Okay, here's the low-down on the GMC pickup concept rumored to be unveiled at the New York Show: It's actually going to appear at next month's Chicago Show. And it's not a rework of the Holden Crewman (pictured), a four-door crew cab ute that appeared in Australia in 2003. It's an all-new vehicle with unique, truck-inspired GMC sheetmetal, and based on the Holden developed Zeta architecture.
This is significant because the original Holden Crewman was a hybrid -- basically a unibody front end with a load-carrying half-chassis welded to it. The GMC Concept will be an all-unibody vehicle, with the same independent rear suspension setup as the Holden Ute and the forthcoming Pontiac G8 ST. Yep, we're talking about a crossover pickup truck here.
Should it ever reach production -- and the Chicago Show reveal is undoubtedly to test public opinion -- it won't be the first crossover pickup: Honda was there with the Ridgeline. But the GMC is a smarter play because the flexible Zeta architecture means it can be V-6 or V-8 powered, and made available with rear or all-wheel drive. And it's almost certainly going to look way better, not the least because the Zeta architecture allows the proper dash-to-axle ratio expected in a truck.
Back when considering the Holden Ute for the U.S. GM insiders had seriously debated whether it should be sold as a Pontiac or as a GMC (the Caballero lives!). The cost of restyling the Ute's front end sheetmetal to give it the appropriate GMC design cues was one of the reasons the Pontiac version, which uses the same parts as the G8 sedan, won out. This new Zeta-based concept gives GMC a larger, unique vehicle using most of the same hardware under the skin.
With the roll-out of its Zeta-based VE Commodore range (the wagon is next) Holden has not yet announced a replacement for the Crewman, which has not been a strong seller. But if America likes the GMC idea well enough, it could be given Holden badges and sold in Australia as the next generation Crewman. How's that for reverse engineering?
By Mike Connor