GM Sticking to Proven Formula for Next-Gen Large Pickups, SUVs

The  styling of General Motors’ next-generation large pickups and SUVs “won’t be wildly different” from those currently in showrooms, says the auto maker’s design chief Ed Welburn.

“Fullsize truck owners do not want radical change,” he tells WardsAuto in a recent interview. “Chevy truck owners are very loyal to the Chevrolet brand and so are GMC owners. We want to build on that very strong history.”

Large pickups and SUVs continue to be cash cows for the auto maker and figure prominently in its continuing turnaround, despite segment shifts in the market and GM’s desire to court sales across a broader product range.

According to WardsAuto data, large pickups, SUVs and luxury SUVs accounted for 1.8 million U.S. sales and 14.1% of the 2011 market, down from 2.8 million deliveries and a commanding 17.6% share in 2007.

GM maintains the lion’s share of sales in those segments. Last year, the auto maker delivered 799,318 large pickups and SUVs for a market-leading 44.3% share.

Trucks such as the Chevy Silverado pickup and Tahoe SUV will continue to play a big role in GM’s business, evidenced by the $1.13 billion the auto maker will invest over the next several months to accommodate assembly of its next-generation large pickups and SUVs at plants in Arlington, TX; Flint, MI; and Fort Wayne, IN.

On top of that, GM will make a $1.1 billion powertrain manufacturing investment to improve the fuel efficiency of its trucks with an advanced 8-speed transmission and a new small-block V-8 engine featuring upgrades such as gasoline direct injection and lightweight aluminum.

The auto maker will pump another $260 million into its casting and component-making sites for the new V-8, which also will see duty in some GM sports cars.

GM plans to stagger downtime throughout this year in preparation for the 2013 arrival of its new pickups and SUVs, which likely will bow as ’14 models.

Welburn is mum on most details about the new light trucks, saying only that GM will stick with a proven mix of tough-looking, but not overly aggressive, exteriors and comfortable interiors.

“Clean design ages far more gracefully than some very expressive design,” Welburn notes, attributing that strategy to the longevity of the current models, which have been on the market since 2007.

Welburn warns against drawing a connection to next-generation models from the handful of concept trucks the auto maker has shown in recent years, such as 2003’s Chevy Cheyenne or last year’s accessory-laden GMC Sierra All-Terrain HD.

“You can expect something much better than any of those concepts,” Welburn says of the half-ton trucks. “They should not be allowed to be in the same photograph with what we have coming.”

Welburn also tells WardsAuto GM leadership places a greater emphasis today on design than perhaps any time in history. For example, he serves on the highest-ranking executive committee at GM.

“At the end of the day, if everyone has great fuel economy and pricing is really competitive and all that, design makes a great differentiator,” says Welburn, 61, who has spent his entire career at GM. “Our company recognizes that and has made design a priority.”

The role of GM Design within the larger organization also has evolved recently to include more event exhibits, as well as animations for those displays and many of the aesthetics used inside the company.

Welburn admits his group faces increased responsibility for helping GM meet strict new fuel-economy and emissions regulations in markets around the world. Designing a more aerodynamic car draws the highest priority, he says, but mass-reduction ranks a close second.

“I love big wheels on a car,” he says. “Go up another size and they look even better.

“But if you can shrink-wrap the vehicle, make it a little smaller, we can go down a wheel size and get some mass out of the vehicle,” Welburn adds. “Mass reduction and aero, neither one is easy, but they are both fun challenges.”

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