2002 - Chevrolet Corvette on 2040-cars

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Full-size trucks are the best and worst vehicles in America

You don’t need me to tell you that Americans love pickup trucks. And the bigger the truck, the more likely it seems to be seen as an object of desire. Monthly and yearly sales charts are something of a broken record; track one is the Ford F-Series, followed by the Chevy Silverado, RamÂ’s line of haulers, and somewhere not far down the line, the GMC Sierra. The big Japanese players fall in place a bit further below — not that thereÂ’s anything wrong with a hundred thousand Toyota Tundra sales — and one-size-smaller trucks like the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger and Chevy Colorado have proven awfully popular, too. Along with their sales numbers, the average cost of new trucks has similarly been on the rise. Now, I donÂ’t pretend to have the right to tell people what they should or shouldnÂ’t buy with their own money. But I just canÂ’t wrap my head around why a growing number of Americans are choosing to spend huge sums of money on super luxurious pickup trucks. Let me first say I do understand the appeal. People like nice things, after all. I know I do. I myself am willing to spend way more than the average American on all sorts of discretionary things, from wine and liquor to cameras and lenses. IÂ’ve even spent my own money on vehicles that I donÂ’t need but want anyway. A certain vintage VW camper van certainly qualifies. I also currently own a big, inefficient SUV with a 454-cubic-inch big block V8. So if your answer to the question IÂ’m posing here is that youÂ’re willing to pay the better part of a hundred grand on a chromed-out and leather-lined pickup simply because you want to, then by all means — not that you need my permission — go buy one. The part I donÂ’t understand is this: Why wouldn't you, as a rational person, rather split your garage in half? On one side would sit a nice car that is quiet, rides and handles equally well and gets above average fuel mileage. Maybe it has a few hundred gasoline-fueled horsepower, or heck, maybe itÂ’s electric. On the other side (or even outside) is parked a decent pickup truck. One that can tow 10,000 pounds, haul something near a ton in the bed, and has all the goodies most Americans want in their cars, like cruise control, power windows and locks, keyless entry, and a decent infotainment screen.

2016 Chevrolet Colorado Diesel First Drive [w/video]

The first thing you notice inside the diesel Chevy Colorado is that it's quiet. Almost too quiet. A lot has been done to quell noise and vibration with this new powertrain, and it shows – or rather, doesn't. There's some characteristic diesel clatter at idle, but even then it's distant and practically disappears as you start moving down the road. At full throttle, when the engine is at its noisiest, the sound isn't particularly diesel-like, just a pleasant intake breath. The accompanying smoothness is almost eerie. When we ask where all the noise went, Chevy's engineers, marketing guys, and PR reps all explain that this refinement is what Americans want. We're still not sure. This is a truck, after all, and the diesel pickup customer is different from the guy buying a diesel Cruze for his highway commute. Chevy contends that they're also not the same as the buyer of a Silverado HD. Although this 2.8-liter Duramax four-cylinder has been in service elsewhere around the globe, its first US application is in the Colorado and its GMC Canyon twin. The engine puts out 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and it does so unobtrusively as a result of a lot of modifications for our market. To keep normal diesel sensations out of the cabin, the intake and oil pan both get acoustic treatments. A new, thicker material is used for firewall sound deadening. Redesigned balance shafts have tighter tolerances to increase smoothness. The diesel powertrain is smoother than the Colorado's gasoline V6. One of the more interesting and certainly unexpected vibration-reduction changes is a special torque converter from German supplier LuK equipped with a centrifugal pendulum absorber. This pendulum spreads from the center of the torque converter as engine speed increases and is tuned to absorb the four-cylinder's second-order vibrations, not just those in a narrow frequency band. It does an admirable job, especially considering the engine's biggish, 0.7-liter cylinders, which lead to bigger vibrations. The result is a powertrain that's smoother than GM's (not particularly smooth) corporate V6, which is available in the standard Colorado. It's quieter than a Cruze diesel and even out-softens some gas direct-injection engines on the market. Paradoxically, it may be the most refined of all of the Colorados. No vibration comes through the steering wheel, pedals, floorboards, or even the rearview mirror. But you can tell it's a diesel when you hit the throttle.

GMC Sierra EV AT4, Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss caught in spy photos

We've known for a while now that GMC and Chevy have been working on AT4 and Trail Boss versions of their respective Sierra EV and Silverado EV pickup trucks. But we're getting our best look yet at them with these spy photos. They give us a better idea of what body changes there will be, as well as a close-up of the tires, giving us their size and type. Some basics of off-road trim levels are obvious to spot. Both trucks feature bright red recovery hooks up front. But beyond that, there isn't much different from the outside of either truck compared to the base examples of each. The front bumpers are basically the same profile as the base bumpers, with the exception of the recovery hooks. The Silverado has natural black plastic fender flares, whereas the GMC has body color examples with integrated marker lights. They both get the same standard side steps, and the rear bumpers also appear unchanged. Each of these is equipped with the MultiPro/Multi-Flex tailgate. Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss prototype View 14 Photos Really the biggest change appears to be in the wheels and tires. Each of them have unique designs, but they have the same dimensions. They're 18-inch wheels with 285/75R18 tires. That comes out to just shy of 35 inches in diameter, a good size of tire for an off-roader — and note how it doesn't even look all that large on such big trucks. Said tires are Goodyear Wrangler Territory AT all-terrains. The gas-powered trucks come with slightly narrower (275) mud-terrain versions as standard. Both of these trucks should start somewhere below the range-topping first edition models the two brands are currently marketing to the public, which hover between $95,000 and $110,000 depending on specification. The Silverado WT does start at just under $80,000, and we would expect the Trail Boss and the Sierra EV AT4 to come in somewhere above that, possibly between $85,000 and $90,000. Specifications are a mystery. It seems likely that at least the Silverado will get the WT's dual motors with 510 horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque. The GMC could potentially get the more powerful motors making 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque as a way to differentiate itself, though this is speculation. The 204-kWh battery pack is probable, though there are rumors that at least GMC is going to start offering a smaller, more affordable 170-kWh pack that could be an option.