10 Things You Need to Know About the 2019 GMC Sierra

After unveiling the redesigned 2019 Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickup truck in December, General Motors revealed its 2019 GMC Sierra cousin at a media event in Detroit on March 1. There, Duncan Aldred, vice president of Global GMC, introduced the all-new light-duty pickup in a brief presentation. Matt Noone, GMC’s director of exterior design, led a walkaround of the Sierra, followed by Mark Reuss, a GM executive vice president who led a deeper dive into the engineering and technical highlights of the vehicle.

In other words, some heavy hitters came out to introduce this pickup truck, which tells us that the new Sierra is a very important piece of the GMC and broader GM portfolio. So, pay attention. GM wants you to. Here are 10 things to know about the 2019 GMC Sierra.

GMC traces its origins back to 1901, when the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company (RMVC) developed the earliest commercial trucks. GM bought RMVC in 1909, and the name GMC Truck first appeared at the New York International Auto Show in 1912.

The Sierra was GMC’s first full-size personal use pickup truck. Introduced in 1960, it quickly grew to be the brand’s sales leader, and continues to lead GMC to the present day. In 2017, 217,943 new Sierra pickup trucks hit the road in the U.S., just slightly behind the 21st-century peak of 224,139 in 2015.

The 2019 Sierra's full specifications have not yet been published, so we can’t give you specifics. The presentations concentrated on smart design elements that emphasized useable dimensions, like improved interior dimensions and cargo box volume, so it’s not just size for the sake of size.

One figure that has been released is that the short-box bed (6.5 feet long) will have a best-in-class capacity of 63 cubic feet.

Imagine if your pickup truck’s tailgate could do more than just fold down. Imagine if it could help you load and unload cargo, stabilize your load, and stop in multiple positions. Well, the MultiPro Tailgate (standard on the SLT and Denali and optional on lower trim levels) does all that and more.

The MultiPro can perform six functions. It opens with the key fob or dash button. An inner gate folds down into a large step with a 375-lb capacity. A load stop at the end of the tailgate keeps cargo from sliding out of the open bed. The inner gate folds inward so you can reach farther into the bed when the gate is closed. It can also form a convenient work surface, and it has a load stop that works when the gate is closed. GMC has explored the way that people really use their pickup trucks and came up with some great solutions to common issues.

For many years, GMC and Chevrolet pickups were built on the same platforms and on the same assembly lines and were differentiated only by minor trim and packaging details. Critics called it “badge engineering,” and wished for vehicles that were justified by more than just advertising and marketing.

While the 2019 Sierra and Silverado share a platform for engineering and manufacturing efficiencies, each vehicle is different in appearance, packaging and other details.

Carbon fiber is a very strong, lightweight material. It is twice as stiff as steel and up to five times stronger. Its long strings of molecules are bound together by carbon atoms to form polymers. These long strands get stabilized, then heated until they are carbonized and become a carbon fiber. They are then cooled and treated with gases or liquids to improve their bonding abilities, then coated to protect them for winding or weaving. The carbon fibers are then woven or formed into bigger pieces with epoxy, urethane or another coating. It’s not unlike fiberglass construction, except carbon fiber is much stronger and more durable.

This quality makes it an ideal alternative material for a pickup truck's bed. A carbon fiber box should be lighter than steel or aluminum, and should also resist denting, abrasion and corrosion far better than other available materials.

Head-up displays project vital information onto the windshield, directly in the driver’s line of sight. Instead of needing to tilt your head down to the instrument panel or across to the navigation screen, you can keep your eyes on the road and still know how fast you’re going, when the next turn is coming up, what radio station you’re listening to, and other customizable information.

Until now, no automaker has offered a head-up display in a pickup truck. The Sierra’s 3-by-7-inch multi-color display promises to help drivers operate their vehicles more safely — always a welcome feature, and comes standard in the Denali.

The rearview mirror is older than the GMC brand itself, first appearing in 1908 as the Argus Dash Mirror and popularized by race driver Ray Harroun, who used one in the Indy 500 in 1911. Did it need to be reinvented? Somebody thought so, and they came up with the rear camera mirror.

You’ll be able to get one on Sierra — the first application of this technology in a full-size pickup truck. The rearview camera replaces the reflection in the rearview mirror housing with a view from a camera mounted on the exterior of the Sierra, one that isn’t blocked by passengers or cargo in the cabin or the bed. The camera can be zoomed or refocused, an additional advantage over the traditional mirror. You can also switch off the camera for a conventional reflection.

New versions of the 6.2-liter and 5.7-liter gasoline V8 engines will be offered for the 2019 Sierra, along with a new 3.0-liter turbocharged diesel engine option. Both gas engines will have stop/start technology. They’ll also come with a new dynamic fuel management system that will allow them to run on one to eight cylinders, which should maximize efficiency and fuel economy.

Both the 6.2-liter gas engine and the 3.0-liter turbodiesel will come with 10-speed automatic transmissions. There's been no word yet about horsepower and torque figures, nor do we know yet which transmission the 5.7-liter gasoline engine will use.

The Denali trim level was introduced to the Sierra 17 years ago, and it has been a runaway success. Following the trend of truck buyers seeking luxury, the Sierra's two top trim levels (SLT and Denali) accounted for 75 percent of Sierra sales last year.

The Sierra has come a long way since its initial break with the GMC commercial line in 1960. In the 2018 model year, a Sierra 1500 4WD Crew Cab with Standard Box started at $41,495 and could be optioned up into the upper $60,000s. Pricing has yet to be announced for the 2019 Sierra.

Ford made a big splash a couple of years ago when it moved to an aluminum body for its sales-leading F-150 pickup truck. Chevrolet and GMC have snapped back against that move, pointing out some severe compromises that aluminum bodies must endure. The cargo box is a big challenge, thanks to aluminum’s behavior under point load stress, where it might puncture or tear. Punctures or tears are very unlikely in a steel bed, and even more unlikely in a carbon fiber bed.

That said, GMC uses a wide variety of materials, including aluminum, in building the body of the Sierra. Engineers were able to remove up to 360 lbs from Sierra’s total weight while claiming improved strength and durability. Time will tell.