2013 GMC Acadia and Terrain sway full size sport utility buyers

By John Goreham on Fri, 05/11/2012

Trailer anti-sway is standard on the 2013 GMC Terrain and Acadia helping to hook up former drivers of full size sport utility vehicles.

 

GMC hopes its new 2013 Acadia and Terrain will help it solve a good problem. As GM moves its product lines ahead towards a future with a much higher CAFÉ standard it must face the reality that as a company it ranks very near the bottom of the list in terms of corporate average fuel economy. The main reason for this is simple; the 2013 Suburban, Yukon, and Escalade. These extremely popular and high profit vehicles are simply killing GM in its quest to raise its overall fuel economy.

The old tricks and exceptions like badging the vehicles “Flex Fuel” are no longer working as politicians with axes to grind start to call out GM on its novel ways of avoiding the CAFE standards. To keep the loyal buyers it has in the big SUV segment Chevy has designed some fantastic new vehicles that can do all the things the full size body-on-frame brutes could do but without the huge fuel economy penalty.

Ask any buyer driving to work alone in a 2012 Chevy Suburban why they drive such a beast and one of the reasons they will usually list is “Well, I have to tow my boat don’t I?” Pointing out that they could rent a truck to do tow the boat a few times a year falls on deaf ears because they want their own vehicle to handle all the tough jobs. It makes them happy. They should be happy. GM is trying to make them happy by making the 2013 GMA Acadia capable of towing up to 5,200 pounds. That is a lot of boat.

However, use a vehicle that is not big enough and the trailer is tricky to handle. It starts to sway and cause instability that leads to a possible crash. To mitigate this GM is highlighting the trailer anti-sway system it offers. By using sensors to detect the trailer beginning to sway, and then braking individual wheels, the Acadia can keep the trailer safely in line.

2013 GMC Terrain Is Small but Tough
The Acadia is the big brother in the family, but the 2013 GMC Terrain can handle 95% of all boats in the US according to National Marine Manufacturers Association. Even boats 20 feet long can be hauled by the Terrain. Recently GM upgraded the Terrain’s engine to the company’s best V6. Coupled with the back-up camera that makes hooking the trailer up easy, the smaller of the two sport-‘utes can handle just about anything towable up to 3,500 pounds. In a press statement GM quoted Boating World executive editor Alan Jones as saying “GMC brings big truck towing technology like StabiliTrak with Trailer Sway Control as standard features to its family-friendly Arcadia and Terrain crossovers.”
Best GM Engines
With new safety features, the best engines available from GM, and the ability to tow 95% of all the boats in the US, GM makes a good case that the 2013 GMC Acadia and Terrain can start to replace the brute-‘utes that families used out of habit for many decades.