Order Now or Wait for 2015 1/2

[M26 Pershing]

I have been scanning the forum for a while and have decided it is time to thin out my stable of cars. I currently have a 2002 Yukon XL Denali (purchased new) with over 140K on the clock and love it. I will be trading or selling the Yukon and my 2013 Audi A6 (great car, but I have others) but prefer the full size SUV when traveling. The question is when will the "new" Denali have 4g service and the 8 speed transmission? I have reached out to the local dealers (not to informed and want to sell what they have in stock), GM and OnStar. The GM people were also uninformed and misinformed. The OnStar group provide me the information that builds after 9/1/2014 would include the equipment for the 4g service (fees apply) is that so? Does anyone have an idea when the 8 speed is coming? I have read the Caddy will receive the 8 speed, 4g, new grill and logo in the Fall. That seems strange that the 2015 will change. I guess it will be a 2015.5 or 2016 model at that point. I have seen several new Denalis and think the changes are great!

 

[rjhoskins]

Michael--
As far as the 8 speed goes in the Denali, I don't think there is any real proof as to when it's coming. Other than it's definitely planned for the future. I think most of the rumors put out that the Denali will get the 8 speed for the 2016 model, so we could be a year away from seeing it.

Personally, I am trying to wait for the 8 speed, but not sure I can hold out that long. I know there were some new Vette owners that were a little upset their 14 came with the 6 speed, only to find out the 15 would have the 8 speed auto. However, the rumors were flying back then as well that the 8 speed was coming to the Vette very soon.

Anyone else have any concrete news?

 

[BirchyBoy]

Personally, I'd wait for GM to resolve any quirks in the first 8 speeds before buying one.

 

[M26 Pershing]

Well I confirmed with the local Caddy dealer that the September build dates will include On-star 10th Generation capable of 4GLTE. The local GMC dealer said never, what a bunch of chuckle heads! The Caddy dealer confirmed late, as in next year 8 speed on Escalade, no news on Denali. Who really knows! Do GM people view this site? Maybe they could shed some light on the subject.

 

[Daunntlessone]

My Dealer just told me that they got some confirmation that the 8-speed is coming in the Escalade and that the 360 degree camera is coming on the Platinum Escalade - but he did not get confirmation about the timeline of availability on the transmission for the Denali, but will let me know as soon as they hear for sure.

 

[DocHolliday]

Regarding the 4G...I'm told that dealer can add this to early 2015 models that don't come with the 10th gen On-star. I was looking forward to it but the subscription costs for that are pretty high.

 

[Spinzone]

Dumb question but what does the onstar 4g do that an iPhone hotspot cannot? I'm trying to figure out why I need to have this in my '15.

 

[Reels]

Nothing other than they claim that the antenna is on the roof has less metal interference than a cell inside the truck and drawing power off the truck battery gives superior strength.

 

[Daunntlessone]

This article came out today: http://goo.gl/61meBp

 

[jbva]

based on what i have seen it makes sense to wait. At least from what i see posted on another thread the Denali's will get the 8 speed which provides better acceleration and fuel savings. The way i read it was almost that they feel the other transmission isnt adequate, or at least preferred, for the larger engines

 

[razor488]

So now that they have announced it, when will it become available at dealers? Will it likely be a standard feature or will you have to pay extra for it as an option?

 

[whoseanthony]

Wait till the 2022's come out and get all the goodies plus the 6.2l 80mpg hybrid option, 10spd tranny, 26" standard rims, and autonomy drive

 

[razor488]

Wait till the 2022's come out and get all the goodies plus the 6.2l 80mpg hybrid option, 10spd tranny, 26" standard rims, and autonomy drive

Which quarter in 2022 will this become available?

 

[BirchyBoy]

Which quarter in 2022 will this become available?

5th

 

[malones99]

Any 4g phone with hotspot will work fine, plus it will be cheaper if you have it included on you phone's plan. I have heard rumors of XLTE on Verizon, 2x faster than LTE, but it will probably roll out in the major cities first. I wouldn't waste money on a 4g option.

 

[Jproy]

Any 4g phone with hotspot will work fine, plus it will be cheaper if you have it included on you phone's plan. I have heard rumors of XLTE on Verizon, 2x faster than LTE, but it will probably roll out in the major cities first. I wouldn't waste money on a 4g option.

I wouldn't waste any time on cell service in these cars with phones they way they are now.

 

[George C]

I just touched base with my dealer.
I have a Denali on order for my wife.

He told me that the 8 speed is confirmed, but not sure of what day the order bank opens. He also said that GMC is asking dealers to delete any non sold units in order to make it possible to build sold units. Isn't THAT novel..
The other thing I found interesting is that GM monitors inventory, and if you have unsold units in stock on the lot, your allocation is affected.

My choices were to stand pat with the 6 speed in order to have it pulled, possibly next week, or to cancel the order and order the 8 speed when available.
So, the gamble again is allocation, which I think may loosen up once into September.

I elected to cancel and order the 8 speed when available. Since we keep vehicles between 3 and 4 years, and after waiting since winter, a few more weeks will be worth the 8 speed and any other options that may be introduced.
What a cluster phuck GM has made out of this process.

So, if you have a 6 speed that has been sitting at 1100, expect to see movement very very soon.

 

[sssiglover]

Glad it worked out for you George. No regrets here my truck went to 3800 yesterday. I'll trade it in 3-4 years when the 10 speed comes out

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/04/15/ford-general-motors-gm-transmissions/2083485/

 

[George C]

Thanks.
Who knows if it's going to work out. It's another gamble on a GM Trans launch.
I would rather have had the truck in April like I was suppose to.
I might hate the 8 speed. We will see.

 

[localmotion411]

FWIW, I just put a delay on my order until I can get the 8-speed. Coming from an X5 with 8-speed and test driving fairly laggy 6-sp Denali (liked it enough to place an order), I think the 8 will be a big positive.

One fairly large consideration for this move is resale. I have a feeling the 6-sp Denalis will be more difficult to resell than an 8-sp.