350, there’s a fuse that can be pulled to inactivate the modem and the ability for the vehicle to “call home”. GM may be different – I’m sure that there are folks here that can tell us. The jerk thing being done is putting the On-Star three-year subscription on the Monroney which makes it part of the vehicle MSRP. Use it or not, you’re paying for it.
“Pervert Demon Cats” sounds about right for the name of a sh!tty death metal band.
Don’t worry, Traitor Joe can remedy that by raiding the nation’s Strategic Acronym Reserve (SAR).
Noice!