2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Spy Photos: Real Photos, Not Renderings

GREG FINK
Updated

What It Is: Although the current-generation Chevrolet Silverado 1500 only dates back to the 2014 model year, the bow-tie brand’s half-ton pickup rides on an older architecture and is showing its age. Case in (minor) point: Not a single Silverado 1500 trim is available with a push-button ignition system. The 2019 model year, though, will bring a new Silverado 1500 with modern technology and possibly even a handful of aluminum body panels atop its steel frame.

Why It Matters: The Ford F-series may be the best-selling truck (and vehicle) in America, but the Chevrolet Silverado, along with its fraternal twin, the GMC Sierra, also sells in huge numbers and is a veritable cash cow for General Motors. However, the GM truck’s somewhat outdated technology and aging overall feel has taken some toll on sales, with 2016 sales down by 4.3 percent from 2015, to 574,876. Compare that with the F-series, which saw sales rise by 5.2 percent, to 820,799.

Besides providing a thorough update to a cornerstone GM product, the new Silverado is expected to shed weight in the name of efficiency. While the current all-steel Silverado is already one of the lighter vehicles in its class, the new truck will utilize a variety of materials and manufacturing technologies to trim the truck’s small bits of fat. Nevertheless, we have no reason to believe these features will make their way to the new Silverado’s bed, which will remain composed of good ol’ steel, and we fully expect Chevy to keep taking advertising potshots at the F-150’s aluminum bed for years to come.

Platform: The Silverado will ride on an all-new frame, but the truck’s basic setup—separate body and frame and a live rear axle located by leaf springs—isn’t going to change, nor will the usual choice of standard rear-wheel-drive and optional four- or all-wheel-drive.

Powertrain: We expect the new Silverado to come with a pair of base engines: an updated variant of the truck’s tried-and-true 4.3-liter V-6 in the current truck and a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the latter designed to help boost the truck’s overall fuel efficiency. Both engines are expected to utilize General Motors’ eight-speed automatic transmission. Meanwhile, GM’s small-block V-8 will once again serve as the Silverado 1500’s volume engine offering. Like today’s truck, there likely will be two available displacements of the burly bent-eight, while gear changing duties will fall to eight- or 10-speed automatics (the latter co-developed with Ford) depending on the size of the engine.

Competition: Ford F-150, GMC Sierra 1500, Nissan Titan, Ram 1500, Toyota Tundra.

Estimated Arrival and Price: Expect the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 to debut at the 2018 Detroit auto show in January with sales kicking off by summer. Pricing shouldn’t change dramatically from today, where stickers start at $28,880 but can skyrocket to well-over $60,000 for a generously optioned, top-of-the-line High Country.