Stuff you won't see until you sit in or drive one (and in some cases not even then) would include a passenger-sensing air bag system, advanced electrical architecture, a modified instrument panel including a new driver information center, new redundant steering wheel controls, a new center console, the first industry application of a Bose audio system in a full-size pickup truck, a new rear-seat DVD entertainment system, manual and fully automatic dual-zone climate control systems, and the expanded availability of the Quadrasteer four-wheel steering system.
There are no changes to the powertrains, by the way, save a new oxygen sensor.
The vastly improved instrument panel and cluster are the result of those things owners will likely never see -- the advanced electrical system. While the details of this will likely bore anyone with a real life, it does bear explaining so you can appreciate the benefits it brings.
It takes the use of multiplexing to a new level, White explained, and by replacing copper wires with those integrated circuit boards at every opportunity GM engineers could greatly increase the processing power to support the trucks' increased electrical and ''smart'' content.
The new architecture also enabled GM to significantly reduce the number of wires, splices and connectors in the pickups, and that should mean improved quality. Finally, White said additional diagnostic capability designed into the electronic control modules ''will provide quicker, easier and less costly servicing and reduced warranty costs.''