GM’s crosstown rival, Ford Motor Company, was recently spotted benchmarking the Chevy Silverado 1500 High Country alongside a bevy of upmarket Ford trucks. The Chevy Silverado was equipped with Chevy’s Multi-Flex tailgate feature, and the benchmarking group was seen spending extra time around the rear of the pickup. Per previous reports, Ford is currently developing a multifunction tailgate of its own.
As we can see from these photos, this Chevy Silverado 1500 High Country is fitted with the usual yellow ID stickers that Ford applies to all of its benchmark vehicles. The pickup is clearly a part of the group’s evaluation, and was spotted among various Ford models in one of the company’s parking lots, including the Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum, Ford Expedition Platinum, and disguised prototypes of the upcoming 2024 Ford F-150 refresh.
The fact that the evaluation group was spending extra time around the rear of the Chevy Silverado is particularly interesting, as previous reports published by our sister site, Ford Authority, indicate the FoMoCo is developing a new multifunction tailgate of its own. Ford even filed a patent for a new multifunction tailgate in early 2022, while Ford Authority spy photographers have captured Ford working on new tailgate mock-ups as well.
For those readers who may be unaware, the Chevy Silverado’s Multi-Flex tailgate is essentially the Bow Tie brand’s version of the GMC MultiPro tailgate, the latter of which debuted on the GMC Sierra 1500. Like the MultiPro tailgate, the Chevy Multi-Flex tailgate offers six individual configurations for added functionality and practicality, including the standard primary gate access, as well as a primary gate load stop, a foldable inner gate, a full-width step, an inner gate load stop, and an inner gate work surface. In addition, the Multi-Flex tailgate also offers a built-in speaker as an official Chevy accessory, providing Bluetooth-enabled audio streaming.
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Comments
What is up with the photoshopped doors on the expedition with the updated headlights? Even the fence is different where the photoshopping has been done!
I think it’s a shadow on the fence – the door looks funny because the back door it open.