An updated 2017 Chevrolet Silverado has been spied testing by Truck Trend in Michigan. The new Silverado will feature a more up-to-date front fascia, a new rear end and taillights and some minor yet necessary powertrain updates to help keep it competitive with Ram’s and Ford’s offerings.
The spy shots show a Silverado wit a camouflaged front and rear end. The front end will be redesigned to maximize aerodynamic efficiency and will likely include new headlights, a different hood and a new grille. Truck Trend says the whole look will help the Silverado appear more modern, and from what we’re seeing in the photos, we’d have to agree.
The biggest changes to the 2017 Silverado won’t be immediately apparent to onlookers. New powertrain offerings could be in store including the 10-speed automatic transmission General Motors is co-developing with Ford, and a Duramax diesel to help compete with products like the Ram EcoDiesel. Truck Trend mentioned a twin-turbocharged V6 could be in store, but we’re not sure if Chevy will offer that option just yet.
Click here for the photos.
Comments
Are they addressing the shake and vibration at highway speeds that plagues the ’14s and ’15s, that dealers can’t fix?
You sound bitter every time you post something
I’m still waiting to see pics of your new non-GM small truck you claim to have bought.
No shake or vibration on my ’14.
My 2015 Denali 3500HD (6000 miles) has no shake & vibration. It does not however, ride as smooth as my 2005 2500HD, which I kind of expected. I am looking forward to getting it broken in so I can update it with EFI live and improve the fuel mileage.
FWIW, my 2005 is quicker and gets better fuel economy. It is stock except for EFI live, Banks cold air intake & dual exhaust. For Pulling my 18000 lb. equipment trailer, the 2015 has a slight edge.
It needs updates just to compete with GMC let alone Ford/Dodge. Interior, exterior both. You can’t even get these with wheel opening moldings to protect from rock chips like you can with the other 3. GMC has them standard. GMC has a better base interior material on the dash too. GMC is far better equipped to take on Ford and Dodge. Chevy just cuts too many corners these days. They didn’t use to but they do now.
I hope you realize that the Silverado and Sierra are the same truck. GMC has more standard features because they’re aimed to be more upmarket than the Chevrolet counterpart.
I hope you realize that the Silverado and Sierra are the same truck. GMC has more standard features because they’re aimed to be more upmarket than their Chevrolet counterpart.
A tip for you Ed:
Both the Silverado and the Sierra are built upon the same truck platform; the K2.
Both trucks are made in one of 3 factories in North America.
Both trucks can be made on the same assembly line in any of those factories.
The Silverado and the Sierra are aimed at two different kinds truck buyers.
The Silverado is for the mass-market.
The Sierra is for the discriminating buyer.
The Silverado is more affordable and can easily meet the demands of 90% of the North American pickup buyer with its numerous combination of trim, powertrain, and option.
The Sierra is a much nicer looking product with a much nicer looking interior. It has some available options, but lots of standard equipment.
A general contractor is better served with a Silverado.
A business owner is better served with a Sierra.
There’s absolutely zero point in Chevy trucks if what you say is true. GMC has both bases covered. GMC is a work truck (wheel moldings for job site protection, better interior materials to last longer and make a better day inside the truck office, professional grade engineering), and a nicer looking one at that. Plus you can get it decked out like a Ford and Dodge if you optioned.
GM still has Chevy competing with Ford and Dodge, why?? Chevy can’t come close to taking them on with all of it’s second rate qualities. GMC can! The 2 different kinds of truck buyers is bunk. Truck buyers are truck buyers. Some want a stripped out truck, some want a decked out truck. GMC has both. The only thing Chevy has is more dealers.
But there are still other truck buyers prefer Chevy trucks and that doesn’t matter if the GMC counterpart has more standard features. The Silverado does have a work truck and they do have the decked out ones called the High country. The same thing for Sierra! The WT and then you have Denali.
“There’s absolutely zero point in Chevy trucks if what you say is true.”
Really? It’s the money per unit volume that the Chevrolet trucks generate versus ATP per unit volume that GMC generates. That a pretty big reason for GM to keep Chevy in the truck market.
Unquestionably, there will be more Silverados sold this year than Sierras. The bulk of GM’s pickup revenue will come from trucks bearing Chevrolet badges as many many thousands find their way into new owners.
For GMC badged trucks, it’s not volume that GM wants, but a much higher average transaction price. For the relatively low cost of designing, manufacturing, and marketing a GMC Sierra, GM gets more money back for per unit sold then they could if the truck was badged as a Silverado.
Example: Over a length of time, GM sell 10,000 Sierras with an ATP of $45,000 and 30,000 Silverados with an ATP of $37,000
10,000 * $45,000 = 450,000,000
30,000 * $37,000 = 1,110,000,000
At first, you can see how the Silverado’s volume is more than double the money the Sierra could generate over the same length of time. Even with this unsubstantiated example, the money per unit volume is where the Silverado shines.
Not all volume is bad, and when you’re selling something that is designed, engineered, and marketed with the mass-market in mind, that volume is critically important. For mass-market brands like Chevrolet and Ford, that volume of pickup sales keep the whole company running.
But per unit, things are different.
37,000 : 45,000 = 1 : 45,000/37,000 = 1 : 45/37 = 1 : 1.2222222rpt.
That means that for every $1 that the sale of one Silverado brings in, a Sierra can bring in $1.22 Conversely, for every $1 the Sierra brings in, the Silverado brings in $0.82.
That 22 cents adds up over a model year, and for the relatively small amount of investment money GMC gets for operational costs (especially when marketing things with much higher ATP like the entire Denail sub-brand and the rest of GMC’s range), GM would be foolish to dump it or reposition it as a mass-market brand.
Keep the buyers hungry for a Sierra. Make them drool a bit for one. Get them to lust and desire for a Sierra. It’s simply the perks of having a very desirable product in comparison of a not as desirable one.
That’s not to say that the Silverado isn’t desirable. The skilled general contractor is going to want a robust and reliable work truck, and won’t want to spend more than what he has to get one. To him, the Silverado is desirable as it meets his needs. The skilled contractor IS the intended buyer of a mass-market pickup like the Silverado.
Ed you miss a couple very important point here.
With GMC GM is able to offer trucks at each and ever dealer they have just as Ford.
Second GMC truck are just added pure profit over the already insanely profitable Chevy trucks.
IF GM did not make a lot of money with them you would not have a GMC. But with models like the Denali selling like crazy and adding large dollars to the price for a little trim God Bless em for selling as many as they can build.
As time goes on I expect to see GMC split and get more models dedicated to them and features not available over at Chevy. They have been moving in this direction some and I expect to see things like the Jeep competitor at their dealers but not at the Chevy.
The Dealer I bought the wife’s terrain from Is a GMC only dealer and since they lost Pontiac they have done very well. They are the highest volume truck dealer in the county and average almost $60,000 on each unit sold.
The bottom line to all this is GMC makes a lot of money, What is not to understand about that?
The MFG that will win is the one who makes the most money not sell the most units.
If the 10 speed is on tap for the 2017, wonder if the 8-speed will be offered with the smaller V-8s on the trucks and SUVs?
While the exterior looks to be updated, I also predict some new engine and transmission options and some current powertrain adjustments. For one, Stop/Start is a given. It will improve city fuel economy (especially on a big V8 whilst idling). Maybe we’ll see a more extensive use of aluminum to lessen weight? An 8-Speed Automatic on the 4.3L V6 and 5.3L V8 is a given as well while the 6.2L V8 COULD get a 10-Speed. I’d really like to see some performance enhancements to every engine.
-4.3L V6: 300HP and 315LB-FT (21 City and 26 Highway)
-5.3L V8: 365HP and 385LB-FT (19 City and 25 Highway)
-6.2L V8: 435HP and 465LB-FT (17 City and 22 Highway)
Both, the Silverado and Sierra need Hybrid and Diesel powerplants.
The last hybrid didn’t work. Here in Canada the battery under the back seat would often freeze in extreme weather if the vehicle wasn’t driven daily and that is not covered by warranty. Customers didn’t appreciate the $7000 CAN to replace it.
If they bring out a diesel, it makes more sense for the Silverado to get it since a diesel is designed to work and pull (a good diesel is) and the Silverado is the working man’s truck. The GMC already has a Denali series for luxury that is still above the High Country.
What about a Silverado buyer who wants a Denali trim in his Silverado? Maybe he likes his Chevrolet dealer or likes the look of the Chevy better? GM is losing their money. And GMC is the better working mans truck. They built semi trucks and buses. They know diesels. GMC has stronger interiors for work abuse and wheel well moldings for job site abuse with rocks, gravel and such. None of this makes any sense to me. Why not just dump Chevy trucks and sell GMC trucks at both GMC and Chevy dealers? Make the GMC’s with a couple front end treatments to choose from like Ford does. Then everyone can stick with their preferred dealer and have whatever they want.
The Denali version of Silverado would be called “High Country” sir!
I have the High Country and compared to the Denali the interior’s are the same pretty much except for bading, it has everything Chevy makes on it. It’s a great truck, the small difference in the sheet metal is not a big deal. It has no vibration at highway speeds, so far it’s been a good truck. I get new one’s every two to three years. There’s usually a couple of upgrades waiting that long. They are getting pricey and with all vehicles no one in their right financial mind should buy new, due to the overwhelming depreciation, but you can’t take it with you. I’ll put my High Country beside the Denali anyday.
I see plenty of Volt’s, Leaf’s, Model S’, and several other Hybrid models here in Minnesota working just fine in -10 degree weather. Sure, you might get a few miles off of the total range, but I’ve never heard of a battery freeze.
Plus the 2013 Silverado Hybrid used the 6.0L V8 which, even with a Hybrid system, still only got 20 City with 369HP. I’m talking about a new, more advanced hybrid system, much like the Malibu’s which uses much of the Volt’s technology (of course, in a truck, it would have to be bulked up a bit). Perhaps a 3.6L LGX V6 with Stop/Start, Active Grille Shutters, added Variable Valve Lift, and the new Dynamic Skip Fire system. I’d expect at least 345HP and 320LB-FT with 32 City and 35 Highway.
GM went down the Hybrid road several times in the SUV and Truck segment. The fact is truck buyers have little love for hybrids.
Case in point Ford did not go all Aluminum to lose weight and skip the hybrid just because they could.
Trucks are expensive and Hybrid tech just adds more to the cost. They are expensive and have more things to go wrong and can be more expensive to repair as trucks often go 300,000 miles vs. most cars that are not worth the repair one they hit half that.
I understand you and it makes sense but the problem is it does not make Cents or in this case dollars. If people would buy them they would sell them. Hybrids and electrics sell well in California but else where they are limited. Most people interested in the Electric and hybrids are not truck buyers and often SUV haters to start with. These are the folks who hated Hummer.
I hope that it’ll get LED headlights ( not just daytime), remote tailgate lock, 360 camera, 2nd gen bed step (bumper cutouts don’t look that great), and maybe few more features that competition don’t have.
I was also hoping that they could round off the wheel wells at least like gmt 800’s were or new Colorado.
I never understood the multiple branding thing with GM. Chevy / GMC, Pontiac & Oldsmobile, Buick, etc. They’re offering the same vehicles with different badging and some minor design tweaks but otherwise the exact same vehicle. Why not make GMC the sole truck division for GM. Badge them all GMC’s and just make different models within the lineup to appeal to different buyers. Toyota isn’t making a Camry and a duplicate Scion Camry yet the Camry is still the best selling car in the U.S. They do make a Camry, Camry LE, a Camry Sport and a Camry XLE to appeal to different buyers. You could argue the Toyota / Lexus relationship is similar but there exists a legit luxury differentiation unlike comparing a Canyon to a Colorado or a Grand Am to Calais. No wonder Toyota is thriving and GM needed a bailout.
When the dual strategy is executed well, it works well — Chev/GMC used to outsell Ford and surprisingly, second choice data in some studies showed that the second choice make for Chev buyers wasn’t GMC and the second choice make for GMC buyers wasn’t Chev
Not impressed. Already found out the duramax will not be getting any updates or more torque or horsepower. No keyless start, no tpms for the dually, no better placement of the DEF fill spout, no gauge showing trany gear, lots of no’s from gmc. Just lots of small updates to the outside of the truck. Did they forget who buys trucks. Hard workers who want all the power they can get and all the easy things that make the truck work smoother. I was planning on getting one, but after all of the items I have been waiting for are left out, I might as well keep waiting since the difference from my 2013 3500 are only cosmetic.
The start and stop that Ford has compared to the GM Fuel Management System is no contest, the constant starting and stopping feature is crazy to me, especially in the city. Most of your wear and tear on engines comes at start up, that’s why you see police cars running all of the time, or at least one of them. The FMS on the open highway is great and you can run on 4 cylinders a good bit of the time.
I’ll compare my High Country to the Denali any day, there’s not as much difference as some believe.