2019 Chevy Silverado: What Lies Under That New Skin?
High-tech manufacturing techniques and a surprising engine option promise to make the 2019 Chevy Silverado one exciting proposition.
Up until the 2019 Chevy Silverado made a surprise appearance at Chevy’s centennial event in Texas last week, speculation ran rampant as to what this all-new pickup would look like. And well, we now know exactly what it will look like. In the most dramatic way possible, Chevy flew their cash cow in by helicopter, dropping it right before our eyes like some kind of James Bond movie.
But what they didn’t really tell us was, well, anything else about the restyled pickup. And yet, we are able to gather some pretty solid assumptions just by looking at it. Including the biggest revelation – it looks like reports that the 2019 Chevy Silverado might feature an aluminum or carbon fiber bed were a bit premature.
According to the sleuths at Automotive News, the curves and accent lines along the sides of the truck make that very unlikely. After all, it’s pretty hard to stamp aluminum with such deep cuts without tearing it. Plus, Chevy has already based a long-running ad campaign on the fact that its steel truck beds are tougher than Ford’s aluminum pieces.
So it only makes sense that they would carry on. Especially since modern steel, in some cases, can be nearly as light as aluminum. But for the record, Chevy would only confirm that the bed floor is made of steel. In addition to giving Chevy ammunition in the never-ending truck wars, steel bodies are also cheaper to repair.
GM has also confirmed that the 2019 Chevy Silverado will make use of the Cadillac CT6’s mixed material manufacturing system. That means it will feature bonded, riveted, and maybe even welded aluminum, cast parts, and/or magnesium in the cab construction. That, along with other various weight-saving techniques, could allow the Silverado to go toe-to-toe with the F-150 on the scales.
Perhaps more interestingly, however, Automotive News reports that we could see some surprises under the hood. That should include an overhead-cam V6 as the base engine, possibly a version of Cadillac’s 3.6-liter. With 335 horsepower and plenty of space for a turbo or supercharger, that would allow Chevy to compete directly with Ford’s Ecoboost lineup.
Which is pretty exciting news if you ask us. Sure, we love out V8s, but people are buying Ecoboost F-150s in droves. Chevy surely has to respond, and it looks like they’re going to do just that. And they’ll do it without sacrificing the strength advantages that steel provides!
