Unless you took the past couple of days off to ruminate about our collective existence in a Scandinavian steam hut, you probably noticed there’s a new heavy duty General Motors pickup on the way. We’ve thus far seen only the Silverado LT with the butch Z71 package.
“Polarizing” best describes the vehicle’s looks, but Z71s are traditionally meant to be the most visually striking versions of Chevy’s full-sizers, if only by the smallest of degrees. Well, what happens when the new Silverado HD dresses up for the country club? You have this — a Silverado HD that tones things down and might change a few minds.
GM is parsing out details about its HD lineup over several days, meaning you’ll be sick of seeing this thing before long, if you aren’t already.
What you see here is the Silverado HD in high-zoot High Country trim, positioned atop a content ladder that includes Work Truck, Custom, LT, and LTZ offerings. While the High Country doesn’t vastly diverge from the truck GM flaunted two days ago, there are certain tweaks that take the edge off a much talked-about face.
First off, the Chevy bowtie returns to the center of the grille (well, the crossbar, anyway), replacing the obnoxious lettering seen on the Z71. Chevy says each trim comes with a unique grille treatment; the crossbar here is a mix of two metallic trims, others will see theirs finished in black, chrome, or body color. Helping reduce the apparent height of the towering face is horizontal chrome slats that fill the grille space. A body-color bumper with metallic lower lip in the center cutout helps the overall effect, while lower driving lights, clearly LEDs, now total three per side.
With those lower lights no longer surrounded by body-color fascia, the impression is that of a traditional front end. Here, body-color fascia underscores the entire grille area instead, just above the bumper. (See Z71 version at bottom of page for comparison).
Elsewhere, the truck is the same 1500-inspired vehicle you saw the other day, minus the chrome bumper and with different wheels. It’s interesting to see how small changes can alter one’s perception of an otherwise unchanged product.
If GMC’s new Sierra pickup tells us anything, it’s that the HD version should adopt somewhat more traditional styling cues than its Chevy sibling once GM sees fit to debut the model. Alas, there’s no new word on that upcoming gas engine GM teased Tuesday.
[Images: General Motors]
This looks a lot less bad than the Z71. I’m not sure if I’m willing to call it “great,” but it’s certainly decent. The grille slats are actually kind of handsome, the headlights and chrome spear work well together, and it doesn’t suffer from gaping maw effect.
This looks less awful than the new Ram 3500. The return of the step-side bed after all these decades and the stamped tailgate logo work for me. I’ll still hold out for a Toyota HD though, even if it never happens.
Both trucks look good. The bumper and side steps are really practical and well-integrated.
On some of the truck forums guys are looking at the grill and saying they should be interchangeable between trim levels. So-you could buy an LT and then put on a High Country grill. But the question remains-
Why spend $45,000.00 (LT trim) and have to change the grill? The High Country grill makes the front end more palatable-but nothing else.
Why would you not lead with this? Oh right, the media release was coordinated by GM management.
Would this have really looked good if we hadn’t seen the other one first?
Better, but still laughable.
I predict a “Mild refresh coming in 2022”.
I’m holding out for the
2500 HD Power-Stroke RAM 4×4 heavy-duty King Ranch off-road Hemi Raptor Z71 Platinum F150 high-country super-duty LTZ Cummins Diesel, with the towing package.
Nothing less will do.
I need a crewcab mining truck with a leather package, 60 inch 4K flatscreen and Fox Shocks.
It’s so big! I’m Scared!
I like it!!! It also reminds me of the Mamoth Car from the Speed Racer cartoon!!
We are entering a terrifying era in which to be a bird that flies over busy roads.
Oh, geez, it’s just a front end clip if no one likes it GM will change it up pretty damn quick. Judging by other trucks it’s so big and aggressive that I’m sure it will do just fine, because that seems to be what people like, a scary truck… MOVE OVER!
It appears they accidentally grafted the nose of a full-size onto the body of a compact. We’ll call it the “Snoopy Effect”.
Looks more to me like they accidentally grafted the prow of the USS Nimitz onto a pickup truck.
More like a 2-story suburban split-level
Sorry, the grille is just not high enough and in-your-face enough. I’m 6’1″ and I could probably see over the top of it. Not as big as my Canyonero.
They should call it the Big Johnston Super Manly 2500.
I like trucks but this mashup of baroque and crazy aggression is not appealing. The RAM looks elegant by comparison.
I have just one question about that last photo:
How is it even physically possible for a truck to look this awful?
As someone who drives a car, I wish the lights would be a little lower. On the other hand, once the truck is lifted, and you know they will be, the lights will shine completely over the top of my car. Nice.
This thing is a travesty of design. Small men tailgating cars in their ‘rigs’ looks to be making a stunning resurgence.
Really? It’s never the guys in trucks like these trying to park on the back bumper of my Chevy Volt while i’m in traffic. It’s usually some twit in another small car, mostly women. The guys that drive these trucks are by far the better drivers on the road in my experience.
Yep, same in Brisbane, Australia. Next big offender is the tradie in his mid size Ute.
Adelaide here. I’m 6’4″ and drive a Fiesta, so all the tradies in Hiluxes and Rangers think I’m some chick they can intimidate. Then there’s Commodore utes, and how dare you drive the speed limit when they’re behind you; they’re important, don’t you know!
What is it about utes that drops people’s IQ points?
Put a set of decent looking wheels and tires on it and it will look pretty tough. They’ll sell just fine. Like my trucks loaded up, but the High Country trim is too over the top for me.
They keep raising the grille and hood, reducing and sloping the windshield to accommodate the metal tumor that the front end has become…the miserable forward sightlines are reminiscent of what taildragger pilots have to suffer while taxiing.
Better? Yes, but still a horror. Chevy is the King of Ugly now with the 1500, HD trucks, and the long term ugly champ, the Camaro. The trucks will sell because of the Chevy/GMC truck guys being almost unable to buy anything else for reasons they only know, but the Camaro isn’t selling well at all. And if the plant it’s made at closes, what’s going to happen to it? Sad, a great car stuck in an ugly wrapper. If it dies, GM’s designers are 80% at fault, the rest of the blame goes to the management who approved it.
That chevy is reminiscent of older, but not antique combine harvesters. Either Case or JD had a trapezoid front end with a stripe about 2/3rds of the way up the front.
Or maybe it was a big Case tractor that I am thinking of.
Yet more crap from Mary Barra and GM.
What a disgrace.
GM needs to look at the new RAM for guidance.
RAM–understated exterior, cutting edge interior.
Silverado–recycled exterior, recycled interior.
This is just embarrassingly ugly from every angle.
This is just embarrassingly ugly from every angle.
This remains literally the ugliest truck ever built.
There are far uglier trucks from every decade. Just the last decade there was the 2005 Dakota, GM’s own plasticky Avalanche (and XUV), Ford’s Sport Trac. This looks like a truck and shows GM taking some chances for a change. It echoes the ’60 to ’65 Chevrolet pickup with the upper level of lights, and does it pretty well.
It would be an understatement to call this a hideous monstrosity.