Automotive Trends

Tweaking the Silverado Recipe

The recipe to building pickups used to be an easy one. Add a powerful engine to a well-baked frame that can haul a lot of stuff while towing a trailer safely and you could reliably find some farmers or tradesmen who would keep coming back for another serving every few years. But palates have changed and increasingly the stuff pickups are tasked with hauling is passengers, which is the only way to explain why the Silverado we just sampled does a convincing job of a luxury sedan with an open trunk. How else can you explain the need for LED lights, wireless phone charging, ventilated front seats and an 8″ touch screen in a pickup? Those are some flavorful modifications to a basic recipe. Lucky for you, dear readers, your AT Editors are always hungry and willing to sample the best a company can cook up. Read more…

Chevy’s Tiny Crossover Aims for Average

The Bow-Tie marketers would have you believe the Trax is a custom-built small SUV they’ve gifted to modern urbanites to conquer the rigors of big living in tight spaces. We’re here to tell you it’s actually just a high(er) roof Chevy Sonic that will appeal to average car buyers both young and old that have proven again and again that when given the choice they’d rather sit higher in their vehicle. There’s nothing wrong with that and indeed a whole new class of tiny crossovers are entering the fight for buyers’ attention. We spent a week living with a mid-range Trax LT to see if it could earn our recommendation. Read more…