By: Melanie Droz Shawcroft
SLIM TAKES A BACKSEAT … AND LOVES IT!
People were always telling me once I had kids, the dog would be forgotten. I assured them that would never happen! Nine years later, Slim has taken a back seat to our two boys. For his 9th birthday, he would take the back seat again but this time in the 2018 GMC Terrain FWD SLT for a fun filled day to celebrate how wonderful of an English Bulldog he is. We would also celebrate having the awesome 1.5L Turbo DOHC 4-cylinder engine in the Terrain on our adventure since its 9-speed automatic transmission would get us around town all day on 26 mpg city and an impressive 30 mpg highway.
Our first stop was the dog park. After using the easy keyless open and remote vehicle start, we strapped Slim safely in the backseat with the perforated leather appointed seat trim. Leather makes it so easy to clean up dog hair. He sat comfortably and safely on the way there – the Terrain has several airbags, a stability control system with traction control and even rear door locks with child security – not that Slim would try to escape. Leaving the park, I used the power hands free rear liftgate and we put Slim in the spacious cargo area. First, we used the power window with express driver up/down to release some of that distinguishable Slim smell and then the dual zone automatic climate control to cool down. Our first stop was a huge success and the 2018 GMC Terrain was turning out to be the perfect ride for our celebratory day.
Next, we headed to Petsmart for a treat and a new toy. The toy had to be the perfect one, so Slim tested a good twenty before settling on the loudest squeaky toy they had. The 2018 GMC has plenty of toys too – a 7-speaker Bose audio system with amplifier, Onstar services, 4G LTE Wi-Fi with Hotspot capability, XM radio and the GMC infotainment system with an 8” diagonal multi touch display with navigation, Bluetooth, Apple Carplay and so much more. We used all of this advanced technology to find a nearby dog-friendly café for lunch. We also jammed out to “Who let the dogs out?” with the Skyscape sunroof with power sunshade open.
Our last stop was to get a doggy bath – Slim had to look as good as the exterior of the Terrain. With the red quartz tintcoat, the Terrain also came equipped with 18” machined aluminum wheels, LED signature daytime running lamps and tail lamps and high intensity discharge headlamps. Talk about high intensity – giving a bath to a bulldog who hates water. Even more intense was getting out of the parking lot where a ton of other dogs were racing to their cars. Good thing we had the rear vision camera, rear park assist and side blind zone alert – a German Shepard nearly jumped in the car with us.
Slim Day was a huge success – thanks to the 2018 GMC Terrain FWD SLT. For $38,070, this SUV was worth making Slim feel so special on his 9th birthday. He has been the best big brother and deserves it. My friends may have been right when they said Slim would take a backseat when we had kids, but the Terrain is one backseat he did not mind taking.
