Chevy threw itself a birthday party today at the Texas Motor Speedway, celebrating 100 years of making trucks. It had a surprise gift for the audience in the form of the new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado … delivered by way of Sikorsky helicopter, naturally.
The truck shown here is in new Trail Boss trim, which will add a factory two-inch lift kit to the off-road gear included in the already available Z71 package. Company reps were mum on powertrain details but your author’s ear definitely heard a V8 engine as the truck drove across stage at the Texas Motor Speedway.
Meaty Goodyear tires with aggressive tread were wrapped around black five-spoke rims in this Trail Boss model. There surely will be a myriad of rim and tire combinations when the truck goes on sale next year, depending on the model. Styling confirms a lot of what we’ve suspected from spy shots over the past few months, with a neat C-shaped LED trim underneath a narrow set of headlights. Side mirrors are a lot more streamlined and there’s an aggressive character line plunging towards terra firma just aft of the front fender. Shunning decades of tradition, the wheel-wells are no longer square.
At the rear of this crew-cab Chevy, the Silverado name has been hammered into the tail gate and the exhaust pipes are narrow, flat units. This will probably be different on other trims, as well. The bumper steps remain, confirming that Chevy is not interested in designing a ‘Man Step’ in the visage of the Blue Oval. Bookending the tail gate are a set of tail lights that have a flared appearance, pinched in the middle near the reverse lamp.
GM reps said the truck will next be seen at January’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado will go on sale in the 2018 calendar year.
[Images © 2017 Matthew Guy/TTAC and Chevrolet]
“the Silverado name has been hammered into the tail gate”
Looks like the Chevrolet script is hammered into the tailgate, not the Silverado script.
Over on the truck boards for Silverados this thing is not getting a good reception. The majority says it’s “ugly”. And as a Sierra owner-I would have to agree with that assessment.
The GMC always looks better, at least in the past. I hope it holds true for this gen.
My fears of the Ram suddenly being the ugly duckling of the domestic trucks have been put to rest
I was really hoping this was going to improve the looks and instead it is a step in the wrong direction. Is a higher belt line really needed on a vehicle this tall? I’m happy I have a 2017 model. I do think they lost their way since the GMT800 though. I would love one with a modern drivetrain and safety features, but everything else the same. I also agree with the GMC sentiment. I would have had a Sierra, but somehow Chevy loyalty does not translate to GMC loyalty.
Style is subjective, I hate it.
The sides are too high and the windows too small.
The stubby hood is too short.
The curvy grill looks like the Duluth Trading guy in a women’s girdle.
Nice A$$ though…
“The sides are too high and the windows too small.”
This is an advantage the full sizers have always had….until now.
That thing is hideous. Cab to side ratio matters, and its why most newer midsizers look so messed up.
Agreed with you guys, just when you think bedsides can’t get taller, they make them taller. This makes the F150 and its big windows that much more attractive. And the “ancient” Frontier with its usefully low and accessible bed is an absolute star in my mind at this point.
Intersecting – definitely an aggressive design. While I see AoLetsGo’s comments, I like it!
I worked that event at TMS today…never saw this truck but heard people talking about it. I was at the bus lot, right seating in the old trucks. My ride was the 2014 SEMA show truck with Corvette power, Corvette wheels, huge brakes, and enough carbon fiber to bring it down to just 4300 lbs. Not bad for a modern truck, even though it was only a two door cab and 6.5 foot bed…and a ride like a …truck…plus. Not sure what the spring rates were on that thing but it was one bouncy ride…great looking truck though.
If they put the steering wheel in front of the driver, this could be the Chevy to finally wake up F150 buyers.
Keep hoping.
It looks like a creased Ford.
nicely styled pickup.
Overall I like it better than the current offering. However there are a lot of details that just don’t work for me. I do like the Chevrolet name stamped into the tail gate as was the norm in years past, but don’t like the big bump it is on.
I like the snout of it better than the current truck too.
Ditto. The front end is an improvement over the current truck.
Let’s see, blackout front end, jagged lines around the lights, awkward lines along the sides. Methinks Chevy has been taking some clues from the big name Japanese manufacturers’ recent styling practices.
I wonder how much aluminum might be lurking in the this new build.
When I saw the tail end, the first thing that popped in my mind was Tundra.
I hated this truck the moment I saw it. Then I began to see details I liked. Then I started liking it. That is usually the hallmark of a good design. This is the leap forward Chevrolet (GM) needed to make.
I like it. Best looking Chevy full-size pickup since the ’90’s GMT400 in my opinion.
This trim reminds me of the Ram Rebel, which I quite like… I’d probably have bought a Rebel instead of my Big Horn this past year if the Rebel wasn’t restricted to only being crew cab / bucket seat / part-time transfer case.
One gripe I have – I don’t like the front fender diving below the turn signal to be within the height of the bumper. I worry a minor corner impact that would have only bent the bumper would cause fender damage and make the repair a lot more expensive.
It appears that section of the fender is a plastic insert specifically for this reason.
I suspect the “plastic insert” is there so other models can have a different look. Having extra exterior parts on a truck makes it look fragile, and is another seam to fall out of alignment. I hated the endless permutations of gm cars engineered in this fashion in the 80’s.
It looks slightly cartoonist. I am not a fan.
Overall I like it. But the slash of painted fender under the headlight and the Hofmeister kink on the rear door window ruin it for me. Shame because it’s close. The headlights and grill surrounds on most trucks really don’t appeal any more. The F150started it and every one is blindly following.
Thumbs up for me. Styling is subjective, but to me the previous 2 generations of the Silverado have been ‘worst in class’. I will reserve final judgement until I see some of the the other trims grill/bumper treatments, but this looks very promising… and I love the slim headlight design.
Could they not find any smaller wheels? It seriously looks like they came off a swivel chair or something.
In the first and fifth pics, the truck looks like it has some temporary wheels on it for transport or storage in something that didn’t have enough clearance to fit the actual tires.
They look to be fitted better in other pics. Maybe those are photo-shopped.
The 2 inch lift probably makes the tires looks smaller. They look similar to what is found on the Power Wagon.
A 2 inch lift is a great idea. Chevy trucks tend to sit too low.
I guess we’ll see. I can’t find any info on the actual tire size. I do think the press release photos are modified though.
I believe the Power Wagons have 33″ tires and can fit 35″. Most owners will probably be happy if they can put 35″ tires on this without any further lift.
That’s an illusion from what I can tell, and the wheel wells look a bit bigger (besides rounded), which is a huge complaint of Silverado/Sierra owners. A slightly bigger tire forces a lift kit.
So I give it a over all “thumps up” too, more so from *behind*. I also like the curved under “rockers”, despite the rock chips they’ll welcome. The current F-series almost flairs-out at the rockers, like side-skirts almost, probably to reduce drag, but they don’t look right.
Yes looks are very subjective and superficial obviously, which shouldn’t be what you base your buying decision on, but they seem to have fixed the B-pillars (or window surrounds) that looked just wrong, not blacked out, or black satin finished. Lighter colors look worse, white especially. That’s at least one thing Ford got right, and GM/Ram haven’t. Ford Super cabs look the cleanest and sportiest with no rear (exterior) door-handles and dark B-pillars
Oh and the hideous “projector” head lamps seem to gone, replaced by triple LEDs?
I don’t know that it is an illusion. It’s all the real pictures where they look small, and the certainly touched-up press release ones where they appear well-fitted. I think it looks quite good in the latter, so it probably has potential once you fulfill the advertising department’s vision for it.
But yeah, it is beneficial if they’re providing larger wheel openings, regardless of the factory size. The pickup owners I know would start by installing the largest tires that could fit without a lift.
I don’t need the faux machismo in this truck’s name and some styling elements, but from a capability standpoint it looks fantastic. The 2″ lift was badly needed with the Z71.
Some more side glass might be nice, I adore the dropping window line of the F150.
I think different trim levels will look better. Finish the front end with a color keyed bumper cover and a chrome grill instead of the new Accord blackout look.
The most striking thing to me is just how steeply raked the windshield is. Sleek (at least at the windshield)!
Which accounts for the comments above about how the hood looks short. Steep windshields = short hoods.
It hard for me to believe the F150 got slammed as much as it did. This thing is ugly as sin!
Is there someone out there who can explain current auto styling to me? Almost everything over the past couple of years has looked increasingly ugly to me:
The entire Toyota/lexus lineup has been hit with an ugly stick
the front end of the mustang since 2015 – ugh!
the “tears”? on the tail lights of the Corvette
This over-styled Silverado monstrosity
Maybe the editor who went to design school. Clearly I don’t get it. Do these designs reflect video game designs? If I at least understood what the designers were thinking. Yes, I know I am getting old.
All I see in this truck is ugly
At least the “tears” on the Corvette taillights, while controversial, are actually air extractors so they perform a function. I do agree with the Lexus comments – I just can’t see the point of the fragile Predator grille. This truck I like
I think it’s too many designers who grew up watching Transformers and other cartoons from the 80’s.
I’m a designer who watched Transformers and other cartoons in the ’80s, and all I see is a disproportionate mishmash of ill-fitting styling cues. Big departure from the handsome facelifted Silverados with their trim LED lamps and great proportions.
Ditching the squared wells may be functional but it was one of *the* most distinctive cues the Silverado had.
Why would you buy this thing instead of an SUV? The bed looks like it’s what, 4 feet long? At least with the SUV it would be covered from rain.
I long for a return to the size of pickups like the 1970 models. You don’t necessarily realize how enormous these things have gotten till you see one of those pull up at the gas station next to you and you realize there was a time when a normal height man could actually SEE OVER a full size pickup truck.
And no one ever wants to talk about how much fun it has to be to try to load something in the bed that’s at shoulder height.
So, basically what you have here is an overstyled, butt ugly, toy. Not interested, thanks.
I agree with you to a point and totally gave up waiting for a car or truck designed for my tastes since the ’90s, no doubt antiquated as they are, with the possible exception of most German brands, that have traditionally seemed a decade or more behind “contemporary” styling from the rest of the world. Except those brands seem a pain in the A$$ too much to own past the warranty.
Well no one will complain it looks too much like the generation before it. Up until now I didn’t think it was possible to build a worse looking FS PU than the Toy Tundra. Wonders never cease.
Looks like a Tacoma TRD Pro that ate too much.
I’ll reserve judgment until I see the non-cartoon trims, but my first impression is that the current truck looks a whole lot better. “Too conservative” usually translates into a design that lasts, and right now the existing Silverado/Sierra are my favorite full-size pickups for styling.
Agreed 100%. The current Silverado hits the nose perfectly – and most full-size buyers want conservative and handsome, not edgy and Japanese-aping.
I think it looks like an evolution of the 99-02 GMT800 trucks as opposed to the GMT900 or the GMT-K2XX trucks.
For what it’s worth, I like it. I also think the 99-02 trucks still look good so there’s that.
I’m betting they’ll sell a ton of… Silverado Legacy and Sierra Limited when this brand new design comes out!
It looks like an F150 & Tundra had a baby.
I see a lot of F150 styling cues as well. I think the overall look is quite attractive in photos. We will see what it looks like in the flesh…
It’s not bad, definitely an improvement on the awful current-gen, I’ll wait to see how much chrome they put on the regular trims to pass official judgement. I will say the high beltline is stupid, the way the front and rear look kicked up from the middle of the truck is dumb, and it looks way more like a Tundra from the side and rear than the new RAM does
Very nice design! Not a huge fan of names in the tail gate but this is far less Toyota-looking than the Ford Tundra.
A shame the Sikorsky didn’t drop it from 1000 feet. It might have improved the looks!
Interesting that for a vehicle at least some of which the marketeering is based on “Utility! Rugged Work Vehicle! Driven by Rugged Men doing Rugged Manly Work! Preferably wearing Rugged Outdoor Work Clothing of Flannel and Denim!” this thing is actually LESS useful than either a minivan or a garden-variety SUV. You can’t put anything longer than about 5 feet in that micro bed, and you have to set it in there on an angle, or turn it up on edge; but it’s easy to put 8 foot 2 x 4s inside a Subaru Outback by folding down one of the back seats.
But the Subaru Outback/Nissan Rogue/Honda/Toyota/etc. small SUVs and – even worse – the minivans, are “For Soccer Moms and Emasculated Guys! And Lesbian Couples! But Certainly Not for Rugged Manly Men doing Rugged Manly Work Wearing Rugged Manly Work Clothes of Flannel and Denim! NO!!!! For that You Need a $50,000 Pickup with a Four Foot Bed!”
God I hate marketeers.
If I had a BMI of more than 36%, wore Dockers to work, and endlessly talked about how bad I was playing Single “Ball”; this truck would make me the king of the Wal-Mart parking lot.
These pickups have adapted perfectly to the needs and wants of their buyers, a good chunk of which are commercial, industry and fleet buyers. If that’s not you, why ya sniveling?
Who listens to marketeers or commercials for that matter anyway? But they also come in bed lengths up to 8 ft, and under $20K depending on your budget and what you need. So why cry if none are for you?
Me I have no use or need for minivans (or supercars) so guess how much time (on forums or otherwise) I spend complaining about them? Wouldn’t that make be an A$$ if I did?
The bed on these newer trucks is so useless and difficult to access, most guys now haul the tools and gear in a trailer. And they’re so ridiculous looking I’d have to drive one while wearing a paper-bag over my head, or while wearing a Mexican wrestling mask…which. might be appropriate.
Strong Bad, is that you?
I don’t think it looks that bad. I agree that the sides of the beds are high and trucks appear to be bigger because of their increased height but that is true of all the trucks for the past decade. I would have to see it in person but it isn’t any worse than many of today’s vehicle designs. Compared to the latest Lexus, Toyota, and Honda Civic designs it is beautiful. The Nissan Cube and Juke are much worse.
Looking at the first picture, I didn’t think it was that bad. But then I looked at all the pictures. Wow, it’s horrifically ugly. What’s with that character line that sweeps down from the door? And the hood is so short, I shudder to think of what owner-inaccessible components they’ve shoved under the cowl. It was bad enough when Ford started doing this (requiring pulling off the cab to repair things), now everyone’s doing it.
The one good (and surprising) thing I see? No square wheel openings.
The tailgate looks like a cross between the F-150 and the Titan.
The grille looks like it’s eight feet tall, like a Canyonero. Redesign that, and get rid of that downward-sweeping character line on the front fender, and I might start to like it.
From the rear, I’d swear this was a redesign of the Titan. It has a *lot* of Tacoma seasoning.