A new trademark filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office seemingly points to a new feature coming to General Motors’ future trucks. The automaker conglomerate has filed to protect the name “King Crab,” as well as a new logo for the term. We highly doubt Chevrolet is opening a restaurant selling crustacean seafood, so it must be something else.
A New Spin on Crab Walk?
You have likely heard of the Crab Walk feature on the GMC Hummer, a system which allows the front and rear wheels to turn in the same direction. GM touts this as an off-road feature that can help a nearly-stuck vehicle extricate itself from low-traction scenarios. However, its real-world benefit is debatable.
Perhaps that’s why a new name has been invented; perhaps GM has improved the system somehow, finding ways to increase its practicality. After all, the trademark filing specifically notes that it relates to “electronic controllers for steering systems for motor land vehicles.”
King Crab: GM’s Next Big Move for Trucks?
Another possibility is that the same Crab Walk tech is simply being applied to a new vehicle. The Silverado EV recently received a Sidewinder Mode that is effectively the same as Crab Walk, and Cadillac has Arrival Mode. Thus, it’s entirely feasible that the King Crab system is the same tech for a different product, possibly a Heavy Duty variant of the Silverado.
Whatever it’s for, the name implies supremacy, so we hope to see it describe something good.
