Remember last week when we wrote about General Motors adopting a “when in Rome” attitude in regards to maximum payload for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD pickups? Well, it seems that GM has changed its mind and will revert back to using the basic payload formula as before.
Payload ratings are not the clincher for sales, but they do serve as an important bragging right in advertising. Ford had begun rating maximum payload by deleting certain items from their trucks, such as rear bumper and spare tire, to reduce the truck’s weight, thereby boosting the possible maximum payload rating.
Ram has already been in a tussle with Ford over this partly for the obvious, but also because Ford has been classifying its F-450 truck as a Class 3 truck, whose rules states that a vehicle’s gross weight plus maximum payload must be under 14,000 pounds; Ram felt the F-450 was a Class 4 truck per the SAE J2807 towing rating (i.e. no monkey business) and, hence, comparing the two payloads was unfair.
Ford has defended this practice, saying their customers could order trucks without those features and that they were transparent about the process, according to Motoramic, However, GM said it will stop doing this for all its 2015 pickups, both light- and heavy-duty variants plus the upcoming Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-size pickups.
GM is currently recalculating the maximum payloads for its trucks using the normal formula. The move towards the SAE standard for measuring towing ratings not only benefits the consumer, but it also is a way to keep the field more honest.
No Comments yet