2014 GMC Sierra 1500 First Test - TruckTrend Magazine
That itself hurt the automakers in two ways: it caused research and development budgets to get squeezed for a few years, and it caused truck sales to drop. Trucks took longer to develop and longer to sell. The previous generation of the Silverado/Sierra was on the GMT900 platform, which we liked so much we named it our 2007 Truck of the Year. But that was seven years ago, and once the drought ended, a lot suddenly changed in the industry (such as EcoBoost engines, grille shutters, air suspension, and eight-speed transmissions). After all, as one example, Ram introduced an eight-speed transmission, when GM was still using a four-speed in some models. When we heard that we would finally get the chance to take a new GM pickup to the track, in this case a four-wheel-drive 2014 Sierra 1500 Crew Cab SLT Z71 with the 5. 3-liter V-8, we were excited to see how it would do. After all, General Motors... The EcoTec3 line uses a new version of Active Fuel Management cylinder shutoff, direct injection, and continuously variable valve timing, a combination that was used to improve power and fuel economy. Source: www.trucktrend.com
