"shpuker" (shpuker)
07/29/2014 at 09:11 • Filed to: None
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"shpuker" (shpuker)
07/29/2014 at 09:11 • Filed to: None | 1
| 16 |
Some people may say "Excellent! They finally got a fire lit under their assess!" But I'm not so sure a 9 month push forward is such a good idea.
The next gen Silverado and Sierra are scheduled for launch now in the fall of 2018, or about 4 years from now (ish). With the new F-series rolling onto lots soon and Rams getting a refresh for 2016 and a new generation in 2017/18 (2018/19 models, 1500/HD) I honestly don't see much potential benefit here. Other than attempting to beat the HD Rams onto the market, I can't think of anything.
I can however see a potentially significant downside. The next gen GMs are slated to have direct injection, turbocharging, and a 10 speed auto developed in co-op with Ford all on the menu. Basically Fords lineup in different clothing. Not necessarily a problem, but none of those features are places where you want to have issues. Couple in the fact that the next gen Ram also, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! could potentially incorporate aluminum into weight saving design, and suddenly GM gets to add one more item to their list.
Simply put, I know GM had the resources and talent required to develop these trucks in time, but if then rushing this release causes quality/safety control issues with them it's going to be very bad news.
9-month push reported by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! News.
Jedidiah
> shpuker
07/29/2014 at 09:40 |
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A 10 speed auto? How will the tranny ever decide what gear to be in? Is it even necessary to have that many speeds? It shifting all the time has got to be annoying.
I'd prefer that they didn't rush and did it right; that way they will be a good option to buy used years from now.
deekster_caddy
> Jedidiah
07/29/2014 at 09:43 |
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I think it will be shifting so much you don't even notice it. The idea is that you stop worrying about what gear it's in and let the computer pick for you, you just drive it. The more gears, the more economy you can produce.
I sure hope they keep it reliable. 10 speeds sounds like a lot mechanically. OTOH when is the last time you had to rebuild an auto tranny because the gears stopped working?
Mattbob
> shpuker
07/29/2014 at 09:45 |
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You act like they have been having problems with quality or recalls lately. Come on man, whats the worst that could happen? Lighten up.
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shpuker
> Jedidiah
07/29/2014 at 09:46 |
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Many semi's have 18 speeds or more. When your main concern is staying in the torque curve a lot of gears can be very useful. Also a huge help in highway efficiency obviously.
Logansteno: Bought a VW?
> shpuker
07/29/2014 at 09:47 |
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10-speed auto?
Why? Why do we need 10 gears? 6 seemed like the perfect amount IMO.
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shpuker
> Logansteno: Bought a VW?
07/29/2014 at 09:48 |
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Makes it much easier to stay near max torque, huge help in highway fuel economy as well. If anything it actually makes more sense in large trucks than in small cars.
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shpuker
> Mattbob
07/29/2014 at 09:49 |
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Jedidiah
> shpuker
07/29/2014 at 09:50 |
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More speeds do make more sense in larger vehicles like semis and trucks. I didn't really think of the towing advantage.
Semis also have half-gears which is pretty crazy.
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Logansteno: Bought a VW?
> shpuker
07/29/2014 at 09:51 |
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Torque it makes sense.
But shit, even in my dad's Silverado with 4 gears, the engine is turning over at like 1400 RPM at 60 MPH. Is it gonna idle at highway speeds with 10 gears or something?
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Jedidiah
> deekster_caddy
07/29/2014 at 09:53 |
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I had to rebuild the TH350 in my Cutlass when the torque converter went out. Gears were fine. However, one time the vacuum modulator that tells it when to shift did go bad once and it felt like I had lost all the gears.
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shpuker
> Logansteno: Bought a VW?
07/29/2014 at 09:56 |
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Pretty much really. With the amount of torque on tap at supper low RPM's with the new diesels and the VG turbos they'll be able to just sit nearly at idle on flat ground. Think potential 25mpg cruising fuel economy in large trucks on flat ground. However staying in the power all the time while accelerating will obviously use a bit more fuel, but thats kinda the point.
Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
> shpuker
07/29/2014 at 10:48 |
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I can understand why, in a few ways the current Silverado and Sierra are ALREADY behind the curve. The day they came out then Ford's 3-4 year old V6 EcoBoost was already ahead of its bread and butter motor, the new 5.3 EcoTec3 V8. I'm not saying GM hasn't made significant strides, but I don't think they were significant enough to convincingly beat out Ford's then already 3 year old truck.
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shpuker
> Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
07/29/2014 at 11:00 |
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I agree. I don't know what GM was doing during its development of this generation truck but they managed to put themselves into position to fall to #3 in the truck game fairly quickly.
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Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
> shpuker
07/29/2014 at 11:26 |
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Yep, although they certainly got a few things right, like awesome quiet interiors (from what I hear, no pun intended), but if you look at the performance numbers they are underwhelming compared to the competition.
But this brings up an interesting question, should pickup trucks be at a performance plateau? Towing-wise I think they really shouldn't be any higher rater than they already are for a half-ton. Performance? It's plenty. Efficiency? That's where it's at right now! If all else stays equal, I think most people would be happy if we are provided with gains in efficiency/mpg's.
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shpuker
> Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
07/29/2014 at 11:35 |
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I think that's pretty close to spot on really. That's where GM is falling behind the most too. They haven't really put their resources into it and they might end up posting for it.
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Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
> shpuker
07/29/2014 at 12:23 |
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Most definitely, they only slightly improved over Ford's ratings, but will likely be behind again as soon as Ford's 2015 comes out, which btw I am extremely curious what the numbers will be!