September 24, 2014 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
• From the Veteran’s Committee: The 9th Annual SOS (Support our Soldiers) Poker Run is this Saturday, Sept. 27. Registration at the Union Hall begins at 10 am with last bike out by noon. Cost is $10 per bike/cage and $5 for each extra hand. All bikes and cages welcome. There will also be a 50/50 raffle. Ride ends at the Tatooed Lady in Moscow Mills. Last bike in at 7 pm. Ride will be approximately 90 miles. Proceeds benefit Operation H.E.R.O.E.S. Care. If you have any questions contact Steve Melson at 636-262-1234.
• Also: There will be a Gate Drive this Thursday, Sept. 25 before the shifts to benefit H.E.R.O.E.S. Care.
• There will be a Blood Drive at the plant Wednesday, October 1. Signups will be taken Wed. September 24 and Thur. September 25 in the cafeteria.
• The third United Way drawing will be held Thursday, Sept. 25 on first shift in the cafeteria at lunch time. You can qualify by either signing up as a new donor, increasing your donation, or changing the designation for your donations to this area. Prizes will be a Black and Decker drill and a Mega Kitchen System. Go to the Socrates home page (google “my Socrates” and click on the first result to log in) and use the United Way link to sign up or change your profile.
• The nominees for the North American Truck of the Year were announced yesterday. Both the Colorado and Canyon made the short list. The other competitors are: Audi Q3, Chevrolet Tahoe, Ford F-150, Lexus NX, Lincoln MKC, Mercedes-Benz GLA class, Nissan Murano, Porsche Macan, Subaru Outback and Toyota Highlander.
• Forbes did an article revealing which 2015 vehicles they recommended avoiding. Among them was the pseudo pickup otherwise known as the Honda Ridgeline. Said Forbes: “Not so much a pickup truck as a midsize crossover SUV with an open cargo hold; rendered irrelevant by the new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups.”
• First drive reviews of the Colorado and Canyon are starting to appear. We intend to cover every one of them for you. We’ll start with the Edmunds review. Here’s some of what they had to say about the Canyon (read the full review)
o No one will miss the outgoing 185-horsepower 2.9-liter four-cylinder base engine. Its 2.5-liter replacement makes 200 hp and delivers 90 percent of its peak torque at just 2,000 rpm. Better still, the unloved 3.7-liter five-cylinder that made 242 hp and a like amount of torque is stepping aside in favor of a smooth-running 3.6-liter V6 that makes 305 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque.
o Like the Chevrolet Colorado, the Canyon's 3.6-liter V6 comes to life with little fanfare, and it settles into a calm idle that's accompanied by a tiny amount of mechanical engine sound.
o There's plenty of grunt when we roll gently onto the gas, and it pulls strongly when we press harder. The six-speed automatic is smooth and sure as it goes up through the gears, and there isn't much wind or road noise as we settle in at 70 mph.
o The steering has enough heft and on-center definition to make straight-ahead cruising a relaxing pursuit, and it turns in accurately when corners enter the mix. The response is a little slower than we'd like, but not by much. There's less overall body roll than the last Tacoma we drove, and it leans in more gradually. We could easily spend all day behind the wheel of one of these. It's clearly better than the Canyon of old, and it feels more grown up than the competition.
o GM engineers have found the Goldilocks zone. The ride is neither too hard over bumps, nor too floaty and bouncy when the pavement gets wavy. Yes, a lone occupant hauling nothing but Grade-A air might notice a little firmness, but that's par for the course when it comes to an empty pickup. Mostly, the Canyon shrugs off bumps and potholes with little aftertaste. The stiffness of the underlying structure is clearly helping the suspension do its job more effectively. The attractive bucket seats offer good support, and they certainly take the edge off coarser road inputs.
o The cab of the new Canyon is simply a nice place to be. It feels much more up to date and manages to translate the feel and atmosphere of GMC's full-size Sierra 1500 to a smaller package. GMC's 8-inch IntelliLink screen occupies a prominent and easy-to-reach spot in the middle of the dash, and the buttons and knobs that control it are clearly separated from the climate control array that sits a respectful distance below. Convincing stainless-steel accents set the whole thing off nicely.
Though it doesn't necessarily look it from the outside, the backseat of the crew cab offers a smidge over 2 inches more legroom than a Nissan Frontier and just over 3 inches more than a Toyota Tacoma.
o All V6-powered Canyons come with a 3.42-to-1 final drive ratio. There are no optional choices, so the same truck that can tow the maximum of 7,000 pounds can also achieve the rated fuel economy when empty. If only full-size tow ratings were this simple. A 2015 Toyota Tacoma can tow 6,500 pounds. Aside from the V6 engine, the only options necessary to achieve the max are the locking rear differential and the Z82 Trailering package (hitch and integrated seven-pin wiring). On paper there's ample power and torque, and the V6 engine comes with a Tow/Haul mode switch that has proven to be very effective in past towing tests with other six-speed-equipped GM trucks. We're pretty confident that we'll like what we see when we take a Canyon to our favorite test grade.
o The bed looks good, primarily because it's so deep: 2 more inches, according to GM. A long tailgate makes for a longer platform length when it's folded down, which is how 8-foot lumber can fit in the 6-foot 2-inch bed without hanging over.
o This Canyon has enough capability for all but the most demanding tasks of the average truck owner. It's also easier to park, gets better mileage and is more likely to fit neatly into your garage than the full-size GMC Sierra.
Tom Brune
UAW Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119
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