GMC Canyon 2016

While Colorado had several minor tweaks as well, GMC’s compact pickup stuck with the main novelty for the new year: a diesel engine. The turbocharged 2.8-liter delivers 181 hp of power and 369 lb-ft of torque, and composes a new option to the gasoline-burners 2.5 (200 hp) and 3.5 V6 (306 hp). It comes only with crew cab, but with RWD or AWD. Other additions are a balance shaft, ceramic grow plugs, cooled exhaust-gas recirculation, new springs and dampers designed to reduce vibrations even more, and the Apple CarPlay function to the IntelliLink infotainment system. When using the new engine, GMC Canyon starts at US$ 34,875.

GMC Canyon 2

If GMC manages to convince people to buy luxury versions of heavy-duty trucks, which are supposed to respect their working purposes by being as objective as possible, why wouldn’t it try to seduce small pick-up buyers to do their occasional off-road getaways with a little more class? This year’s Detroit Auto Show featured the other part of General Motors’s attempt of ressurrecting compact pick-ups in the United States, after the decreasing sales made competitors like Dakota and Ranger vanish some years ago.