Spyshots: New GMC Canyon

Production of the previous generation of the GMC Canyon ended in July when the last one rolled off the line at GM’s Shreveport, LA plant, which is now closed. Tony DiSalle, the VP of Marketing for Buick/GMC, has confirmed that rumors of a next-gen Canyon are well-based. Now, spy shots taken in Michigan provide an early glimpse at a possible 2014 GMC Canyon with a beefed-up look for the American market.

The Canyon’s counterpart, the Chevy Colorado, is being touted by GMC as the first ‘global’ mid-size pick up. It was in fact introduced in Thailand. Its rounder look contrasts with the beefier fascia and taller hood of the proposed new Canyon. GM executives have spoken on several occasions of plans to further differentiate the Canyon and the Colorado. If the American version of the Colorado retains the look of the global version, early spy shots of the Canyon suggest that their comments were more than idle speculation.

A release date for this all-new Canyon is uncertain, in part because production will shift to a different plant — GM’s Wentzville, MO facility. Most likely, the 2014 full-size GMC Sierra will be introduced first. The flagship brand at GMC will get all of the intial attention. The subsequent release of the new Canyon may come many months later depending on how smoothly production commences in Wentzville. Early estimates suggest that we might see the 2014 Canyon released some 6-8 mos after the release of the Sierra.

As a result, the Canyon may remain on hiatus for well over a year. Early spy shots suggest significant changes to the exterior. It’s reasonable to assume that the inclusion of the latest touch-screen and internet streaming technologies will also occur. The last Canyon did not offer notably better fuel economy than its big brother, the Sierra. It’s likely that GMC will give some serious attention to fuel economy in the next generation Canyon.

Marketing VP DiSalle hinted at future developments in the Canyon line when he said during a recent conference call, “While we continue to make strong progress in fuel economy gains on our full-size trucks, we know that there is a group of customers who want the functionality of a truck but may not need a full-size pickup. We believe that introducing a new, agile and efficient mid-size Canyon will meet the needs of many pickup buyers.”