2019 Chevrolet Silverado - Let the One-Upping Begin

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

There’s something about truck marketing.

Any time an automaker has a redesigned, refreshed, or updated truck to sell, out come the shots at the competition.

Tonight it was Chevy’s turn — the automaker wouldn’t divulge specs related to the 3.0-liter diesel inline-six that will be available in its all-new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, but GM product boss Mark Reuss made sure to imply that the diesel would make more power than that of the diesel Ford just unveiled for the F-150.

Contests of ego aside, the next Silverado is now here. It’s bigger yet lighter, shedding 450 pounds, and it’s available with six engine/transmission choices.

Full Disclosure: Chevrolet provided me with a hotel room and meals so that I could cover the Silverado unveiling in Detroit in advance of the North American Auto Show. They did not provide a flight, as I drove to the Motor City.

Other details of note include a short-box bed that has 63 cubic feet of cargo volume, more cargo tie downs (up to 21, 12 fixed and nine movable), and stronger steel for the bed floor.

In addition to the diesel, other available engines will include a 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter V8. Both will have cylinder-deactivation systems that can shut down any number of cylinders, as necessary.

Chevy is touting the use of mixed materials, such as aluminum in the swing panels and steel in the fixed panels, and in what I read as a subtle swipe at the brand’s friends in Dearborn, Chevy also touted the high-strength steel used for the pickup truck bed floor, which is even stronger than before, or so Chevy says.

Key available features will include a power tailgate and bumper corner steps that are enlarged to better accommodate boots. In-seat storage in the rear-seat backrest is also available.

Several trim levels, including LT, LTZ, and High Country will be available, and available packages will include Z71, RST, and Trail Boss.

Chevrolet assembled media and some loyal owners in Detroit’s Eastern Market, and upon first glance, the truck is handsome up close (sorry, Steph, but I disagree with you on this), with an interior that is more evolutionary than revolutionary.

There’s not much news about the next GMC Sierra, but presenters hinted it would have more differentiation from the Silverado than it does now.

I’m curious to see if the Silverado’s final specs can trump Ford, Ram, and Toyota, but no matter what, there are already marketers in Detroit and elsewhere sharpening their skills.

[Images © 2018 Tim Healey/TTAC]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Silentsod Silentsod on Jan 15, 2018

    I like the new look as it's echoing the Colorado. Hell, I liked the old look, too, so I guess Chevrolet's truck design team is just doing it for me. I'm sure young me would shake my head since we was team Ford all the way but I cannot stand the F-150 refresh up front.

  • TomLU86 TomLU86 on Jan 16, 2018

    Atlas inline 6. A friend of mine bought a new GMC Envoy XL in 2004. Still has it. Last time I saw him in 2012, the truck had over 190k miles on it. Orig engine. No major issues. I'd say that's pretty good.

  • Carson D At 1:24 AM, the voyage data recorder (VDR) stopped recording the vessel’s system data, but it was able to continue taping audio. At 1:26 AM, the VDR resumed recording vessel system data. Three minutes later, the Dali collided with the bridge. Nothing suspicious at all. Let's go get some booster shots!
  • Darren Mertz Where's the heater control? Where's the Radio control? Where the bloody speedometer?? In a menu I suppose. How safe is that??? Volvo....
  • Lorenzo Are they calling it a K4? That's a mountain in the Himalayas! Stick with names!
  • MaintenanceCosts It's going to have to go downmarket a bit not to step on the Land Cruiser's toes.
  • Lorenzo Since EVs don't come in for oil changes, their owners don't have their tires rotated regularly, something the dealers would have done. That's the biggest reason they need to buy a new set of tires sooner, not that EVs wear out tires appreciably faster.
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