ThisIsLivin

Considering a GM 2500 with the 6.6 and 6 speed and wondered if anyone has done much towing with one. Surprised they used the 6 speed when the 10 speed is rated for the same torque. Would like some first hand impressions.

87MirageIntruder

I'm surprised they went with the 6 speed on the gas 6.6 also. Maybe it had something to do with keeping the desired price difference between the gas and diesel powertrains.

Gimme Fuel

Few 6.6 gassers as work trucks on my project, apparently they like to drink oil like the old 8.1's. Other than that, everyone seems to love them. Got a couple buddies that went to them after several duramax, say way better than any gasser they have ever had.

Slippery

RE. why the 6 spd vs the 10 spd

It could be as simple as availability; the D-Max is going to get the 10 speed and GM simply may not have an adequate amount of transmissions to equip both the gassers and grease burners with the 10 speed, so the gassers "lose".

jeff32

FYI yes there was a shortage of 10 speeds at some point.
weather permitting, i should test one this week end with my boat.
if this happens i will let you know!
i towed it once 6-7 years ago with a gas 6.0
not perfect but still did the job ! curious to see the difference with the 6.6 gas

delsol

I've been driving a 6.6 gasser since January, i like it. It definitely is not a replacement for a 6.6 Duramax as far as towing -- and the 10 speed would help that -- but definitely capable of towing within it's weight limits. We have a 1500 with the 6.2 also, it has a bit more hp but you can't really tell the difference ... With diesel being more expensive than gas these days I'm pretty happy with the gas. It is kinda funny looking under the hood -- the gasser looks tiny where the Duramax uses the whole engine compartment... I'll be ordering a new one this month -- this one took 6 months to come in...

techman

As of 2020 they dropped the AFM tech from the 6.6, which is a good thing. The 6.2's still have it.

Slippery

Orders being "picked up" in June IE a dealer has allocation "right now, this week" for both the model AND the correct constrained options, are receiving targeted production weeks of September, and then you have shipping....so an order today - if the dealer has allocation, and there is no line ahead of you, and everything lines up IE no weird delays you're probably looking at Oct delivery.

RE Constrained equipment - As a ferinstance - If a dealer has allocation for a 2023 HD Crew this week, among other things it cannot combine the 1LT pkg with either the advanced trailering pkg or the convenience 2 pkg & that's just 1 restriction among many and that 0 number is a national quantity.

GM is trying - they started producing HD's in the old Camaro plant in Oshawa, Ont. which will eventually help, but right now since it's a new product at that location production is V E R Y slow as they're checking and re-checking for quality, and then when the vehicles are produced they get checked again....at least that's the story we're getting. As I type this we have 19 Crew HDs in transit and 9 show status of "delayed" which I'm assuming is quality hold & once the vehicles clear inspection, there's the whole covid / border crossing issue; I'm not sure if that's a "thing" right now or not, but it was.

Shipping logistics are also a problem. Do a Google overhead of the Flint plant and see what you find sitting outside waiting to be shipped.

We delivered a truck to a customer yesterday & his initial order date was last July, which is the most egregious example of delay we have. I think I overheard him laughing about combining his order and delivery dates for lotto numbers. To clarify a bit, without telling the whole long story, it's not that we didn't have allocation, we did, but it took him 3 trucks ordered to eventually get one, He didn't want the first one because it sat in the weeds for 6 months waiting for a chip (I don't blame him), the 2nd got caught up in a quality issue and GM took it away from us after it was produced but before we got it, and his 3rd truck was the replacement allocation for the 2nd truck.

Between the issues with shipping, production shut downs due to Covid, and parts/chip shortages, there no rhyme or reason to wait time on an order, and it's to the point where we're dodging giving a straight answer to simple questions so much it sounds like we're running for office.

Between "in transit" and "in system' (rec'd a targeted production date) we have 34 Crew HD's inbound we're waiting on right now.

Of those, 9 had targeted production weeks from Jan - April & an additional 9 were targeted for May production. None of those 18 are here yet.

On the other hand, we just had a pair of HD Crew that were picked up by GM on 4/14 and landed on our lot on 6/9. Go Figure.

Apparently I'm incapable of a short story, but the point(s) I'm trying to make are 1) dealers don't like the situation any more than the customers do right now, 2) don't get mad at your dealer if they give you "bad" info or the story changes, because we're limited to the info we get from our manufacturer, and 3) the more recent orders are coming through - in general - better than the old orders which may be built but not yet here.

Last & I'll try not to make this a shameless plug, but don't fall into the trap of paying for "market adjustments" or "forced options" you don't want. If you qualify for the manufacturer's employee/retiree/supplier or friends and family discount programs, and your dealer won't honor it, shop around. There's a lot of that going on right now; I think we have at least 4 inbound vehicles tagged for out of state customers because their local dealer won't honor the employee purchase or supplier program, or is charging a "market adjustment" over the MSRP.

On the bright side, summer finally appears to be here in MI.

Cheers,
d

Wildman_grafix

So you have any idea why recent orders would be coming in but not older ones? That seems absurd!

Slippery

I probably should have said "vehicles" instead of "orders", and I don't think it's any one thing but rather a combination of several issues with no "one size fits all remedy". Fulfilling an order isn't simply a case of an older order date getting preferenced over a later order IE is't not like standing in line for a beer. We are watching the constraint / commodity list daily for what GM is able to build and we're constantly calling customers with unpreferenced orders, telling them some version of "here's what GM is scheduling this week, your order is buildable go buy a lotto ticket, or your order isn't buildable as it's ordered but if you change xxxxxx, we can get it a production week". If the customer doesn't want to change anything - I wouldn't - we go to the next in line until we can place a buildable order.

RE the overall picture, I think what's happening is the more recent orders are produced and escaping the giant logistical mess of thousands of vehicles stuck in yards..in other words if someone ordered a vehicle in April, it was produced and shipped and didn't get dropped in to the black hole of yards full of vehicles (ordered much longer ago) waiting on railcars or semi transporters...remember that scene at the end of "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" where the crate was sent to the warehouse ? Sorta like that...We're seeing Semi transports delivering partial loads, which leads me to believe the vehicles are being loaded more as they become available, instead of sorted and grouped and sent in bunches to the same geographical area. We're also seeing vehicles showing up in singles or pairs on flatbeds hauled by the guys you usually see delivering RVs & the rumor is GM bought a bunch of trailers and is hiring independent contractors to ship the vehicles. Bottom line - I think - is the more recent orders / newer builds are missing the logjam that's still holding up vehicles produced months ago that can't be dug out of the mess as quickly.

Not enough trucks, not enough drivers, not enough railcars, not enough shipping containers, border protocol.....pick one or more..... Our Korean built product used to go more or less straight to the ports in CA, but now divert south through the canal and into the Gulf of Mexico...unload in TX or FL (or both) and then around and up to Jersey. Why not split the loads into different boats so the Jersey vehicles don't have to wait their turn ? Probably because of the shipping container shortage.

All those hoops are after the vehicle is built and released for shipping and makes it through the mess....Prior to that you have to get through all the logistical hoops of not enough components to build vehicles in plants where workforce stoppages are common due to either not enough employees, covid, or ...? It's a wonder we're getting as many vehicles as we are now if you stop and consider all the challenges the manufactures have to find answers to and stay profitable while doing it.

It's not just our industry.. Know any builders ? Ask them how long to get windows or doors if you don't want white.

I shared a couple drinks with a friend this weekend who's in the footwear industry. Covid shut downs idled his plants worldwide & and shoes are seasonal...they canceled several million pair because by the time they finally got to the dealers, they wouldn't want them because they were out of date. Shipping containers are scarce; there are still several boats stuck in ports that can't be or haven't been unloaded and they all have shipping containers on them so there aren't enough to go around...a container that was $4k, now costs several multiples of that, IF you can find them available.

Anyway...that's my precision guesswork...lotta rumors and speculation...I don't believe we're going to be back to "pre-pandemic normal inventory levels" by next summer, but most of us are cautiously optimistic the inventory situation will be better than it is now. However, it really wouldn't take a lot for it to be better than it is now...and the flip side of that coin is how the inflation/stagflation/recession that Putin is causing will affect things going forward.

lol I can't even type that with a straight face...I wonder who that crowd is going to blame it on when people finally figure out the EV's aren't the cure all - neither economically nor environmentally - they've been hyped to be...sorry, don't mean to get political.