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2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra - First Impressions
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MAKE IT HERE!!!!!! no more Canadian or Mexican chevys!
Navigation Systems: why is it Honda offers it, and the general is too cheap. I would gladly pay for it, but its not even an option! More outlets, even a 110v would be nice. Wifes vibe has one. Get rid of the little nubbed center console, cant write on it (or make an insert to stick in it). Sunroof should go iinto the body like an avalanche instead of up and out. whoever chose to use a different sunroof than what was already being used in avalanche should have an ASSH@T sign tagged to him. I like Nissan's idea of the cargo holes in the side of teh bed like ford used to do. I'll think of more, but that ought to give the engineers enough to chew on.
The show truck they previed at the NY auto show back a few years ago was awesome....what happened to the new aggressive from end??? Yup its gone.....gonna look like the new tahoe...its ok....just way to safe... kind of bland...they always go the safe route.Too bad...
They need to get aggressive with the exterior styling....ain't gonna happen i guess. No surprise there!
don
1. Add decent quality cloth inserts onto the inner door panels to give them a litle more upscale look. Large expanses of hard plastic just cannot do it.
2. Add a transmission oil temperature gauge as standard equipment on all Silverado trucks. The sensor is already built into the transmission. Why is GM so cheap?
3. Make foglights standard on all LT version Silverados. GM deleted standard foglights on '06 LT1 Z71 Silverados.
4. Make "redundant radio controls" standard on ALL Silverados. Making this feature an option on all, except LT3 Silverados is a complete joke. Firt of all, these are not just radio controls. Some of the buttons are used to program headlamp delays and also to display the trip computer data. It is ridiculous that these features are simply deleted when you do not get this feature. And when you try to retrofit this feature, GM makes it extremely difficult by refusing to reveal the necessary programming codes. And, of course they do not offer the retrofit kit, so you have to buy all necessary parts separately, which makes this project very pricey.
5. Make homelink transmitter standard equipment on all LT Silverados. Right now, you can get a factory installed homelink transmitter only as a part of the "sunroof package."
6. Make power rear sliding window with rear defroster standard on all LT Silverados. Titan and Tundra have done it already. This is what GM currently offers: order a manual sliding window in lieu of the defroster equippped fixed window. Then, you have an option of purchasing a power sliding window kit for over $ 400, plus installation labor. And you still will not have a defroster! This is completely ridiculous.
7. Make power adjustable pedals at least an option
8. Stop charging $ 1000 extra for bucket seats with a flip down armrest and a cheap plastic center console and make them standard equipment.
9. Offer the rear DVD player at a reasonable cost. Would $ 400 be too cheap a price?
10. Reinforce the roof on all trucks to make them safer. As it is, a special reinforcement brace needs to be installed just to mout a DVD, which is a joke. Also, on Crew cabs, they had to mold ribs into the roof because the metal is so thin and poorly reinforced.
11. Make factory spray-in bedliner standard equipment on all LT Silverados (with a delete credit option), optional on all others
12. Make factory installed splash guards standard equipment on all 4X4 Silverados.
13. Replace the dull looking black plastic door handles and tailgate handle with body color painted handles and add the passenger front door lock back!
14. Replace the dull black plastic outside mirrors with ones with body color inserts. It is ridicullus that you get the same dull plastic mirrors even with the optional turn signal mirrors!
15. Reinforce the vehicle frame and make it a fully boxed ladder frame
16. Start paying attention to details such as uneven gaps between body panels, trailer hitch wiring plug brackets welded on crooked, etc. Yes, people do notice. Details like this reflect lack of build quality.
17. Fully redesign certain troublesome components, such as intermediate steering shaft, instead of just bandaiding the fix.
18. Replace the 4 speed auto transmission with a 5 or 6 speed auto and make an easy shifting 5 or 6 speed manual available in more models, especially with the 5.3 liter engine.
This will do for starters and will make Silverado a much better truck.
The reason other trucks seem to really have gained on the Silverado/Sierra is because other entries and other company's redesigns (normal parts of the automotive business) have happened. Others have tried to make better looking or better working trucks, and have failed miserably. Don't believe me? The Silverado is the ONLY truck of the top 3 to gain sales last year. Dodge redesigned their pickup for the second time in four years and LOST sales! People buy the Silverado because they are reliable, tough, and powerful. Now Chevy will give us even more reasons to get into their trucks in fall '06. I fear for the competition!
don
From what I understand, when GM switched to drums in the rear, they increased the size of the front disks, thus increasing braking power where it's needed most.
Depending on how a truck is used (i.e. if it's used as a truck), the rear drums probably make sense b/c they're better protected from the elements (mud, dirt, salt, sand, water) which tend to gum up up calipers/slides on disk brake setups.
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are scheduled for release at the same time as the 1500s?
Thanks.
Is GM going to use the DOD (displacement on demand) as standard equipment in all of their trucks? They should consider making the system optional or at least provide a system disable button. Let the driver decide whether they want to use this feature or not. :confuse:
I like the Dodge Ram best. I have a 2003 2wd with the 4.7L and it feels like a sports car compared to my last F-150 due to the 5spd trans, rack & pinion steering and fully boxed frame. The Ram has the best of all worlds in many respects. The 5spd auto trans keeps the 4.7L or hemi engine always in the meat of its power band. Going up the mtns just set the cruise and forget it. WIth the old 4spds the cruise always shuts off then must mash gas pedal through floor to downshift then revs are too high for a little while in 2nd, then it shifts back to third and now you lost all your momentum, rpms are now too low and must remash gas pedal through floor again and restart this PIA sequence. The Dodge is the only Quad cab with a 6 ft bed and with the rack and pinion steering it drives like a sports car. Fun to drive and easy to park. Steering is nice and responsive unlike the chevy where you dont feel the road at all and it feels like the steering is just floating, no road feel communicating back in chevy. The seperate area for Ac Condenser coil under hood gives it h the best working ac compared to others, Ford is a close 2nd in the ac dept. I take an ac temp guage to test ac in these vehicles. FYI the hondas, pilot ridgeline had worst performing acs in the AZ heat. Ford and dodge were a virtual tie. I had a 2003 honda crv and the ac compressor grenaded within 6 months of new and never performed that well again. If I were purchasing a 4wd I would get the hemi. The 2006 Ram has much improved ride & suspension in 4wds and much quieter ride then previous rams. To review the Ram has 5spd trans, great eng in hemi, rack & pinion steering, 6 ft bed, fully boxed frame, very good ride / suspension, most interior room and the most useful in storage under rear seat and flat load floor, center console and big door pockets. Best view out windows and seating postion. Also with 2006 the 4wd is completely disconnected when not engaged. and the MDS which saves a few cents on gas. One small drawback to ram, why no locking tailgate? I would not get 20inch wheels due to a louder rougher ride and expensive to replace but they sure do look good.
Now the Titan. The 5spd trans and 5.6L engine are awesome in Titan but the exhaust noise / sound is a bit loud for me and would get old on a long trip. The 5.5ft bed seems a bit small. I just like to have at least a 6ft bed. The rear seat in titan is very roomy and comfortable, more so than ram quad cab, The flat load floor is roomy and there is room to store stuff behind seats. If you get SE with buckets the center console is big enough for a lap top and letter size folders, nice. I dont like the panty hose material on seats or how seats are positioned, kinda of low and vision out windows is not as good as in ram. It seems that ford, dodge and nissan are using the same seat mfg in 06 with the panty hose material on seats. I would either cover em with leather or something else. That problem is less with a power seat. I think a lot of those little dials and the metal paint finish wont hold up long in interior. the 18 inch wheels look good but how much will replacement tires be and limited selection im sure. Also not sure if brake problems in Titan have been cured. Too small brakes and rotors with the big 18 inch. wheels led to many replacements of brakes and rotors.
The Ford I think overall is the best built truck just in front of Dodge but doesnt have all the features and power that I like/require. It has only a 4spd trans and it weighs so much that even with the 5.4L engine it barely gets out of its own way. In Titan or Ram you go places when you step on the gas pedal. In the F-150 its like your in slow motion. Another good test is at hwy speed of say 60-65 mash the gas pedal to test passing power. My dodge is a blast to drive on long trips and passes with aurthoriy when asked. There is hardly any storage in the ford, nothing in rear seat area of crew cab and it doesnt have the hip or shoulder room of Dodge. The bed is so deep and tailgate so high it is very hard to see what is behind you especially when backing up. Again only a 5.5 ft bed. The tail gate assist and locking tailgate is nice though. The Ac is top notch right with Ram. Living in AZ that is very important. The FOrd sits very high as well. The ride is nice and quiet.
The GM trucks have the most carlike ride and are the lowest to ground if you dont like tall trucks. I plan to buy a power step if I purchase a 4wd. YOu could get away with an extra cab and have plenty of room but the clam shell doors become a real pain since you always have to open front door first before opening rear door. Again the GM trucks do not have the storage or interior room of Ram or Titan. They do have the most car like ride and get the best mileage. The 2007 GM trucks I would consider and should be a vastly improved but will probably still have a 4spd trans and they are not out yet. Other considerations are The current generation ram has been out since 2002 and dodge continues to make great improvements to this model. They are not dealing with nay design flaws like the brakes in titan or other 1st year model vehicles typically have. The Titan is just one year out and they proably have a few items to work out. The Ford was probably the best first year model ever produced but why the arcahic 4spd trans and weak engine choices. The 2007 GM trucks should catch up to competitors, we shall see. That is my three cents. Hope this helps. I would recommend driving one truck to the competitors dealership and drive the other immediately to see and feel the difference before you forget. Go straight to fleet dept and test drive by yourself so you can listen and focus on vehicle instead of some sales guy yaking the whole time. Most know less about the vehicle than you do. I think for the money you cant beat the Dodge. Now if you could buy the Ford or titan and save 4-6 thousand then buy one of them. I personally cant stomach over $20K for a vehicle. I bought my 03 ram 1500 Quad cab in 04 with 30K from a private party for $16K. WIth the money I save vs buying new I purchased a two used motorcycles, an 03 sv 1000 suzuki and a yamaha 01 YZF426 dirt bike. Im real tempted to purchase an 06 Ram 1500 SLT Quad cab 4wd for $28K but hard to fathom that an 06 is worth $12K-$15K more than my current rig. I have no need for 4wd and I will install a daystar 2-inch coil spring spacer in front to level out truck. With good tires and limited slip rear end can go everywhere I need to. Plan to purchase Firestone Destination ATs. Read reviews on Tirerack. The OEm goodyear GSAs only lasted 28K miles.As a hobby I test drive all the new trucks, 14 dealerships within two miles of where I live in tempe az. so if I really am impressed, I just wait till one pops up in private market.
The toyota tundra has old steering, frame a
My purchase decision was influenced greatly by my GM card rebate of $ 3600 plus all other incentives, which made this LT1 crew cab Z71 a great deal at $ 24,750 plus tax. There was no way I could buy a similar Dodge, Ford, or Nissan Titan new 4WD truck at that price. Yes, my truck uses an old 4 speed auto transmission, which can be a disadvantage, but I compensated somewhat by going with the 3.73 axle gear ratio, which helps the truck to stay in overdrive gear longer and at lower speeds. I live in Florida, so that hills are not an issue. I get plenty good acceleration out of this 295 HP 5.3 V8, and the truck tows my 5000 lb boat/trailer with ease.
The seat cloth is not the cheap "pantyhose" type material, but decent fabric. The riding height is just about right, and the truck does not have the deep bed like F150 with very high sides, which would be annoying when unloading small things from the bed over the side.
The truck has a nice quiet ride, and gets acceptable fuel economy of about 15 MPG combined, about 16-17 MPG highway with regular 87 octane gas.
Dodge 4WD trucks with the 5.7 HEMI do not even come close. I spoke with a 65 year old gentleman who wanted to sell his 2004 4WD Ram 1500 with the 5.7 HEMI because he could not get more than 11 MPG out of this truck no matter what! This with an older guy driving, who probably never drives fast. I can only imagine what would a young kid get out of this truck.
And TITAN truck fuel economy is not as good as that of GM trucks either. 4WD Titan trucks barely get 14 MPG.
So in summary, Chevy trucks have their weak points, but also some desirable features. For me, the interior space of the crew cab, mileage, and price were the largest motivating factors.
Please, Chevy, do something special for the Silverado.
HooRaahh buddy, I'm with ya.
Some of the foreign vehicles may be made here in the USA but the people that own the company don't live in the USA. I don't care if it's a BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, Kia, whatever.
Spend it here it stays here.
Later
I didn't like the 2007 Yukon too much. Those headlights are Massive. The 07 yukon headlights would have been ok if they didn't run them all the way on top of the fenders.
I hope that the new Sierra is either different than the Yukon or more like the Tahoe.
What spurs excellence? Rewarding mediocrity?
When does the consumer win? When we purchase an inferior product becuase it's supposedly made in the USA? In all actuality, it's most likely from sources to include Canada and Mexico.
What IS American is the privilege of purchasing the best product available at a competitive price.
I've served this country in the military for over 25 years to include deployments to Iraq, however, I will not buy "American" when it is clearly an inferior product.
The burden is on the PRODUCER to make a superior product, not on the consumer to "buy American." You have it backwards.
Bring on the all-new Toyota Tundra --competition brings out the best and WE (consumers) win!!!
DocHolliday
They'll suffer a couple of bad months, but the annual End of the Year Fire Sale will help cover that.
I like the current truck's front end. Hope it just evolves, and doesn't ape the candy-pants SUVs front ends.
DrFill
I really don't think they would make all three vehicles (4, counting the Suburban) look so much the same. The Silverado must have its own front end, at least.
expect the new trucks to be the same.That would be the biggest mistake gm has ever made.everyone is going to 5 and
6 spd.