2005 GMC Sierra SLE from North America - Comments

Nothing so far, although it is still nearly new and under factory warranty.

A well built 1/2 ton extended cab 4x4 pickup. Even with the Z71 off road package, it rides smoothly and handles very competently.

Equipped with a 4.10 rear axle ratio, it tows my 4000 pound travel trailer with ease.

Averages 14-15 miles per gallon in town, and 19 on the freeway. Not bad for a full size truck with the 4.10 rear axle.

The only other axle ratio available was the 3.42, and it feels sluggish compared to the 4.10. And mileage isn't much different.

Some years back I went with a good friend of mine to a salvage yard to locate a trim part for his old GMC Jimmy. As we pulled into the lot, we noticed a nearly new mid-sized sedan that had obviously just been towed onto the lot. It had been hit from behind and the rear bumper had been smashed all the way up behind the front seats. The car was about HALF it's original length. I asked the tow-truck driver if anyone had died in the crash. He replied that the car's driver survived, and that the driver of the other vehicle was only slightly injured after he "fled the scene and crashed into a tree". Curious as to how anyone could "flee the scene" of such an obviously horrendous crash, I asked what the other driver was driving. I was informed that the other driver had been driving a GMC Sierra pickup, and that after hitting the car he led police on an 11-mile chase at speeds up to 100mph that ended when he hit a tree (which was a bit better built than the car!!). I guess that says a lot about the ruggedly built GMC truck. To completely destroy a car without even puncturing the radiator, then drive it at speeds up to 100mph for 11 miles afterwards is quite a feat. That helped me in my decision to buy my wife a GMC SUV. If they're that tough, I want my family in one!!

I enjoyed reading the comments and I too smiled just like others have noted. Here are my two cents.

It's well known that SUV's and pick-up trucks have a higher center of gravity and a coincident tendency to roll versus a smaller vehicle like a Toyota "peep". Most SUV roll over occurrences resulting in fatalities are single vehicle accidents.

There are many cars like the Accord for example that have faired better than some larger vehicles like trucks at protecting their occupants. However these are controlled crashes into a fixed barrier or wall. Since the wall doesn’t move, it is the big equalizer against the larger vehicle’s force at impact. Physics.

Unfortunately, if a Civic hits a Silverado “head on” it won’t be a pretty sight for either vehicle or their occupants. Assuming the vehicles were approaching each other travelling at the same velocity, the bigger vehicle’s mass will impart a larger force to the smaller one as they collide.

There are other variables like how the structure of a vehicle is designed to absorb and distribute the collision forces away from the occupants, but everything being equal the deceleration force experienced by the smaller vehicle and its occupants will be far greater. Physics again.

At this point, lets thank the proliferation of air bags and hope they deployed as designed so that the occupants of both vehicles survived and were able to walk away. But if I were a driver of a small car with all the latest safety equipment, I still would not want to tempt fate with a “pig”.

Yes the environment pays a price and the owner of the big vehicle pays at the pump, but seeing the way more and more people drive their cars and trucks today, I can sort of understand why some drivers want as much iron as possible surrounding themselves and their family. No, not a law of physics, but just the basic desire for survival.