GMC Sierra – First Drive: The whispers started probably two years ago. You remember: GMC is hurting...there’s no need for it...someone should introduce GMC to Olds... Ahhh. Nothing says professional grade like rumors about your demise. Then again, nothing says “I told you so” like a good run of new vehicles, which is exactly what happened. The new Sierra full-size pickup aims to continue the run, and it offers a big advantage over its mechanical twin, the Chevrolet Silverado: A model with a six-speed automatic transmission and a whopping 400 horsepower. Ouch. Now that’s a professional grade smack upside the chops if we’ve ever felt one.

According to GMC: The First 100 Years, and GM, General Motors purchased GMC in 1909, and they didn’t get around to swallowing up Chevrolet until around 1916. Given seniority, it’s fair to say that the Silverado is junior to the Sierra. Add to that questionable logic the fact that GMC has the one thing Chevrolet doesn’t: a Denali trim, a 6.2-liter V8 and a – gasp – six-speed automatic. Other than that, the trucks are identical save for the front ends, and trace their lineage back to GM’s GMT900 line of vehicles, which includes a bunch of SUVs. Hey – it all winds up in the same corporate pie in the end, right?

The Sierra has three cab configurations – regular, extended, crew – and five trims – Work Truck (WT), SLE1, SLE2, SLT and Denali. All come with either two-wheel-drive (2WD) or four-wheel-drive (4WD), and bed choices range from short (5 ft. 8 in.) to standard (6 ft. 6 in.) and long (8 ft.). There are two interiors. Pure Pickup in WT and both SLE trims features larger knobs and handles; Luxury for the SLT, the same as what's found inside GM SUVs. Cloth seats are standard on WT/SLE models with leather available on SLT trims. Sierra SLTs come with a chrome front bumper and a heated, 12-way, power leather driver’s seat. A lockable in-seat storage bin built into the new 40/20/40-split rear bench is large enough to store a laptop.

All Sierras except the Denali come with a four-speed automatic transmission. What changes is the engine. Choices start with a 4.3-liter V6, standard on the WT Regular Cab/2WD Extended Cab models. One step up is a 4.8-liter V8, standard on WT 4WD Extended Cabs, SLE Regular Cabs and Extended Cabs, and WT/SLE Crew Cab models; that’s followed by a 5.3-liter FlexFuel V8, available on all; a 5.3-liter V8 standard on SLE and SLT models but available on all, and a 5.3-liter V8 with Active Fuel Management (AFM) on 4WD Crew Cab models. A 6.0-liter V8 with AFM is part of the SLE/SLT Extended and Crew Cab towing package. The Denali Sierra gets a 6.2-liter V8, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

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