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"Why Would Anyone Pay $80,000 for a Pickup Truck?" GMC Design Research Explains

Heavy-duty trucks are getting heavy design attention

By Rain Noe - September 4, 2019

in Cars

Having owned both a 2001 VW Golf and a 2019 VW Golf, I'll say the experience of driving basic-transportation cars has not changed much in eighteen years. Aside from the nav system and some minor refinements, my current car feels much the same as my 2001 did.

Trucks, however, have changed a shit-ton in the same time period. They've become more capable, more comfortable, easier to drive, safer, and have been lavished with the design attention a highly profitable object deserves. When I reviewed the full-size GMC Sierra last winter, I found it a tough vehicle with sophisticated features, and it was perfect for doing work around our farm. It does things that a car can't, and that a truck from even ten years ago couldn't.

Dodge, Ford and GM have been competing ferociously for their respective shares of the massive full-size truck market (2.4 million sold in 2018), and in this market, design is a big differentiator. As one example, look at the innovations in tailgate designs across the different manufacturers. The modern-day truck owner wants to maximize the utility of their purchase, and the designers are listening.

Honda's two-way tailgate (admittedly not a full-size pickup, but an innovative tailgate nonetheless)

Ford's tailgate step

Dodge's two-way split tailgate

GMC's MultiPro tailgate with step and loading stops

And just as the desirability of trucks has grown among consumers, so too have transportation designers' desires to work on them. "I've been here almost 28 years," says Carl Zipfel, GM's truck studios Design Manager, Exterior Design, "and when I was hired, most car designers coming out of college wanted to work on a show car, or something like a Corvette. Back then, if you got put in the truck studio, it was almost seen as a punishment," he laughs. "It wasn't as glamorous, right? Designing this utilitarian tool, while the Corvette gets all of the attention.

"But now," he says, "the truck studio is the biggest, busiest studio in the building."

So what are all of those designers working on, what problems are they solving? As with the design of most things, the first thing that needs to be done is research: What problems do the end users need solved?

The Research: Needs and Wants

"Feedback is super important," Zipfel says. "The architecture of the new Heavy Duty Sierra, for instance, is larger and completely different than the architecture of the Light Duty; this is the first time we've done that, and it was completely driven by heavy duty truck customer feedback."

2020 Sierra AT4, Light Duty at left, Heavy Duty at right.

I ask how that feedback is gathered and transmitted to the designers. "In all of the design programs in our building, whether it's car or truck, we go through a process, and it starts with the customer," Zipfel explains. "If it's an all-new vehicle, where we're designing it from the ground up, we meet with customers--owners of our vehicles or competitors' vehicles--at these events that we call clinics."

What goes on at the clinics? "In the beginning, basic questions, and things like putting them into seating bucks to ask 'Is this enough legroom in the rear seats, do you want more?' For the exterior design, we show them a lot of stimuli, our different trim levels, for instance. Part of the challenge is that there's not just one formula for us; we have a lot of different trim levels, so we're taking input from folks who have different tastes."

Zipfel explains that this all-important customer interaction is a multi-step process. "We hold these clinics three times during the design process. The first one is held early on, then we have one in the middle, then a final one that we call 'Confirmation,' by which time the design's pretty much locked up. That final one is to confirm that we've got it all together and got it right."

Design changes, however, can still be made after Confirmation. "As I was doing my design lock on the Heavy Duty, we added a step in front of the rear wheel. That step helps the customer get up to the front of the box, so they can hook up a gooseneck trailer, or slide cargo to the front, or just reach the tiedown hooks from the outside. And that step was added from direct customer influence."

Aside from prompting the designers to develop specific features and tweaks, the clinics also help the designers connect the dots, so to speak, by understanding how the customer's mindset and experiences drive their purchasing decisions. "Especially at the clinics for the Denali brand, we'd try to get to the root of, 'Why are you willing to pay $80,000 for a brand new pickup truck?' A lot of these folks would say 'I love my truck, I spend more time in it than I do my house.' These guys are earning a living in their trucks and they're in them all day.

"Others have said 'Yeah, my truck might be 80 grand--but I'm pulling $250,000 worth of value on the trailer behind it.' When you hear some of these stories, you totally get it right away. They start describing how they're hauling a couple of show horses in a 30-foot-long trailer. They're hauling out of Texas and heading to a high-end equestrian show in Colorado. So they're relying on their truck to safely transport their prize possession, and passion of life, to a place far, far away from home.

"And the truck is also going to be their base camp for the whole time they're there. So we incorporate power outlets, USB ports, all kinds of convenience features that you've come to expect. They need the power to pull a heavy trailer up and down a Colorado mountain pass road, so we've got the DuraMax engine with the diesel set-up and the ten-speed Allison transmission. Hearing those kinds of stories is why we develop all of these features."

Up Next: To check out these features in person, Core77 traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as part of a contingent of primarily automotive journalists. Stay tuned!

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Phoebe DeGroot

5 years ago

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I'd like to see this emphasis on utilitarian design transfer into smaller fleet vehicles - I find myself clinging to old rangers and toyotas because the modern offerings come in sizes ranging from huge to enormous. Sure my ranger can't tow a small cruise ship but if I need to pick up stock material for work, drop off waste oil or scrap, move furniture, snag some salvaged machinery/motorcycle/wood etc it does the thing- and I think that's the case for many urban based hands-on folks like myself. I'd love to see these modern design innovations in a fuel and size conscious frame.

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Jeremiah McKenna

4 years ago

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I understand that looks are subjective, but after seeing the new Chevrolet Silverado, I have to ask, was the focus group all blind? Then they introduce the HD Silverado, and it just reassures me that Chevy designers are creature g a truck that seems to repel buyers, especially compared to the GMC Sierra, both 1500 and HD. I will say that I am a die hard Chevy guy, from day one, back in the 70's, when I was a small boy, living on a farm. I have had many, many Chevrolet trucks and cars, and I am extremely disappointed with the new face on this Silverado.

So now I have well over the $80k required to purchase the Sierra Denali HD, I also find that truck lacking. Not so much in the exterior styling or the capabilities that GM FINALLY caught up to the other two brands, but on the interior appointments. They got most everything on the exterior correct. They could give the fender flares some 2 inch lip and paint them to match the body. But thte interior is lacking, especially since it is a carryover from the outgoing model. I mean, for 60k, there should be some major improvements, especially compared to Dodge Ram, and their gorgeous interior trim and finish touch materials. AMD I'm not saying there needs to be a screen any larger than 10 inches. 12 is too massive, plus all touch screen is not a good thing. We like the tactile buttons and knobs.
Please, GM, let me feel like I am spending my hard earned money on a quality finished product and allow me to readily hand over a check for $80k+, and not regret it every time I sit in the seat, and then look at my friends new Ram and its gorgeous interior.
Step up to the plate, please.

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Joe Babb

5 years ago

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I have driven trucks of one sort or another for 51 years now. My dad's 67 Dodge was very basic and cost $2200 new. It was beautiful.. My 2001 Silverado 2500 cost $25000. It does everything I need. I would never pay $80000 for a pickup, and I worry about the reliability of all the gadgetry being added. Guess my old man is showing.

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- Jeremiah McKenna
  
  Joe Babb
  
  4 years ago
  
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  Not all of these trucks cost 80k, mainly the HD Denali trim level.
  
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Bastian Schulz

5 years ago

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Dear Rain,

Thank you very much for another excellent report on an automotive subject, that I'm sure many will be very excited to read. While the features mentioned in your report are no doubt useful additions to a functional plattform, I feel rather strongly on the subject of pickups and SUVs. I don't want to start a tedious discussion on the issue of economy, ecology and the likes. However, I'd be very intrigued to read about fuel- and resource-saving cars and/or prototypes. There are many examples out there, be that the VW XL1 that was limited to 250, the Panhard CD raced at Le Mans in 64, the Audi A2 in the 2000's, and the ubiquitous Toyota Prius, to name but a few, all of which achieved a serious step in reducing emissions, and serving their respective purposes with bravado (even if the XL1 was probably never intended to succeed on any market).
In view of climate change, I feel it is high time to refocus our attention on _really_ reducing emissions, and finding pragmatic solutions to today's challenges. Therefore, I was wondering whether I could persuade you to look into prototypes that never made it to production (Loremo comes to mind), or that were private enterprises or one-offs?!

Best regards,

Bastian

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Jeremiah McKenna

4 years ago

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Younare comparing a bare bones, simpleton vehicle company to top of the line car companies. Yes, all of the big three have basic transportation. But take a look at how those basic transportation vehicles have added all sorts of amenities. Look at the 01 Civic, Corolla, Sentra etc., and compare them to the current MY, and you'll see complete refinement in all of them. However VW has a simpler outlook.

As far as the trucks, they have come a long way. Many would say they have left too many in the past by NOT Offering a low options/amenities trim level along with the higher end trims. They seem to be forgetting that many of us still use these trucks for a utility purpose and don't need all of the creature comforts and want a single cab, SWB truck. Or even a nicely equipped single cab, SWB. They are chasing too much high dollar profit margin and not remembering where their roots are.

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