Let's you and me talk because this is the best of times and the worst of times if you're in the truck business. Let me explain. It's the best of times because GMC has a brand new Sierra ground up all new. But it's the worst of times because well, you've got competency from the Chinese. You've got uncertain politics and you've got all kinds of crazy tariffs. So, with that in mind, I just had the chance to go for a ride in this truck with the president of GM, Mark Reuss, and ask him about well, what it's like to be in the truck business and have a new truck to sell to you guys.
So, Mark, are you still excited when you roll out a new car?
Oh my gosh. This is what it's all about, right? I mean, it's like it's why I'm in the industry. And yeah, I mean, it's really it's changed for me over a long period of time because I used to be the engineer of these things standing there and now I get to feel how proud the talent pool and our engineers really are and the effort and the results. So it's a different feeling because I'm in a different place. But the feeling doesn't go away in terms of showing people things we've been working on for four years. You know, I'm in the studio, you know, years before we actually decide to do it and then how we're going to do it and all that stuff. So, I'm probably one of the more advanced living in the future guys out here.
So, we're in the new GMC Sierra. And you know, it's basically an all-new truck. And how important is this to GM? How important, you know, is GMC versus Chevy? And kind of, you know, it's like which child do you like the most or how do you decide? You know, you've got two vehicles that kind of sort of compete in the marketplace, but yet, you know, have different features and have different...
Yeah. Customers. I think this is a tremendous brand experience as well because you know, at the end of the day, we can get a little bit of camera stuff in here, but the brands we spend money to differentiate these brands and so we have got to be really good at it. And so I think we have taken this generation of truck and differentiated them more than we ever have in our history. And that's important. So I don't have favorite brands per se. I think the brands we have are very special and you know I'm very proud of what they represent, but also with the products it's deep into the products. This interior is very different than a Chevrolet for instance.
Yeah. I think one of the things you said in the presentation was that GMC is trying to combine luxury and off-roadiness in a way that you know nobody else is doing, right? And that has changed over the years.
It has. It really has. It's changed dramatically over the years if you think about GMC's roots, right? Those were the first trucks we really did, right? Yeah. So, yeah, it's been a fascinating journey on seeing that really develop and bloom for both of those things, as you said.
Well, let me ask you kind of the softball question. What's your favorite feature in the new truck?
My favorite feature, and I spoke to this a little bit here. It's hard for me to pick one, to be honest with you. The powertrain story is so compelling right now for us that that has to be a big story with the diesel and the 6.6 and the 5.7 and even the refreshes on the lower cylinder inline six and four. This is very very very integrated and I said that and this place the proving grounds and GM whether it's a Corvette or these trucks the integration of the control systems the features and the usability for the owner is I think second to none. And the truck piece of this has never been better for us. So, it's really I'm just very proud of that.
GMC has also just introduced this. It's their new heavy-duty diesel. And what makes it so unique is that there's an 8.3 L Duramax under the hood. 555 horsepower, 1,230 lb-ft of torque, best-in-class towing, almost 38,000 lb. But they're introducing it at a time when diesel prices are at an all-time high. And if you're the president of GM, how do you deal with that?
Yeah, you guys have kind of really set the bar and you've put the largest displacement diesel ever into a heavy duty truck. That's right. 8.3 L, 555 horsepower, 1230 lb-ft of torque. I mean, that is a big ass engine.
It is a big ass engine. I asked someone today because I haven't been down yet to see how they do this, but I want to see how they stuff the pistons to be honest. I want to see the pistons like that big.
I know. There's like five radiators on the front of that truck. I know. I know. So, yeah, it's pretty awesome. And we'll go down to Brookville and take a look at all that here shortly. So, make sure we're starting up. Okay.
But having said that, you know, we're at a time where diesel prices are at an all-time high. Is that bad timing or you think that's going to change? Are you worried about that?
I'm not worried about it because if you think about what we're doing again that is policy independent on this stuff. It's really encouraging to see us doing diesels that are actually outperforming hybrids for instance. And so when you think about that you know this is the way and it's the way forward and you know our whole nation and actually the world depends on diesel to transport things right and so whatever we see now isn't going to be what we see no matter what you know in the next two years or three years or four years or five years it's going to change and you know all these economies depend on that. So, it's not just a diesel truck going into retail and fleet for us.
