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Here’s Why GM Kept Column Shifter In The 2024 Chevy Silverado HD

The 2024 Chevy Silverado HD is set to introduce a mid-cycle refresh for the heavy-duty pickup truck, bringing updates to the exterior, a new interior on most models, along with powertrain improvements that result in healthy capability gains. One of the more interesting elements about the refresh is GM’s decision to keep the column-mounted shifter. Today, GM Authority has the scoop.

2024 Chevy Silverado HD.

During a recent interview, GM interior designers explained to GM Authority Executive Editor, Alex Luft, that the decision was as simple as customers preferring the column-mounted shifter over a console-mounted one. In addition, keeping the shifter on the column also keeps the center console space open for storage space.

GM’s strategy with the refreshed 2024 Chevy Silverado HD differs significantly from that of the refreshed 2022 Silverado 1500, which saw its shifter move from the column to the center console on the LT trim and up, with one key exception.

In case you missed it, here’s the lowdown on the refreshed Silverado HD. On the exterior, the pickup receives a revised front fascia, which includes new headlights, grille, and C-shaped LED signature lighting. Tow hooks can be found across all trim levels, and customers can choose between six new exterior colors.

Moving inside, all LT and above trims are blessed with an overhauled cockpit, which includes an all-new 13.4-inch diagonal infotainment screen and 12.3-inch diagonal configurable driver information center. Additionally, the Silverado HD gets enhanced trailering features, such as Adaptive Cruise Control with Trailer, Enhanced Transparent Trailer, Trailer Side Blind Zone Alert, and GCW Alert.

Under the hood, the 2024 Chevy Silverado HD is equipped with the 6.6L L8T V8 gasoline engine as standard affair, while the 6.6L V8 L5P turbodiesel Duramax engine remains optional. The Duramax now boasts 470 horsepower and 975 pound-feet of torque, up 25 horsepower and 65 pound-feet of torque over the pre-refreshed models.

Regardless of engine option, every Chevy Silverado HD runs the Allison-branded 10-speed automatic transmission as standard, which replaces the GM six-speed equipped by gasoline-powered models previously.

For those keeping track, the 2024 Silverado HD’s corporate cousin – the 2024 Sierra HD, also keeps the column-mounted shifter.

Subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy Silverado newsChevy news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

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As a typical Florida Man, Trey is a certified GM nutjob who's obsessed with anything and everything Corvette-related.

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Comments

  1. Mistake.

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    1. Serious question. Why do you not like the column shifter? I love it in my truck as it’s not in the way of anything, ever. I really just don’t understand why you would want it moved to the console to take up room that can be used for something useful.

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      1. Or, better yet, no console to provide more room?

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        1. The 40/20/40 seating is available in both leather and cloth… catch up !

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          1. I would chose the column shifter any day.
            If you are plowing through snow or mud going back and forth you well understand why the column shifter is ideal.
            Gas… break …Shift reverse or drive .

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        2. Very longtime Silverado owner. I ordered a new 2022 Silverado in Feb. 2022 and refused the order because it did not arrive untill Nov. 2022. I reordered a New 2023. In the meantime I have dealer driven 3 new Silverado’s with the new console shifter. One thing no one has mentioned is the outstanding convience of the paddle shifters on the steering wheel VS the totaly awkward shifter buttons on the column shifter stick. For those of us that properly drive with the tach when pulling a load this is an amazing feture. If the picture is correct it looks like GM eleminated the paddle shifters when they put the shifter back on the column on the HD. Huge mistake. In addition as far as consoles go GM needs to wake up and look at Dodge Ram console storage boxes. This is where Dodge interior really spanks GM and I mean really bad.

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          1. It doesn’t matter how you dress a dodge it’s still a tin can on wheels. If you want a reliable,great looking TRUCK then buy a GM.
            The Dodge doesn’t even belong in the same sentence that has truck in it.

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    2. Exactly. If it’s handiest to have the turning lights right there on the column, why not the shifter? It’s right in front of your face, a quick grip, click, click, click, and your driving.

      Few here know that it’s so ergonomic that in the 60’s 70’s for those of us who are wise enough to remember or gen Zers like me who are classically educated, there were column shift manuals. They had 3 pedals on the floor and 3-4 gear positions on the column. It’s just easy to shift.

      Why the hatred on column shifts??? Jimmy Carter. The 1970’s say the EPA fine big blocks out of existence. Cadillac was forced to develop the bomb we call the 4600 V6 that reliably blew up at 60K, and most luxury buyers moved to BMW/Mercedes. By the 80’s you were either driving a floor mounted import or a column shifted “clunker” now there’s a class difference where column shifters are considered inferior. Fact is, those who stuck with American brands back in the day and grew up driving dads square body, GMT 400 can’t leave column shifters alone. It’s an obsession

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    3. I don’t have a problem with the shifter, but feel there’s plenty of room left for interior improvement, as well as mechanicals.

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  2. This is a good idea… If customers prefer the column shifter then give it to them… Please don’t add a funky push button shifter like in the GMC Terrain.

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    1. That’s better than a console shifter. Not sure why it has all the hate. We have one in our Yukon Denali, we touch it three times and that is it (P to R, R to D and D to P) and it is second nature after using it a few times. Seeing how much space is freed up is fantastic and we still have manual gear selection for those times we may want to lock out something or heading down a large hill/mountain.

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      1. One other that gets a lot of hate is the dial shifter. I had them in several MoPars and found them a snap to use. One click over to back out of the garage, then, without looking, turn the knob until it stops, and one is in Drive.

        Regular readers here know that I despise these monster consoles being built into virtually everything. To me, at least, THEY ARE IN THE WAY.

        To the younger readers (I am coming up fast on 74), go find an older Buick Century, Le Sabre, or similar. You will see a nice split bench seat that offers plenty of room and comfort. or, there may be a SMALL center console, just big enough for some nicknacks that you want in closer reach than the glove compartment. You will NOT find a cramped little bucket seat set so far over that the steering wheel is off center (Canyon/Colorado). You will not find some huge plastic thing so big it should require a building permit, all to house a couple of oddly shaped bins, and a place for the shifter that – in reality – could be on the column, or on the dash either as a lever (1955 MoPars, or later generation MoPar vans of all sizes), buttons, or a dial.

        Lest you think that my age puts me down as wanting a padded vinyl top and opera lights, nothing could be further from the truth. All my age means is that I have observed how cars are laid out from the days of my mother’s ’51 Hudson Hornet convertible, my father’s ’58 Simca Aronde, a neighbor’s early-60s Citroën DS-21, and my Uncle Eddie’s Panhards. In short, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t; what is comfortable, and what isn’t. Pushbuttons can be fine if done right. Honda’s is one that is not, for example.

        Let the slings and arrows of down-ticks commence!

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        1. Better yet, find an old El Dorado or Toronado and get something with the hump completely gone.

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        2. Hudson Hornet convertible!? Really!? If it was running and not animated you are old Grizzly! Hahaha.. I’m not far behind you in age and my uncle had a used car lot so I grew up driving and wrenching on old relics but I always thought that the push button Chryslers were the coolest and so far ahead of their time. The column shift has it’s advantages.

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        3. I love the mopar dial. It’s clean and convenient. Not as easy as a column shifter in my mind, but once you shift into drive, 90% of the time you forget about the shifter anyways. Unless your doing performance driving, there’s no need for more than this anyways.

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          1. Dials are the worst, you can too easily shift past D or R, and they feel crappy, Mopar needs to make this more robust with a defined detent, went back to Chevy when they introduced this, not sure what to do when it is time to replace as I also don’t like the pushbutton shifters. Column shifters are a no brainer for trucks, and make for simple no look operation, that make you feel like you are driving a truck.

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          2. Really. When I buy a truck I want a truck. Mopar has catered to the feminine buyer.

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      2. Wait until those electronics fail, then tell me how great it is, you know it’s going to fail, everything electronic fails. When it does it won’t be a matter of shutting the engine off for 30 seconds and restart. It will be a tow truck back to the dealer for $150/hr labor rate.

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    2. I like the column shifter. I had a RAM with an electronic dial shifter on the console and hated it.

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    3. “Please don’t add a funky push button shifter like in the GMC Terrain”.

      And the Acadia!!!

      Reply
  3. Living and working in hilly terrain and hauling loads, I like to manual shift most of the time and prefer the tap up and tap down on the shifter along with tow haul button. More buttons and controls on the steering wheel has become a pita, and a short shifter in console takes hands too far from wheel. HDs are trucks, not race cars.

    Reply
  4. I’ve always driven 1500’s, but I’m switching over to a 2500 when these are available. I’m not switching for towing capabilities, I’m switching because the gas engine doesn’t have cylinder deactivation, no auto stop/start, column shifter and Allison 10sp transmission on the gas engine. I also like the exterior and interior updates.

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  5. Now if they would only do something with the fugly side mirrors, or make the corner window functional.

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    1. Wing vent window! Loved them.

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  6. JohnB, fyi. The transmission is “branded” with the Allison name. A few years ago an article here on GMA wrote about it. It’s the GM 10 speed which by the way is quite good. I have it on my Camaro.
    Just on the Chevrolet web site. The Build and Price for the 2500 2023 model reads the 10 speed is only available with the Duramax. Could be an error or not allowing orders because of supply problems? 6.6L reads 6 speed?

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    1. Just found a one on line at a local Chevy dealer, sticker reads 6.6L, 6 Speed

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    2. 2024 has the 10 speed standard.

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      1. Thank you for the correction. I was thinking the art was for 2023.

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    3. “Branded” is more than just a name. They had Allison engineers come over to GM powertrain (GM owned most of Allison anyways) and consulted on what was needed to make the 10l90 into the 10l1000. It has Alison handprints all over it, and unlike the Ford transmission, allows for full torque in 1st gear

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      1. On top of that let’s talk about the massive weight of the 10l1000. The 6l80 weights 195lbs. The 8l90 astonishingly weights in at 8lbs lighter. The 10l90 gains that weight back to an unofficial just under 200lbs dry, but due to a larger fluid reservoir, weights significantly heavier full. The 6l90 already weighs more than the 10l90 dry and approximately the same full.

        The 10l1000 weights 360lbs full. That’s 50% more weight than the rugged 6l90, or even the 4l80 of yore with all cast iron components for peak durability, and the 10l1000 uses extensively alloys and aluminum where possible to be “lightweight”

        You could probably throw that thing in an abrams tank and it wouldn’t bat an eye

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  7. If it has to be an automatic transmission I want the shifter out of the way on the column, give me a manual and I‘ll take that on the floor.

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  8. This is the only reason I’m waiting on the HD. I need to figure out how to move the trailer brake and replace it with more cupholders before I pull the trigger on one, but it looks doable from the pictures.

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    1. Seriously

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  9. I despise rotary and push button shifters. I will only buy pickups or suvs with column shifters and 40/20/40 front bench seats. Two of my pet peeves, I don’t understand people that buy trucks don’t want that seat configuration.

    Reply

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