More big news from the Chicago Auto Show came from GM with the GMC Denali XT, a forward-thinking SUT that might someday replace the aging and overlooked Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon.
Brian Nesbitt, GM designer extraordinaire, describes it as "industrial sculpture," but don't be fooled. This is the coming Holden Crewman underneath, a four-door car/pickup based off the current-gen GTO and soon-to-be-here next Camaro.
This is as much a sedan with an open trunk as anything else and whatever anyone tells us, this is not a truck. The El Camino was not a truck. The El Cabello was not a truck. The Ranchero was not at truck. And as much as car guys want trucks to drive more like cars, trying to sell this as some kind of "truck-lite" just isn't going to fly. At least not to a truck guy. Still, there may be some car guys out there who could like it. Heard one professional writer call it a "smashed Ridgeline," with less capability. It has a 1000-pound payload and 3500-pound towing capacity, all with a 4.9-liter V-8 2-Mode Hybrid, and it does have a large "Mid-gate" opening, more like a large trunk pass-through. While it's well executed, we're talking small volumes.