The new Sierra Crew Cab Denali shares the distinct front-end appearance with the Yukon Denali and Yukon XL Denali, Bunnell notes, and other premium exterior cues include body-color door handles, body side moldings, tailgate handle, outside mirrors, and a rear bumper and tonneau cover.
Other features of the Denali pickup include a Vortec 6000 V8 producing 345 hp and 380 lb.-ft. of torque, full-time all-wheel-drive, a locking rear axle, 17-inch wheels and tires (with 20-inch wheels and tires available some time in 2005), Hydroboost four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, Z71 suspension, chrome running boards with integral mud guards, a Denali-specific instrument cluster and center console, tone-on-tone leather seating, a body-color, leather-wrapped steering wheel, a power-operated sunroof, rear-seat entertainment with DVD player and flip-down screen, all in one of three exterior colors (Black, Silver Birch Metallic, and White) with two interior colors (Pewter and Neutral).
Later in 2005, 20-inch wheels and tires will be made available and Bunnell's quite excited about that because ''they totally transform the look of the truck. We can't wait to offer them.''
For now, there's also an optional power sunroof, and an upscale stereo system.
Also optional is a rear-seat DVC system with a flip-down, seven-inch screen that can also play both CD-audio and DVD-format discs.
Two sets of wireless (infrared) headphones with independent volume control, a wireless remote control and three sets of auxiliary video/audio inputs are included.
The V8 in the Crew Cab Denali is more powerful than any engine previously offered in a Denali model, Bunnell notes, and it's attached to the Hydra-Matic 4L65-E electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission, which is a regular old 4L60 with such heavy-duty components as five-pinion gearsets and specially hardened input shafts.
While the Denali aspect of the Sierra Crew Cab is supposed to make it look better, Bunnell is anxious to make the point that it's still a real truck with ''street cred,'' so if you want to get all that expensive material dirty and carry stuff in the back or tow a trailer, you certainly can.
To misquote Donald Sutherland in The Dirty Dozen: ''Very pretty, general, and they can fight.'' Truck guys know what that means.
