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Terrain and Acadia Gain Ground in the Golden State

GMC’s fuel-efficient smaller SUV and crossover are winning fans in California

2011-09-02

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DETROIT – When Joanne Grimaldi, an avid cyclist from San Jose, Calif., decided to replace her pickup truck with a more fuel-efficient vehicle, she picked the GMC Terrain because it can haul multiple bicycles while offering an EPA-rated 32 mpg in highway driving. 

“On our 200-mile bike rides, my friends and I take turns driving and biking, and I always get compliments about how nice the Terrain is to drive,” said Grimaldi, who rides with the Bay Area's Almaden Cycle Touring Club. “I really like the backup camera, leather interior, OnStar and hands-free control of my phone. Although I enjoyed driving a truck, I still feel like the Terrain gets respect on the roads, while getting better fuel economy.”

Grimaldi is one of many Californians discovering the benefits to owning a Terrain and other Professional Grade GMC vehicles. GMC sales are up 21 percent in the Golden State so far this year with Terrain sales up 39 percent.  

Californians also are discovering the GMC Acadia crossover, sales of which are up 26 percent so far this year. The crossover gets better highway fuel range and offers more cargo space than Ford Explorer, and it has room for up to eight passengers.

“We’ve seen a lot of families gravitating from larger vehicles to Acadia and Terrain due to their fuel-efficiency, features and styling,” said Dick Stricklen, owner of Motor City Buick-GMC in Bakersfield. “Our Acadia sales alone have nearly doubled in the past two months, thanks in part to the upscale Denali model’s exclusive styling and premium content.”

Terrain and Acadia fueled GMC’s best sales month of the year in August and its 23^rd consecutive month of retail sales gains nationwide, with sales to individual customers up 26 percent and total sales up 40 percent year over year.

“As a long-time California resident, GMC's latest success is not a big surprise to me,” said James Bell, General Motors’ head of consumer affairs. “This brand has resonated well with the laid-back yet progressive lifestyle we have enjoyed out here for many years, but the Acadia and Terrain are the first GMC vehicles that merge our personalities with our environmental priorities.”

Terrain uses lightweight eco-friendly parts including a plant fiber-reinforced ceiling liner, recycled plastic from soft drink and water bottles in its rigid plastic grille frame, and recycled textile insulation in its carpet assembly, dashboard and cargo area. Acadia uses similar eco-friendly materials. Both vehicles are at least 85 percent recyclable by weight, with recyclable steel accounting for the greatest contribution.

GM facilities worldwide recycle 90 percent of the waste they generate. In 2010 alone, the automaker recycled or reused 2.5 million tons of waste materials at its plants worldwide – enough to fill 6.8 million extended-cab pickup trucks that, if parked end-to-end, would stretch around the world.

About GMC

GMC has manufactured trucks since 1902, and is one of the industry's healthiest brands. Innovation and engineering excellence is built into all GMC vehicles and the brand is evolving to offer more fuel-efficient trucks and crossovers, including the Terrain smaller SUV and Acadia crossover.  GMC is the only manufacturer to offer three full-size hybrid trucks with the Yukon, Yukon Denali SUVs and the Sierra pickup. The new Sierra Heavy Duty pickups are the most capable and powerful trucks in the market.  Details on all GMC models are available at www.gmc.com, on Twitter at @thisisgmc or at http://www.facebook.com/gmc.

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