Chevrolet

General Motors and Navistar International announced their partnership to build medium-duty trucks back in October of 2015, but since then, nothing has surfaced regarding the Class 4 and 5 commercial trucks – that is, until now. Spy shots have surfaced of a camouflaged test mule apparently prepped for stability testing. The rig has a beefy roll bar mounted to its flatbed and its front bumper is prepped for outriggers.

The images come via our friends at TFL Truck. The prototype truck clearly has elements of both GM and Navistar International. The hood and front grille are familiar International designs, while the headlights are clearly lifted from the 2015-2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 WT. The truck’s cab is also pure GM, likely shared with the Silverado 2500/3500 HD. The trailer tow mirrors, door handles, roof marker lights, and the cab’s overall shape are dead giveaways. Sadly, both automakers have remained quiet about the trucks, though TFL Truck cites reports suggesting the 4500/5500 trucks will debut in March of 2018 and go on-sale shortly thereafter as 2019 models. It’s unclear whether the trucks will have GM nameplate or Navistar International branding – or both. GM’s Chevy and GMC divisions could very easily revive the Kodiak and TopKick names, as both have illustrious histories spanning from 1980 to 2009. International might use the truck to expand its lineup below the DuraStar, currently its smallest medium-duty truck.

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Chevrolet may have already pulled the covers off the 2016 Silverado’s new exterior design, but it was only at the 2015 Texas State Fair that full information became available. Now Chevy has released nearly all the juicy details on the Silverado’s refresh.

Take a good look at the exterior because that encompasses the majority of changes. In fact, the interior’s design doesn’t change at all. Not that it’s a bad thing – the Silverado still has a highly competitive interior in terms of size, amenities and design. And although the design hasn’t changed, the MyLInk infotainment software now supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Carrying over from last year is Chevy’s 4G LTE Wi-Fi connectivity.

General Motors is also updating the Silverado’s powertrain, though only on mid- and high-level models. Those leather-lined luxo-trucks get the new eight-speed automatic found in several of GM’s 2015 body-on-frame SUVs, along with the GMC Sierra Denali.

Of course, there’s no room to discount the Silverado’s new styling. The fresh look brings the truck into a more modern era. LED headlights are offered, along with LED daytime running lights, turn signals, and rear taillights. Heck, even the base WT trim level now has HID projector beam headlights – something only found on high-end luxury cars five years ago.

There are more details below, so continue reading for more.

Update 02/25/2016: Chevrolet announced today that it will offer a mild-hybrid electric system on 500, California-based 2016 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab 1LT pickup trucks. The system delivers a 13-percent increase in fuel economy while adding 13 horsepower and 44 pound-feet of torque to the 5.3-liter V-8’s overall output.

Continue reading to learn more about the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado.

There’s an almost limitless number of options and extras available on pickup trucks these days, from factory spray-in bed liners to swanky floor mats and navigation systems. This gives folks not only a choice between brands and models, but also a wide range of possibilities of trims and functionalities.

Here’s how I’d spec out a 2015 Silverado with a realistic mindset of how I’d use the truck and a reasonable budget to work with.

Like most Americans, I’d use the truck as a daily driver, hauling more people than cargo. For that reason, I opted for the Crew Cab. It offers plenty of space for four adults and six in a pinch. That sixth passenger is courtesy of the 40/20/40 bench seat up front that comes standard on the Silverado WT, LS, and LT trim levels.

Speaking of trim levels, here’s where the rubber meats the road, or perhaps the dollar meats the desk. Prices swing wildly by $13,300 between the base WT and the high-falutin’ High Country. I’d want something more than a work truck, so my choice was between the LS and LT trims. For a measly $665 more, I opted for the LT over the LS. It includes a leather-wrapped steering wheel, EZ-lift tailgate, 17-inch aluminum wheels, and the G80 locking rear differential.

That pushes the price to $38,330. That’s still not cheap, but considering incentives and the value of a trade that should bring it down, the price seems tolerable. With that in mind, there are plenty of useful options still on the table, so let’s explore.

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The Chevrolet Colorado and its corporate twin, the GMC Canyon, have tag-teamed the midsize truck market here in the U.S., causing a storm of attention with both consumers and media, while making rivaling automakers reevaluate their existing products.

Toyota, for example, has already debuted a heavily refreshed Tacoma for 2016 and Nissan is rumored to have a new Frontier waiting in the wings. While Toyota still has a slight lead over GM in terms of sales to date, the Colorado and Canyon are picking up speed, selling nearly some 37,000 trucks to Toyota’s 39,000 Tacomas so far this year.

Now I recently got to spend a week with the 2015 Colorado and put it through its paces, doing nearly every conceivable truck-like duty save for towing. My tester came loaded to the gills in the Z71 trim package, the V-6 engine and six-speed transmission, and $1,720 worth of optional extras.

As expected the Colorado held its own, but for the full report and tons of detailed info, keep reading.

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Automakers have employed cylinder deactivation for years now in an effort to increase fuel economy on large-displacement engines. The process essentially cuts fuel to a set number of cylinders when load on drivetrain is at minimal levels. But what if every cylinder could be deactivated to save fuel, only getting fuel and a spark when it’s needed? That’s what General Motors is exploring with the help of a company called Tula Technologies.

It’s called Dynamic Skip Fire and it basically uses sophisticated computer algorithms to fire only cylinders when needed for generating power and canceling vibrations caused by an imbalance in rotational mass. Though still in development, Tula claims a 15-percent improvement on fuel economy over V-8 engines with GM’s cylinder deactivation technology called Active Fuel Management.

Of course, DSF only works on engines with direct fuel injection like GM’s latest EcoTec3 family of engines.

Modifications to the engine include fully deactivatable lifter on the intake and exhaust valves, along with additional oil galleries in the block to supply the new lifter oil manifold assemblies with a steady steam of oil. The computer does the work beyond that.

No doubt the integration of DSF into a production engine will take time and thousands more hours of testing, but the idea of saving another 15 percent on fuel consumption without sacrificing peak engine output is a tantalizing thought. Hopefully we’ll see more of this system in the future, especially now that GM Ventures has announced its investment into Tula.

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There’s yet another police vehicle hitting the roads this summer – the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 SSV – a modified version of Chevy’s popular full-size truck. Equipped with several cop-centered features, the Silverado SSV will be well suited for Park Rangers, fire departments, and police special service vehicles (hence the SSV nomenclature).

Powering the Silverado is the 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V-8 making 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque. Like the civilian version, the 5.3-liter comes with GM’s three power-making, fuel saving technologies: direct injection, variable valve timing, and Active Fuel Management. All told, the Silverado gets up to 23 mpg highway in two-wheel-drive configurations. The engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with an auxiliary oil cooler for heavy-duty hauling. Tow/Haul mode and selectable shifting are present too.

To power all the police equipment inside the cab is a 170-amp, high-capacity alternator with a massive 730 cold cranking amp battery. An extra dome light, a 110-volt outlet, and four upfitter switches are added as well. A-Pillar spot lights, wig-wag headlights, and auxiliary wiring for emergency lights in the grille are all available.

Chevy also includes a few features to keep costs down for the government agencies that buy these trucks. First is a common key set that allows one key to operate their entire fleet of Silverados and Tahoe PPV vehicles. No more lost keys or judicious labeling of key sets. GM’s new Duralife brake rotors also keep maintenance costs down over the long haul.

The Silverado SSV is available in two- or four-wheel-drive and come in Crew Cab form with either the 1WT or 1LS trim packages. Tons of aftermarket police equipment is also through third-party venders for outfitting the truck for specialized uses.

Chevy hasn’t release pricing for the Silverado SSV package, but expect costs to be more than the standard Silverado. Currently, a 1WT Crew Cab truck in 2WD costs $34,795 with no options selected.

Click past the jump to read more about the Chevrolet Silverado 1500.

The SSR (Super Sport Roadster) was a daring experiment made by Chevrolet in 2003. The main idea was to create a factory-built hot rod with a retro style and superior driving dynamics.

Though, the result was a bit south to the initial plan and the SSR proved to be a major fail from Chevrolet, as it went out of production only after three years.

The Chevrolet SSR offered an odd mix between a classical customized hot rod and a rear wheel drive sports car. One of the main mistakes made by Chevy was to build its sport pickup on GM’s midsize SUV platform, which made it too heavy.

At the launch, the vehicle was powered by General Motors’ Vortec 5300 V8 engine, while the 2005 generation received a stronger unit borrowed from the C6 Corvette.

The bond between Isuzu and GM continues to be pretty strong and the companies still share rebadged trucks and pickups between them. Even is the success of this business isn’t brilliant and Isuzu’s rebadged i-Series pickup didn’t managed to conquer a lot of hearts, the companies are ready to move one.

Unfortunately, the Chevrolet W-Series medium seems to share the same bad karma with the Chevrolet T-Series whose unsuccessful lead to its premature death in 2009.

With only two months after the N Series was launched in Japan, Chevrolet introduced the W Series in US but shortly after, in January 2009 the American company decided to wind-down its medium-duty truck operations.

The Chevrolet W Series was offered with both single and crew cab configurations in Class 3 (W3500), Class 4 (W4500), Class 5 (W5500), and class 5 (W5500) versions.

The previous generation Chevrolet Montana (also known as the Tornado) was sold between 2004 and 2001 and was especially developed for the emergent markets, being mostly sold in the South America.

The small Montana offered the utility of a full-sized pickup and the comfort and maneuverability of regular a passenger car.

Given its utilitarian nature the 2004 Chevrolet Montana was also very efficient and its 30mpg on the highway attracted the interest of many buyers. The truck was also pretty practical and had a maximum payload capacity of 1600 pounds.

Under the 2004 Montana’s hood there is a 1.8-liter, inline-four-cylinder engine rated at 104 horsepower and 118 pounds-feet of torque.

General Motors has started to sell its T-Series trucks in 1998. The vehicles were based on the Isuzu’s F-Series medium duty range of trucks and shared the same design and technologies with their siblings.

The Chevrolet T-Series range consisted of three models namely the T6500, T7500 and T8500, all powered by a 7.8 liter Isuzu diesel engine. All Chevrolet T-Series trucks had a cab over engine configurations and were equipped with various Allison transmissions.

The Chevrolet T Series was sold until 2009 and came with GVM (gross vehicle mass) ratings between 24,350 lbs. to 39,000 lbs. and 4x4, 6x2 and 6x4 axle configurations.

With every year that passes, the big, gas eating North American Pickups are starting to fade due to their high costs of ownership. A more efficient alternative to these vehicles, could be the compact pickup trucks which are usually based on small passenger cars.

The Montana (also known as the Tornado) is part of this class and is sold by Chevrolet on the South American and other emergent markets. The vehicle is basically a two door ute which is built on the same platform as the Chevrolet Agile hatchback.

It’s clearly not as capable as its full sized siblings, but it has the same hard worker character as any other utility vehicle. The latest generation was launched in 2011 and the vehicle can deal with a maximum load of up to 734 kg.

Power comes from a 1.8L MPFI, 4-cilynder engine and pricing starts at $18,720 for the entry-level version.

The Chevrolet Kodiak shared the same designed and technologies with the GMC Topkick and Isuzu H-Series and was commercialized between 1980 and 2009. The vehicle was designed as a medium duty truck used for utilitarian and commercial purposes.

The last generation was launched in 2003 and it was built on the new platform G-Platform.

The new model came with a bigger cab and was offered with both 4x2 and 4x4 configurations. Power comes from a 6.6-liter, 300-horsepower Duramax diesel V-8 and the base two wheel drive Kodiak starts at about $55,000.

The Chevrolet Kodiak has a maximum towing capacity of 16.000 pounds, plus the additional 5,500 lb. it can carry at the back.

The Chevrolet Express has been around since 1996, when it came as a replacement for the old Chevrolet Van. The second generation was launched in 2003 and featured a series of style and technical upgrades which helped the van remain competitive. However despite the constant struggles made by Chevrolet’s marketing team, the Express was always a half step behind the Ford E Series when it comes to sales charts.

For the second generation Express, the year 2003 brought four wheel disc brakes with ABS, new driver 60/40 access doors, larger stabilizer bars and a stronger frame. The 2003 Express was also offered for the first time with an all wheel drive system. The entire range of V8 units was replaced and th eold 6.0 liter turbo diesel was ditched.

Te first generation of the highly utilitarian Chevrolet Express was launched in 1996 and came as a replacement for the old Chevrolet Van.

The vehicle shared the same underpinnings with the GMC Savana and both models were hot sellers on the US market. However, despite the fact that these two vans were basically identical, the Express outsells the Savana by more than 3 to 1.

The Chevrolet Express is a fairly versatile utility vehicle that can be used for towing heavy loads or as an ambulance, shuttle bus, or school bus. For increased versatility Chevrolet also offered cutaway versions for its Express.

The year 2003 brought only minor style and comfort upgrades for the Silverado. The most significant exterior changes were made to the front fascia. The interior was also slightly redesigned and the most striking modification is the new steering wheel which looks much better than the old one and gives the cabin a modern look.

There was also introduced the innovative Quadrasteer four-wheel steering system that was available on 1500 Extended Cab models and 1500 Heavy-Duty Crew Cab models. Other new optional features include an XM satellite radio and a more performant audio system. The engines lineup is the same as the previous one and consists of both V6 and V8 units.

The year 1999 was a major one for Chevrolet. In this year, the company has launched on the market its completely redesigned C/K pickup and gave it a true identity.

The first generation Silverado was born from Chevrolet’s desire to come up with a better pickup, but the main problem was that the old truck was already a hot seller, so the new one needed to be at least as good as its processor.

In the end, Chevrolet’s gamble with the Silverado paid off and the new truck was a huge success. It had stronger engines, a better ride and also superior handling abilities. For its time, the Silverado was among the most luxurious trucks from the streets, yet its exterior design was still a half step behind the main rivals from Ford or Dodge.

Between the 1999 Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra was a strong bound as Chevrolet and GM offered parallel lineups and except for a few exterior details and some unique features, the two models were basically the same.

The first generation Avalanche was launched in 2001 and its main attribute was the famous unique foldable mid gate. Thanks to this feature, the Avalanche can be transformed from a five passenger SUV with a 5-foot-3-inch bed into a standard cab pickup with a full 8-foot-1-inch load bed.

The Avalanche is based on the Suburban model and was designed to fill the big gap between the SUVs and pickups. The Chevrolet Avalanche however, is a couple inches longer than the Suburban, but half a foot shorter than the Silverado extended cab.

At the launch the first generation Chevrolet Avalanche was offered with a standard 5300 Vortec V8 engine and comes in both 4x2 and 4x4 flavors.

The pickup trucks try to satisfy a very wide range of needs and, this makes them the most practical vehicles from the roads. They are usually built to tow massive loads, to offer spacious cabs and to deal with tough road conditions without backing down.

This mix however isn’t easy to achieve and during the long pickup’s long history we’ve seen a lot of uninspired ideas which failed to please the crowds (for instance take a look of the El Camino or Caballero).

Chevrolet’s Avalanche however, brought something new on the table and unlike the classical pickup trucks it features a special trait which makes it unique. For increased practicality, the open bed of the vehicle opens to the back seat area through a folding panel – named the Midgate - and a removable rear window.

Today, the big guzzling trucks don’t receive so much attention like a decade ago, when the price of fuel didn’t mean such a big deal. However there are some jobs that still require the use of a powerful truck to get the job done and one of the vehicles that is fitted for this mission is the Chevrolet Silverado Chassis Cab.

Available with crew cab or single cab and with either two wheel drive or full wheel drive, the truck has anything it needs to carry its maximum payload of 7,293 lbs. with ease. Moreover, when equipped with the enhanced trailering package, the Silverado 1500 can tow up to 10,700 pounds. Slightly revised in 2011, the Chevrolet Silverado Chassis Cab has a starting MSPR of $29.125 and is available with a range of strong V8 engines.

The Chevrolet Express Cutaway is the main rival of the Ford E Series Cutaway and holds a market share of 44.8 in Units, being just behind its competitor.
The Express is available in two versions namely the 2500 and 3600 Series. The 2500 Series includes heavy-duty models rated at 8,600 pounds (3,901 kg) GVWR. The heavy-duty 3500 Series includes full-bodied models rated at 9,600 pounds (4,354 kg) GVWR with the 6.0L gas V-8 and 9,900 pounds (4,490 kg) with the Duramax 6.6L diesel. The Chevrolet Express Cutaway has a starting price of $26,845 and is offered with a 3 years / 36,000 miles warranty.