Deep inside General Motors Vehicle Engineering Center in Warren is a storage room few people know about.
In that room, a handful of engineers for two years hid the secret weapon GM would have in the current Truck Wars: The MultiPro tailgate on the 2019 GMC Sierra SLT and Denali pickups.
"We had a 3D printed version of the tailgate that we kept covered with a lock on the door. We'd put it on a gurney and wheel it in the conference room to work on it, then wheel it back to the storage room," said Derek Patterson, GM's lead integration engineer on the MultiPro tailgate. "We did this all in secret. I kept a list of those who knew about it. No one ever showed anything over Skype."
The tailgate was so guarded because it is revolutionary. Many auto experts say the MultiPro gives GM an edge in one of the U.S.'s most competitive and profitable vehicle segments. To prove it, just look at GM's aggressive advertising of the tailgate.
The story behind this arguably ingenious invention started a decade ago when a GM manager asked a high-school-educated technician, Jim Gobart, to fix a problem.
Very cool story. That group needs to be given as little oversight as allowable and as much money as they want.
"If I could take the tailgate, which is about 2 feet tall, fold it in half horizontally, then fold the second part down, you could reach in further in the truck," Gobart remembers saying. "Then I thought, if I put another flap on the inside of that and it folds out horizontal, you now have a stair step. I thought that would be very nice for someone who works out of the back of that truck."
I like the thing and think that it does give GMC an edge on Chevy but still it would be nice at some point to see it spread through the entire full size GM and Chevy truck line up as an option on lower ones but standard on top trims. I really like the current ads out on it where all the competitor tailgates just flop open...nothing.
My guess is GM keeps it exclusive on the top trims for now, while it is unique to the market. I'm sure the competition already has the equivalent on the drawing boards. Once all of the competition has them it is time for GM to roll it out across the lineup (or at least make it an option on lower models).
So this is the cutting edge technology GM is working on for years? Tailgates with a step up? More cup holders and plastic interiors should be next. Now I know why GM can't make a market leading profitable sedan or off road CUV.
Yeah it's a trick tailgate but I'm not sure how "revolutionary" it really is.
There was a time when engineers hid engines and transmissions in secret. Advanced valve designs and cam profiles developing more power and being more efficient were absolutely worth developing in secret.
A tailgate? It opens, it closes. You throw crap in the bed. That's kinda the whole story about a pickup truck. If you dent the tailgate you can hit the junkard and find a perfect replacement for $50.
Not with this thousand piece Erector set. Probably costs at least a grand to replace if you dent it up.
I'm not sure what decade you last purchased a tailgate in, perhaps never, but they aren't that cheap and haven't been for a long time unless of course they are badly dented or damaged, and ummm isn't that what you are trying to replace?
On a side note, I'm not sure how you are planning on destroying this fancy new tailgate, with all the cameras and warnings you'd have to be trying to screw it up.
Keep it in low volumes to make sure there are not unforeseen issues in real world usage before having the issue of tens of thousands to retrofit. It will see application across the board including Chevy when marketing considers it bullet proof. So far I have seen more NG Sierra Denalis in my area than Silverados.
Cease the employment of nearly all of the Camaro team, and bring these true believers on board!
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