2019 is turning out to be the year of the truck. In addition to Ford reintroducing the beloved Ranger, both GM and FCA are debuting fully redesigned full size trucks for the same model year. This doesn’t happen often: 2004 saw the debut of the Nissan Titan with the Ford F-150 and prior to that 1967 Ford and GM had ground up redesigns of their trucks. Chevrolet teased us in December with a private reveal of its new TrailBoss trim level, but pulled the wraps off the rest of the eight (yes, eight!) trim levels at NAIAS. The pickup wars are strong, so Chevy introduces a power tailgate, inside bed storage compartments, wider bed, and storage bins in the rear seatback. The truck manages to shed about 450 pounds with the use of high strength steel and aluminum for the doors, tailgate and hood, but notably not an aluminum cargo box – for better or worse – like the Ford F-150. The big news really is the powertrain, which includes revised versions of the 5.3L and 6.2L V8s. Diesel lovers will rejoice at the inclusion of an 3.0L inline six Duramax. The 6.2L and 3.0L both are paired to a new 10-speed automatic. No power ratings are announced yet (nor pricing), but being a light duty diesel the fuel economy numbers will be just as important to the success of this diesel against the 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel in the Ram and the F-150’s new Powerstroke. The truck wars are heating up, and regardless of which brand comes out on top, customers will be the real winners.
Chevrolet surprised us with a reveal of the 2019 Silverado even though we are still a couple weeks away from the North American International Auto Show and it is still only 2017. If there are any surprises with this design it is that the bowtie brand continues to gravitate back toward its milestone 1988-98 truck design. The two tiered grille remains, but the body sides appear to attempt some stylistic connection to the passenger car line within the brand. This is the new Trail Boss trim so it will be interesting to see what variations in the styling are featured among the typical myriad of trim levels. Read more…
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…
This truck is greener than just its paint job. Is it an environmentally minded full-size pick-up truck, or a multipurpose workaday vehicle capable of getting you to the work site and powering your tools? How about both? Who has ever heard of such a thing, I can’t imagine. This all sounds appealing to me, but unless the badge on the side says Prius, don’t expect any of your tree-hugging buddies to embrace it. Interested? Read on, I’ll explain. Read more…
