If you pay any attention whatsoever to the automotive world, you will have no doubt by now heard that the major automakers are gutting their car lines. Sedans, coupes, and hybrids are all going the way of the station wagon. While this may very well be a temporary thing for some makes and models, it is about to have a profound impact on the business of automobiles for at least the next few years. Where the once-mighty car is leaving off, trucks like the 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500HD are picking up.
You might be thinking that cars like the Chevy Impala and trucks like the Chevy Silverado 2500 are apples and oranges. Close, but they are more like apples and really big pumpkins. The Impala has a long history of being the desired car, a showpiece for Chevrolet and having more encores than a prima donna at the Metropolitan Opera. However storied its history was, it is now in the history books, and this time there may be no more curtain calls. Either way, it could never do what the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 could do.
How is the Performance?
If you buy a truck like the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, you are likely not buying it as a purely commuter vehicle. It is far too powerful and valuable as a work truck to not utilize its amazing engines. The 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500 has two available engines. The first is a 6.6-liter V8 with 401 horsepower and 464 lb-ft of torque. That is a mighty powerful engine, but it doesn’t come close to the available diesel option. The diesel engine is a 6.6-liter Duramax Turbo-Diesel V8 with 445 horsepower and a staggering 910 lb-ft of torque.
This new addition to the engineering of the 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500 has allowed it to more than double its towing capacity, up to more than 18,500 pounds, which is not the least bit surprising that its the best in its class. That type of muscle should not be wasted on driving to and from an office job. That type of muscle needs to be utilized at a worksite, farm, ranch, or somewhere it can be truly appreciated.
What About Features?
But, that is not to say that you cannot enjoy the ride. The 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 is loaded with available tech features, such as Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, 8” color display screen and the Heads Up display. These features will help make your work truck feel more like home, no matter how far your commute and where it is you are going.
The technology on the 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500HD is not spent only on the interior amenities, though. One of the places Chevy and GM spent their extra time on the Chevy and GMC HD lineups is in the trailering. The 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500HD has an all-new trailering package, designed to make hooking up your trailer as safe and painless as possible. The trailering system also contains fifteen cameras, designed to show you every square inch of the exterior of your truck and trailer. You can even see through the trailer with the black magic trickery of the “transparent trailer” view. This view seamlessly blends the view of the front of the trailer with the view behind the trailer, in order for the driver to see what is behind the trailer. This is particularly useful for those who tow tall or enclosed trailers.
The 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500HD also features the first-ever power up/down tailgate. This is a feature unique to General Motors that allows the user to raise and lower the tailgate with just the push of a button. This is also considered a safety feature, as this could help avoid unnecessary injuries caused by a tailgate. For instance, if you aren’t paying as close attention as you should be, and there are fingers in the tailgate area that you don’t notice, this feature can save those fingers.
Coming Changes for Automakers
We do not think it is a coincidence that all of these technological and mechanical advances come in the wake of the announcement that Chevy is discontinuing most of their cars. As brilliant as these engineers are, and as much money that Chevy has to spend on research and development, there will always be a cap to the amount that can be done on any given year model. This can be a matter of time, man-hours, money invested, lack of research returns, failed concept vehicles, and many other possibilities. However, when you don’t have to spend collective time, money, energy, and resources on cars, those assets will naturally be diverted elsewhere.
That is where the Chevy (GMC, Ford, and Dodge) trucks and SUVs come in. GMC has never made a car, but they are still under the GM umbrella, so we will still include them. By divesting themselves of the car lines, the major world automakers are now more free to spend their energy promoting the trucks and SUVs. This makes sense, as SUVs passed cars as the preferred family vehicle a few years back, and pickup trucks are rapidly becoming more popular as family vehicles. It doesn’t really make sound fiscal sense to continue to pump money and time into cars when fewer people are buying them than ever before.
As such, SUV and truck drivers are reaping those rewards. So much has already been put into research and development of pickup trucks across the board that we are afraid they might be tipping their hands too quickly. Larger trucks like the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD are bigger and better than ever. Chevy also just introduced a 6500 monster, but that’s for another day.
What Should You Buy?
If you aren’t necessarily in need of a big truck like the 2500HD, that’s okay, because the Silverado 1500 and the Colorado are also getting special attention, too. These are more commonly used as a commuter or as off-road vehicles because they are lighter weight and more specifically equipped for sportier use. See, these designers and engineers think of everything.
The demise of the car, at least for now, is right around the corner. Muscle cars and collectibles like the Chevrolet Corvette and the Chevrolet Camaro are safe, presumably for a while. These types of vehicles are immune to the annual sales reports that might ring the death call for a car like the Chevy Impala. The Corvette and Camaro are far too valuable as brand names and automaker showpieces to go the way of the Impala. Everyone needs something to show off. Why not make it an iconic American masterpiece like the Corvette?
You shouldn’t feel too bad for car drivers, though. There will still be cars out there from every automaker, just not the selection and number we have been used to for the last century and change. There is such a range of SUVs and crossovers that a lifelong car buyer should have no trouble finding a smaller SUV that they fit into quite nicely. After all, some of those “SUVs” are really only SUVs because someone in a Detroit boardroom said they were. They more closely resemble cars. And they will find a car driver to make them both happy.
It is an exciting time for pickup truck drivers. All the attention that cars have gotten since Henry Ford rolled out the Model T is now going to be more evenly divided for drivers of all types of vehicles. And it will only make pickup trucks more advanced and better to drive.
