2004 Duramax

[Duramaxdiesel]

Does anyone know if the '04 HD's will go back to the '01-'02 style. I heard that somewhere and thought that someone here might be able to clear that up for me. Thanks.

[FisHn2DMax]

Gee I hope they don't go back to the 02 on the GMC! IMHO, the 03 GMC HD front clip is an improvement over the 02. However, the Chev is a whole different story!

Everything I've heard and seen on the Chev side indicates they will do something since all change is driven by Sales numbers! According to my local GM dealer, and articles I've read, the GMC side is doing "OK", however Chev HD Trucks are not! Only the Avalanche and the New Tahoe XL ( 1500 suburban) with quadrasteer are doing well in the Chev trucks division.

You can beat Chev will do something, and soon! The question is when? I wouldn't at all be surprised if a newly redesigned 04 Chev & GMC HD's are released early summer to help offset the sluggish sales ( Quadrasteer HD 2500's?) GM Marketing is trying everything it can to get sales back on par with 02 levels by offering LARGE rebates and insane finance incentives, it's working, but not any where near what they were expecting. If GM is using concurrent Engineering concepts with it's HD design teams, it is very plausible they could match the Ford and Dodge new improved HD offerings and redesign the Chev front Clip in very little time. With the current slump in Chev HD sales, the question is when, not if Chev will be making a change in it's HD?

Only GM knows for sure how much more pain they're willing to endure in the interim?

:D

[Dmax son]

I doubt they will change back. Here in Cali I don't see any used Avalanches, and the new trucks are selling like crazy. I'm going to say either you hate the chevys are you like them. Everyone hates the avalanche, I don't like the new H2's. You either love them or hate them. Personally I like the new look of the trucks, just cause it doesn't look like the big rig look of the dodge/ford. Besides the new dodges look uglier.

Bryan

[PONCH]

I have seen a picture of the 2005 chevy and it is terrible!

Hope they stay with the 2003 for GMC.

Heck mine is brand new so I won't be trading soon anyway.

SEE YA BYE

2003HD DM/A CC SB 2WD SUMMIT WHITE ARE-COVER LUND BUG SHIELD and WINDOW COVERS NEW VISION RUNNING BRDS

[hdmax(mike)]

I don`t understand where some of this mis information comes from!

GM trucks sells are up something like 36% in December of 02 compared to December 01.
here is a copy of part of the article!

GM Truck Sales
For December, GM truck sales (301,528) were up 36 percent. December utility vehicle sales were an all-time monthly record for GM (139,749) and were up 56 percent as GM became the first manufacturer ever to top 1.2 million SUV sales in a calendar year. GM's midsize utility sales for the month were 57,967, an increase of 50 percent. GM's December sales of full-size utility vehicles (69,630 units) were up 47 percent from year-ago levels. GM also posted strong full-size pickup sales in December (108,226), an increase of 21 percent.

[Steve Cornell]

I HOPE GM changes the Chevy for 2004, that way I will have one of the Good Looking "RARE" 2003 models :D tongue.gif

[Runaway]

I agree with Steve Cornell, I personally didn't like the look of the 01/02 Chev's.

[Duramaxdiesel]

Wow!! I guess the tables have turned. Mostly everyone I talk to don't like the look of the '03. They buy them just the same but don't like'em. I myself am a big Chevy loyalist but the new look doesn't do it for me. I like the power bulge of the '01-'02 hood and the way it looks at night with just the parking lights and roof lights on. smile.gif smile.gif

[FisHn2DMax]

Mike,

It's always in the details, but I do stand corrected. I wasn't very clear on the overall GM "Sales" vs. 2002! I was refering only to the 03 Chev HD 2500 net sales, not overall GM aggregate yearly sales. GM 2002 overall sales did great, mostly due to it's incentives. As a GM investor, I always look at the Net and not just the top line sales. There is a "cost of sales" that every company has. In GM's case, it's off the charts ( not good). If you drill down into the detailed financials of the various GM divisions and by product, you'll find a more accurate picture! The Insane financial incentives GM is offering is artificially making the top line sales look good. This has the affect of making everyone feel warm and fuzzy about GM, but if you look under the sheets at the actual hit to the NET profit line, it's scary to say the least! Why would GM be offering these huge incentives if it didn't think it had to? Financial insider articles indicate the Chev HD 2500 fourth quarter expected unit sales were revised down, while GMC 2500 HD unit projection was increased from plan. The official GM 4th quarter detailed financial results due out in the next 45-60 days, will bear this out.
If your a GM investor, the detailed financial information is available upon request or through your financial advisor.

Why are so many financial analysts concerned about GM right now, when top line aggregate sales number look so great? Those huge incentives are the reason automakers are realizing more Unit volume, but at what bottom line cost? The time will soon come when the auto producers will have to stand on their product merits and not on whom has the highest incentive. It's simply too costly!

This is exactly why I think GM will look at the 03 HD front clip design. I'm sure they're very perplexed! How come the Avalanche is doing so well ("HOT") with this new bold look and yet the HD with similar front end styling has seen a luke warm public response? It's very possible they may just give it more time? Who knows, next year everyone may be talking about how the 03 GMC is so "ugly"?

Here's one of the articles I was referring to:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT, Jan. 3

[SteveO]

The 03 Chevy is growing on me..

I like the Truck when facing it head on..

I'm just having a hard time with the amount(extra) of Bumper from the front tire forward.. It looks like the bumper sticks out a considerable amount more...

Doesn't matter to me Chevy or GMC>> They both have the samething under the HOOD>> DMax Power smile.gif ) and that's all that counts...

[Trippin]

It actually took me two months to decide on which one to buy. I decided on the 03 2500HD Silverado for a couple of reasons.

1) My previous trucks were a 1988 and a 1999, both first year body style trucks. So somehow I became a trend-setter. Quite by accident I assure you.

2) They are different. There is no doubt about what year truck it is. Like em or not, you'll know it's me in my 03!

O.K. maybe the rhyme is to much....but I bet you smiled when you read it. :D

[cass]

i think gm needs to change the front end on the 2004 models. the front bumper extends out too far and really looks obviously over proportioned on the 1/2 ton trucks. i have friends who have gone from chevy to ford just because of the new avalanche look. i guess the rebates and incentives are causing them to sell, but maybe they will wake up and change.

[afp]

The 03 Chevy's are UGLY. I LOVE the way my '02 looks. Then again, if we all liked the same thind, we'd all be drooling at the door of the same woman's house!

Blaine

[MountainMax]

Well,.. Like my Grandaddy used to say...

"It's a good thing we all don't like the same thing,... cause everybody'd be after your Grandma...."

Think about it.

[Alli-max]

Well MM, I've been thinking for a while, and I have come to the conclusion your Granma was a hottie?? :D :D :D

NO WAY will Chevy go back to an older design. That would basically say 'we screwed up' and the ego's over there would rather spend millions of dollars on a new clip rather than bring oan old one back.

[Rebel_Horseman]

FisHn2DMax made a very good point. "How come the Avalanche is doing so well ("HOT") with this new bold look and yet the HD with similar front end styling has seen a luke warm public response?" In my opinion the reason is very simple. People buy the Avalanche becasue it's a totally different concept. It's a light duty truck and it looks that way. Our HD's are meant to be HEAVY DUTY. They are meant to work, pull trailers, etc and they should look that way. That's why the '01 & '02 trucks sold like crazy...they simply looked tough. Now that they loko like the Avalanche people don't care for them as much because their trucks might be mistaken for one of those wimpy (and in may ways worthless) Avalanche. They don't want a truck that looks weak, they want one that looks like it can pull a house, just like Ford & Dodge does. I don't like the new look and definately prefer my '01 more. My room mate chose between an '02 and an '03 and came away with the '02 becasue it looks like a real truck and not an Avalanche. That's just my opinion.

Reb [><]

[conradv]

If Chevy would have come out with the Avalanche styling for the HD trucks BEFORE the Avalanche, I bet it would be a totally different story as far as looks...