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GMC "Jimmy" Bronco/Wrangler Fighter Cancelled


rmc523

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https://www.autoblog.com/2019/08/02/gmc-bronco-fighter-suv-canceled-rumor/

GMC won't help rival Ford in its quest to dethrone the Jeep Wrangler, according to a recent report. The body-on-frame off-roader the firm planned as an alternative to the upcoming Bronco and the fourth-generation Wrangler allegedly fell victim to a top-down restructuring plan implemented recently by parent company General Motors.

Citing anonymous inside sources, Muscle Car & Trucks reported the rugged SUV remained part of GMC's long-term product plan until November 2018. It was shaping up to be one of the company's most distinctive models in decades. It should have arrived as a dedicated off-roader developed and sold exclusively by GMC; it wouldn't have had a twin in the Chevrolet portfolio.

The problem, according to the report, is that the off-roader (which might have revived the heritage-laced Jimmy nameplate) should have been built on the 32XX platform designed to underpin the next Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins. General Motors canceled that project to save money, so the SUV was consigned to the attic before we even spotted prototypes testing on and off the pavement.

The updated pickups will instead arrive on an evolution of the frame found under the models currently found in showroom. There's no word on why that architecture can't support a Wrangler-like SUV.

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4 hours ago, twintornados said:

Does this portend to the rumored imminent demise of GMC?

I doubt that GMC is going anywhere. They have pretty high ATPs and healthy sales numbers. Plus it would cost GM billions to eliminate it, unless they go back into bankruptcy.

Edited by AGR
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6 hours ago, twintornados said:

Does this portend to the rumored imminent demise of GMC?

Back during the GM bankruptcy,, I recall reading that GMC truck buyers spend about $2,000 more per vehicle than a Chevy truck buyer.  Bigger profits is why GMC is still around.

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46 minutes ago, mackinaw said:

Back during the GM bankruptcy,, I recall reading that GMC truck buyers spend about $2,000 more per vehicle than a Chevy truck buyer.  Bigger profits is why GMC is still around.

That’s because they sell higher trims and they have a longer warranty.  Create a Silverado Denali at the same price point and they’ll sell just as many.

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2 hours ago, akirby said:

That’s because they sell higher trims and they have a longer warranty.  Create a Silverado Denali at the same price point and they’ll sell just as many.

I also recall reading that GMC truck buyers are better educated and more affluent than Chevy truck buyers.  Different demographic between brands.

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17 minutes ago, mackinaw said:

I also recall reading that GMC truck buyers are better educated and more affluent than Chevy truck buyers.  Different demographic between brands.

What do you think would happen if you spun off F150 Platinum/Limited into a separate brand name?  

You cant get a Denali Silverado.

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2 hours ago, J-150 said:

You'd call it a Lincoln LT.

Yeah and how well was that received? People that bought them for work reasons were seen as uppity douchebags to put it bluntly. Nobody on a job site wants to see their boss pull up in a Lincoln. Right or wrong that sends the wrong message. GMC got away with it with the Denali brand because of their work truck history. Look how long it took the Denali name to expand from the SUVs to Sierra. 

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3 hours ago, Harley Lover said:

My impression is Buick dealers are usually paired with GMC. As long as Buick dealers are around, I would think GM would have a tough time trying to kill GMC, if only for the legal blowback that would follow from the Buick dealers.

That's why both of them should have been axed while GM was working through bankruptcy 

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1 hour ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Which is why they should have done it in bankruptcy 

The whole dealer vs automaker dynamic is fascinating.

In one way i'm like, how can dealers just hold an entire auto manufacturer hostage like that?

But on the hand, you have to sometimes feel for the dealer too; In some cases it would be like buying into the Burger king franchise and opening your own store, only for BK to stop selling whoppers and instead only provide you vegan milkshakes.

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4 minutes ago, probowler said:

The whole dealer vs automaker dynamic is fascinating.

In one way i'm like, how can dealers just hold an entire auto manufacturer hostage like that?

But on the hand, you have to sometimes feel for the dealer too; In some cases it would be like buying into the Burger king franchise and opening your own store, only for BK to stop selling whoppers and instead only provide you vegan milkshakes.

Franchise laws basically guarantee that dealers can essentially do whatever they want with no recourse from manufacturers. 

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30 minutes ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Franchise laws basically guarantee that dealers can essentially do whatever they want with no recourse from manufacturers. 

That just seems a little too far.... so if you have a dealer who is giving poor vehicle service, ripping off customers, would Ford be powerless to shape them up?

Because a dealer experience, right or wrong, directly reflects upon the larger brand.  Yes we all know that one ship isn't representative, but at the same time, they kind of are, and it makes you wonder about the maker when your dealer jacks you around.

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2 hours ago, probowler said:

That just seems a little too far.... so if you have a dealer who is giving poor vehicle service, ripping off customers, would Ford be powerless to shape them up?

Because a dealer experience, right or wrong, directly reflects upon the larger brand.  Yes we all know that one ship isn't representative, but at the same time, they kind of are, and it makes you wonder about the maker when your dealer jacks you around.

Powerless?  No but they can only do minor things like cut back on allocations.  They can’t just cut them off or take money away directly thanks to those franchise laws.  It sucks but that’s what we have thanks to legislators protecting their local businesses from those big bad corporations,

Ford has tried several times to reward better dealers and every time they get sued and lose.

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