Truck Of The Day: April 27, 2011

Today's car of the day comes from Firehawk73's collection and is 1 Badd Ride's 2003 Chevrolet Silverado.

The Chevrolet Silverado (along with its GMC counterpart, the GMC Sierra), is the latest line of full-size pickup trucks from General Motors

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Chevrolet Silverado

Nice looking ride from 1 Badd Ride.  The slammed stance, bling rims, and the fart can exhausts aren't to my taste, but the rest of the casting is quite nice.

Although General Motors introduced its first pickup truck in 1930, the term "Silverado" was a designation used only to detail the higher level trim for the Chevrolet C/K pickup trucks and Suburbans from 1975 through 1999. GMC used a few variations of the "Sierra" name (Sierra, High Sierra, Sierra Grande, Sierra Classic) to distinguish the different trim levels through 1987, though the "C/K" nomenclature was continued through 1999. "C" (or "R" for 1987) trucks had rear-wheel drive while "K" (or "V" in 1987) models had four-wheel drive. Both Chevrolet and GMC dropped the "C" and "K" designations in 1999. However Chevrolet still uses the CK and the CC in their current model codes.

The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks have been essentially the same for their entire history. The Silverado today is generally advertised as the "lower" version, while the Sierra has more luxury options. There are some trim and option variations as well. Early models included variations in the engine and equipment, but the present differences are slight. The 1999 redesign included different grilles and interior trim, and certain features (e.g. Quadrasteer) were included at different times on the two trucks.

The GMT800 Silverado/Sierra 1500 (light pickup trucks) were released in 1998 as 1999 models. The "classic" light-duty GMT400 C/K trucks were continued in production for that first year alongside the new models, and the Heavy-Duty GMT400 pickups (alongside the GMT400 SUVs) were continued through 2000, with the new GMT800 Silverado/Sierra HD (Heavy Duty) introduced in 2001.

There are a number of models of light-duty Silverados and Sierras, including the half-ton, SS, and Hybrid.
The light-duty trucks generally use the 1500 name. They are available in three cab lengths, 2-door standard/regular cab, 3 or 4-door extended cab, and front-hinged 4-door crew cab. Three cargo beds are available, including a 69.2 in (1757.7 mm) short box, 78.7 in (1999 mm) standard box, and a 97.6 in (2479 mm) long box. The short box is only available with the extended or crew cab, and is the only option on the latter.

For the first year, only the regular cab and 3-door extended cab were available, along with the Vortec 4300 V6, Vortec 4800 V8, and the Vortec 5300 V8. A 4-door extended cab was added for 2000, and output on the 5.3 L engine increased to 285 hp (213 kW) and 325 lb·ft (441 N·m).

The 6.0 L Vortec 6000 V8 was added for the 2001 Heavy Duty models, rated at 300 hp (224 kW), with the GMC Sierra 1500 C3 getting an uprated 25 hp (19 kW) version of this engine. The Silverado Z71 got an optional lighter composite box, with a suspension package for towing, but lacked the high-output engine. The C3 became the Denali for 2002, and Quadrasteer was added.

GM made a reworked version of the Silverado/Sierra in 2003, with a new front end, and a slightly updated rear end.