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Four by Forward
GM Introduces 4WD Mid-duty Trucks
By Eric Descarries
With files from Tim Dimopoulos
Medium-duty trucks are gaining more and more importance in the automotive marketplace. Last year, sales of medium-duty trucks (classified as those in class 4 to class 7) increased 5.06 per cent in the United States, while in Canada (where the definition spans only classes 5 to 7), sales increased 11.9 per cent. General Motors is a major player in this segment, with almost 20 per cent of the Canadian market. Its role is smaller in the United States, where it has only a little more than 14 per cent of sales.
As a matter of fact, GM sold a total of 1,760 Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick medium duty trucks in Canada in 2003. The best-selling nameplate is still Ford with 2,276 units and a little more than 25 per cent of the market, which totals some 9,037 units. International is second with 1,962 sales and close to 22 per cent of the market. GM comes in third. In the United States, the figures are different as total 2003 sales increased 5.06 per cent with a total of 191,058 units sold. While International barely took first place from Ford with 47,681 units sold (and 25 per cent of the market), Ford still has more than 24 per cent of the same market with sales of 46,471 trucks. Freightliner comes in third with 29,937 sales (and 19 per cent of the market). As for GM, it will come in fourth with 14,412 GMC and 12,684 Chevrolet units sold to American customers in 2003. According to Automotive News Data, in the United States GMC sales were down 13.8 per cent last year and Chevrolet lost some 2.7 per cent of its market in 2003.
4WD To the Rescue
Those sale figures show why GM is going a little further to win over newer customers. For its 2005 fleet catalogue the company introduced an additional option to its C4500 and C5500 Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick line of trucks (codenamed GMT560): a four-wheel drive configuration.
Introduced at the latest GM Fleet and Commercial show in Palm Springs, California in May, this new option is a welcome addition to the lineup. According to Steve Matsil, vehicle chief engineer at GM, this new model should appeal to the landscape, forestry and snow plowing market sectors, where the all-wheel drive feature is a real necessity. On the other hand, the new capabilities and flexibility of the Kodiak and TopKick lines will attract customers from municipal governments (such as fire and rescue departments) and probably even ski resorts.
Powered Up
The optional four-wheel drive system will be offered on the C4500 (17,500 GVWR) and C5500 (19,500 GVWR) trucks with the 8100 Vortec V8 gasoline engine as well as the 6600 Duramax V8 turbodiesel engine. By the way, this diesel engine (which was designed with the help of Isuzu, GM’s partner in medium-duty trucks, but built at the General Motors Moraine engine plant) just gained more power as it now develops 310 horsepower and 590 lbs.-ft. of torque, compared with the previous 300 horsepower and 520 lbs.-ft. of the earlier versions.
A very well designed engine, this Duramax features four valves per cylinder and a direct injection common rail fuel system. The standard Allison 1000 automatic transmission will be part of the four-wheel drive system that uses a New Venture Gear two-speed transfer case to send the power to the Dana front end by means of a rotary switch on the dashboard. The front axle will offer a 7,000 lbs (3,175 kg) capacity while the hubs will be manually activated. The rear end has a limited slip differential with some 13,500 (6,123 kg) capacity. According to Steve Matsil, this is the very first medium-duty all-wheel drive truck ever to be built “in-house” by General Motors. The option will be installed on the same assembly line in Flint, Michigan where the C4500 and C5500 are built. GM has also announced a new 32 US gallon (121 litre) aft-axle fuel tank for the 4X4 dump truck or rollback versions of those trucks. Among other specifications, GM has announced that shuttle and school bus chassis are available with 40 and 60 US gallon (151 and 227 litre) gallon tanks.
One of the GMT560’s most important specifications is the strength of its stamped straight section C-channel frame design. It has also been designed for easy body and equipment installation. Frame thickness will vary according to the application but at their maximum the rails will be 8mm thick, built out of 80,000 psi-strength steel with an incredible 736,000-pound-inch resistant bending movement. In 2005, a 233-inch wheelbase has been added to the 19,500 GVWR capacity.
Fleet First
The truck GM brought to its Fleet and Commercial show was a Chevrolet Kodiak 5500 crew cab with a small dump body. It was powered by a 325 horsepower 8100 Vortec V8 mated to the Allison automatic transmission. Obviously, the cab design will remain the same for 2005. In its crew cab form, the Kodiak 5500 accepts three passengers in the back. Anyone who has ridden in a crew cab version of the GM trucks knows how generous the rear compartment can be.
One of the GMT560’s interesting features is a very tight turning diameter, which remains almost intact with the four-wheel drive version. Though the ground clearance is higher than that of the conventional rear-wheel drive truck, the four-wheel drive version is still easy to climb into – and the truck GM brought to the fleet show had steps to help make it easier.
Since the 4500 and 5500 can be matched with just about any commercial body, General Motors also invited a host of major body builders to its annual show. Among them were Knapheide, whose products are sold all over Canada. Knapheide builds dump bodies, service bodies, utility vans and many other types of bodies, some of them specifically designed for GM’s 4500 and 5500 trucks.
In the Army Now?
Obviously, the military is always on the lookout for robust and reliable trucks that will handle demanding work. GM is aware of such demands, so it was no surprise when Mr. Matsil told the assembled press that the Mexican military was deeply interested in the GM 4500 and 5500 4X4 model and had already ordered 65 units. He also said that Mexican Army officials are also expected to order more in the near future.
One last note: GM has also announced that its more robust light-duty 2500 and 3500 Chevrolet trucks will bear a different front end for 2005, giving the trucks a tough look not unlike that of their larger cousins.
Eric Descarries has been an automotive and truck reporter for more than 20 years, and has also reported on Quebec motorsport events in French and English. Eric has been the NASCAR colour commentator on French TV since 1989.
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