LA 2015: New 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate Conquers Mountains (of Cash)

by Aaron Cole

Updated: December 30th, 2020 Published: November 17th, 2015

la 2015 new 2016 gmc sierra 1500 denali ultimate conquers mountains of cash

For the discerning pickup buyer who can’t spend enough, GMC announced Tuesday its 2016 Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate edition complete with 22-inch wheels and chrome all over the place.

According to a GMC spokeswoman, the truck will start in the low $60,000-range when it goes on sale near March next year. Denali sales represent 20 percent of GMC’s light-duty sales.

In addition to bigger wheels and chrome, the truck sports standard automatic steps for passengers and to load the forward section of the bed, magnetic ride control and trailer brake. GMC’s 5.3-liter V-8 paired with its 8-speed automatic transmission is standard; the 6.2-liter V-8 that makes 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque is optional on the truck, but probably going to be on every single Sierra Denali Ultimate anyway.

The Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate boasts leather inside everywhere, and an 8-inch driver display screen screen that shows important info like navigation, audio, phone and probably speed somewhere too.

The truck will be offered in four-wheel drive only, with either a 5-foot-8-inch or 6-foot-6-inch bed.

The Denali Ultimate will likely compete with other premium-priced pickups such as the Ford F-150 Platinum and Ram 1500 Limited. Chevrolet’s Scrooge McDuck truck hasn’t been announced yet*.

When equipped with the 6.2-liter V-8, the Denali Ultimate will sport active noise cancellation to quiet its interior, a feature lifted from Cadillac models.

*That’s made up.

#2016 #DenaliUltimate #F-150 #Ford #GMC #Platinum #Sierra1500

Aaron Cole

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2 of 122 comments

Crtfour on Nov 18, 2015

I wonder if those wheels are real aluminum or GM's crappy chrome plastic covered steel wheels?

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Tjh8402 on Nov 19, 2015

This probably could've been part 2 of the Cadillac Xt6 article from a few weeks ago. Everyone complaining about the 4 cylinder in a $50k Cadillac? If you want lots of leather, column shifters, spacious seating, and a torquey rumbling V8, GM still has a vehicle for you. Wouldn't surprise me if the profit margins on this are higher than an XT6 as well. This is what the market, in all its foolishness, has determined is the luxury vehicle of choice. Carmakers are happy to oblige and laughing all the way to the bank.

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GregLocock Car companies can only really sell cars that people who are new car buyers will pay a profitable price for. As it turns out fewer and fewer new car buyers want sedans. Large sedans can be nice to drive, certainly, but the number of new car buyers (the only ones that matter in this discussion) are prepared to sacrifice steering and handling for more obvious things like passenger and cargo space, or even some attempt at off roading. We know US new car buyers don't really care about handling because they fell for FWD in large cars.
Slavuta Why is everybody sweating? Like sedans? - go buy one. Better - 2. Let CRV/RAV rust on the dealer lot. I have 3 sedans on the driveway. My neighbor - 2. Neighbors on each of our other side - 8 SUVs.
Theflyersfan With sedans, especially, I wonder how many of those sales are to rental fleets. With the exception of the Civic and Accord, there are still rows of sedans mixed in with the RAV4s at every airport rental lot. I doubt the breakdown in sales is publicly published, so who knows... GM isn't out of the sedan business - Cadillac exists and I can't believe I'm typing this but they are actually decent - and I think they are making a huge mistake, especially if there's an extended oil price hike (cough...Iran...cough) and people want smaller and hybrids. But if one is only tied to the quarterly shareholder reports and not trends and the big picture, bad decisions like this get made.
Wjtinfwb Not proud of what Stellantis is rolling out?
Wjtinfwb Absolutely. But not incredibly high-tech, AWD, mega performance sedans with amazing styling and outrageous price tags. GM needs a new Impala and LeSabre. 6 passenger, comfortable, conservative, dead nuts reliable and inexpensive enough for a family guy making 70k a year or less to be able to afford. Ford should bring back the Fusion, modernized, maybe a bit bigger and give us that Hybrid option again. An updated Taurus, harkening back to the Gen 1 and updated version that easily hold 6, offer a huge trunk, elevated handling and ride and modest power that offers great fuel economy. Like the GM have a version that a working mom can afford. The last decade car makers have focused on building cars that American's want, but eliminated what they need. When a Ford Escape of Chevy Blazer can be optioned up to 50k, you've lost the plot.