2007 Chevrolet Silverado

First, the bad news: GM is releasing its newest pickup truck, the Silverado, into one of the most hotly contested segments around--at a time when full-size-vehicle-bashing is fast becoming a new sport. Additionally, Toyota (whose market share continues to grow) is on the verge of releasing its first crack at this lucrative full-size pickup-truck market. And if that weren't enough, Honda and Nissan have offered their own interpretation of the full-size pickup truck for American buyers and both have hit the market with a thud. Likewise, Ford and Dodge are struggling with thousands in cash on the hoods as well. If this isn't dangerous automotive territory, nothing is. But GM still might have a few tricks up its sleeve--trouble is, this isn't a segment that responds well to trickery.

The good news? This message is being pushed by none other than GM's vice chairman of global product development, Bob Lutz. "We can't keep making vehicles to be as good as the competition," he says. "We have to aim three notches higher so by the time we hit the market, we're in the lead--we can't just be good enough anymore."

The ladder frame of the Silverado pickup truck features an independent, control-arm coil-over-shock front suspension. The versatile spring rates and rack-and-pinion steering combine to provide the smoothest road feel and most confident turn-in of any full-size pickup. With harsh and soft steering inputs, the results are balanced and evenly progressive, and snap-back to center is predictable and firm. Likewise, mounting the rack to a crossmember (the steering box was previously mounted to the driver-side frame rail for 4x4 models) allows steering engineers to use bushing and torque specs to minimize (if not eliminate) play or slop in the system. Solid and easy to control are apt descriptors.

The remaining two-thirds of the fully boxed frame accommodates the specific needs of a pickup bed, and the Silverado uses a live rear axle. Engineers put considerable effort into tuning the three-leaf pack to run smoothly when empty and carry maximum payloads for long stretches. The rear monotube shocks are staggered (one behind the axle, one in front) and canted to control wheel hop and manage up and down forces and hard cornering. Combine this with the fact that, rather than a raised butt (like some other manufacturers use) with overly arched leafs, the Silverado has longer rear springs with a thickened overload spring to keep the looking level when empty or loaded. With the lower center of gravity, front and rear suspensions work more closely together during easy and aggressive cornering--the truck takes a set as flat as any modified tuner truck we've driven. And for those who want more street performance, Chevrolet is offering all sorts of choices from 17-, 18-, and 20-inch rims to several road-course-biased tire treads, as well as a mud-loving 31-inch-tall tire.

It'll be a while before all the engines in the lineup will be available, but the smallest will be the redesigned 4.3-liter V-6 (only for stripper regular-cab models), then the 4.8-liter V-8, then two versions of the 5.3-liter V-8 (one cast-iron block, the other all aluminum--eventually, they'll all be aluminum for weight savings), and finally Chevy's largest available V-8, the 367-horsepower all-aluminum OHV 6.0-liter. We drove several Silverados with the popular 5.3-liter V-8 that'll offer the fuel-saving system known as Active Fuel Management. The system can shut off four cylinders, depending on how you drive, to provide up to a 20-percent fuel-economy advantage over non-AFM-equipped system. The 5.3-liter V-8 is rated at 315 horsepower and 338 pound-feet of torque and has recorded an EPA fuel-economy mark at 16 mpg city/22 mpg highway (2WD). Impressive that a 300-plus-horsepower engine can get over 20 mpg on the highway.