Chevy won't wait for the Detroit Auto Show to give the world its first look at the 2014 Silverado.
Deck the halls with full-size pickups? The long-awaited Chevrolet Silverado will finally make its debut in mid-December, Chevy hoping to get some extra ink ahead of the first official public viewing at the Detroit Auto Show a month later. Unfortunately, for those who’d like one of the big trucks for Christmas they’ll have to put it on next year’s wish list.
The maker isn’t saying much about the new truck beyond promising a “bold exterior design” with “features such as jewel-like project beam headlamps,” but it recently took the unusual step of releasing its own “spy shot” of a camouflaged 2014 Silverado.
That and the pre-auto show unveiling underscore the significance of the upcoming update to General Motors’ most popular full-size pickup. (A separate update of the GMC Sierra will be coming, as well.)
Chevrolet released a short video showing testing of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado during final testing in Yuma, Ariz.
The pickup truck market all but collapsed as the nation headed into recession in the latter part of the previous decade. No surprise, trucks tend to be an early warning signal of economic up- and downturns. Complicating matters, the so-called “personal use” truck market has all but dried up as suburbanites shift to the latest fads – primarily the more fuel-efficient crossovers that now dominate the American sales charts.
In recent months, however, pickup sales have shown a surprising resurgence despite high fuel costs. Analysts see that as a positive indicator, Joe Phillippi, of AutoTrends Consulting, suggesting that is “a sign that the economy is beginning to revive.” The vast majority of today’s full-size pickup buyers, he notes, are either contractors or farmers and ranchers.
The 2014 Chevrolet Silverado will go into production later next year and GM is clearly itching to launch it as soon as possible. Ford has gained ground with the most recent iteration of its F-Series line, especially with the addition of two six-cylinder models, including a high-power turbocharged EcoBoost offering. In fact, the pair of V-6s now account for about half of all F-Series sales.
Chrysler, meanwhile, has also targeted mileage-minded truck buyers with the 2013 Ram 1500 – which was just named Texas Truck of the Year by the Lone Star State’s autowriters.
The next-gen Silverado is expected to see a significant bump in mileage, as well, along with improved payload capabilities and a much more lavish interior package.
We’ll have more coverage in the weeks ahead on TheDetroitBureau.com.