2013 GMC Acadia and Acadia Denali: Photo Gallery

The GMC Acadia large crossover gets refreshed for 2013, and it's the first model to get the brand's new signature face that includes a new, bold, squared-off grille.

More 2012 Chicago Auto Show Coverage

Inside, updated materials lend a more premium look and feel than the previous version; it gets a new touch-screen and more multimedia functionality, too. The regular version and the new Denali trim, which GMC noted typically makes up around 30% of all Acadia sales, were unveiled in Chicago.

2013 GMC Acadia: Up Close

While GM has given most of its attention lately to Buick and Chevrolet — with new models such as the Buick Verano and Chevy Sonic — GMC was left to soldier on with no new models last year. Even so, the brand was GM's fastest growing for 2011, and GMC remains the carmaker's second-largest make in America.

2012 Chicago Auto Show Coverage

With that sort of track record, it's no surprise that the carmaker is focusing more attention on giving GMC its own distinctive look — the brand currently consists of nothing more than slightly reworked Chevy trucks, SUVs and crossovers. The Acadia large crossover was one of the first GMCs to wear its own sheet metal, distinctive from Chevrolet, and it is the first model to get the brand’s new signature face.

Totally New Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra Coming Next Year

If you're shopping in the highly competitive pickup truck market, expect to see a completely redesigned Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra next year, according to our friends at PickupTrucks.com.

The Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 were last redesigned in 2006. They got a new body, frame and suspension. This time around, expect more of the same. We should see a totally new exterior and interior design, a new frame and heavily revised engines, PickupTrucks.com reports.

New GMC Acadia Coming to 2012 Chicago Auto Show

We don't know much about it, but expect a new GMC Acadia to arrive at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show in early February, according to GMC spokesman Joe LaMuraglia. When we pressed LaMuraglia to divulge more, all he said was that it "is more than a new trim level." Two years back, GMC unveiled a luxurious Denali trim of the Acadia at the Detroit auto show.

The announcement came from Twitter, presumably to remind people that GMC is still around; the General Motor's brand had nothing to show at this year's Detroit auto show.

The current incarnation of the Acadia has been on sale since late 2006 and was one of the first of GM's large crossovers to go on sale, followed by the Buick Enclave and the Chevrolet Traverse. It's definitely due for an update. Last year, GMC was GM's fastest growing brand and remains the carmaker's second-largest brand in America after Chevrolet.

Vote for the Cars.com's Shoppers' Choice Award

Cars.com's annual popularity award is back. We have found the 10 most popular new-car models that shoppers are not only searching for on Cars.com but are contacting dealers about. These models also receive positive consumer reviews.

This fervent interaction delivers a top 10 that might surprise some enthusiasts, but probably not the people who buy and sell cars.

Voting for this year’s Shoppers' Choice awards will be conducted entirely on Facebook, so go vote, share it with your network and get your favorite car the shiny trophy when it's announced Jan. 10 on the eve of the Detroit auto show.

Shoppers' Choice finalists (in alphabetical order):

• Audi Q5
• Dodge Challenger
• GMC Terrain
• Honda Accord
• Honda Pilot
• Kia Soul
• Ram 1500
• Subaru Outback
• Toyota Highlander
• Toyota Sienna

GM, Chrysler Offer 48-Month Buy-Back Program

Ally Financial, the preferred lender for GM and Chrysler, is launching a new program to buy your car back after four years if you have a five-, six- or seven-year loan. The program, called Buyer’s Choice, rolled out yesterday in California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas, with more markets "added over the coming months," Ally said in a statement.

To be sure, anyone can trade or sell their car before their payments are up through rollover financing or a sale payment to the lender, but it's a sticky process.

The Ally product gives the buyer a guaranteed value at the time of purchase, along with an amortization table of the loan. You'll know from the start what sort of equity you'll have at the end of 48 months, which should help anyone thinking about using Buyer's Choice to avoid being upside down at the four-year mark. There's no fee to enroll, and you don't have to buy or lease a Chrysler or GM vehicle with your Buyer's Choice cash. Wear and tear limits will be similar to that of a lease, but exact terms on mileage weren't given.

The program should offer a degree of assurance to shoppers wary of buying from GM or Chrysler, given each automaker's bankrupt past. Then again, Chrysler vehicles are moving up on the reliability chain, an earlier weakness for the company.

Recall Alert: 2012 Chevrolet Equinox and 2012 GMC Terrain

GM is recalling 33,964 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs from the 2012 model year because the tire pressure monitoring system doesn’t meet federal standards, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall affects Equinoxes and Terrains built from July 18 through Sept. 6. Your car’s build date can be found on a sticker affixed to the driver-side doorjamb.

The system is designed to illuminate the tire pressure warning light when the pressure in a tire is 25% below the recommended cold tire pressure. On the recalled SUVs, the warning light won’t illuminate until the tire pressure is more than 25% below the recommended cold tire pressure. An underflated tire can cause tire overloading and overheating, leading to a blowout and possible crash. Underinflated tires also can result in premature or irregular wear, poor handling and poor fuel economy.

The recall is expected to begin this month. GM dealers will update the body control module free of charge. For more info, affected owners can call Chevrolet at 800-630-2438, GMC at 866-996-9463 or NHTSA’s safety hotline at 888-327-4236.

2012 GMC Terrain Gets Accident Avoidance System

The 2012 GMC Terrain will feature a new crash avoidance system that’ll also serve as a lane mitigation system, according to GM. It will be the first such system in a GM vehicle. 

Unlike other precollision and lane mitigation systems, which typically use a series of radar or laser sensors to detect vehicles in front of them, the GMC system uses a digital camera mounted on the windshield in front of the rearview mirror. The digital camera, combined with object- and range-detecting software, determines if an accident is pre-eminent. If it is, the system illuminates a warning icon and beeps to warn the driver. The system also will pre-charge the brakes, like other systems, if an accident is unavoidable. GM doesn’t mention if the system will pre-emptively tighten seat belts, adjust seating position, raise head restraints or close the windows as similar systems do. GMC’s precollision system only works at speeds above 25 mph.

GM Introduces Industry-First Front Center Airbag

GM will add a front center airbag to its 2013 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave vehicles. This industry-first airbag deploys from the right side of the driver’s seat and creates a barrier between the two seats in the front row.

Why create a barrier between the two seats? When far-side collisions — a front occupant is involved in a crash on opposite side of where they’re seated — occur, head, chest and spinal injuries can be severe. This happens because far-side occupants are either flung into the other seat or a passenger, if present, causing harm to both occupants, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nearly 29% of fatalities for belted front occupants in side-impact non-rollover crashes are caused by these incidents, according to NHTSA.

The front center airbag is designed to restrain the driver and front occupant from colliding with each other or other objects in the cabin, and it acts as an energy-absorbing cushion to absorb the colliding vehicle’s reciprocal force.

The airbags will be standard on the 2013 Buick Enclave and standard on GMC Acadia and Chevy Traverse when equipped with power seats. The added airbag would give the large crossovers seven airbags, when equipped. All three crossovers already have top safety accolades from NHTSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The center airbag will also help improve roll-over safety, says GM.

Toyota said it’s also working on a center airbag, but it hasn’t released the safety system on a model yet.

Update: GM has cofirmed that the 2013 crossovers will debut a year from now, in the fall of 2012. 

PickupTrucks.com Heavy-Duty Shootout: Hurt Locker Edition

PickupTrucks.com has done heavy-duty Shootouts before, but with manufacturers increasing their vehicles’ capabilities all the time, there always seems to be a new top-of-class claim.

Editor Mike Levine and his staff put three trucks — the 2011 Ford F-350, 2012 GMC Sierra 3500HD and 2011.5 Ram 3500 — through a grueling 2,200-mile test measuring every conceivable metric buyers of these haulers would want.

These work trucks can haul 19,400 pounds according to their specs, so that’s how much PickupTrucks.com put on their beds across the American Southwest. Check out the full report to see which one came out on top. [Hint: If you read the last Heavy-Duty Shootout, it’s the same winner.]

PickupTrucks.com 2011 Heavy-Duty Hurt Locker