The amply sized cargo bed (yes, I know it's technically not "full" sized) easily managed the load and the Silverado's suspension has never been so happy, finally burdened with a decent mass. It was as if the truck was saying, "What. Is that all you got?" Although logic would say otherwise, I couldn't detect any loss of braking ability or ease of acceleration. Hey, guess what? These here pick 'em up trucks really work -- when they're asked to do what they're really designed to do. That's why it absolutely cracks me up when I see a person using one for a daily commuter simply because a truck makes him look/feel/portray macho. Are you kiddin' me? If you don't regularly haul stuff around, why knock your fillings out with the otherwise bouncy ride, take it in the shorts each month when you get your gas card bill, and circle your entire neighborhood looking for a parking spot long enough to accommodate a 19-foot-long truck.
Speaking of macho, the flip-up rear seats are perfect for transporting delicate flowers without spilling soil. Pretty, eh?
Chris Walton, Chief Road Test Editor: 6020 miles
freshzilla says:
09:57 AM, 01/22/07
Thanks for the Silverado information, but please, can anyone write about trucks or SUVs without off-topic comments disparaging others for driving them?
readerreader says:
10:49 AM, 01/22/07
No, no freshzilla, that would be too much to ask.
Lay off, Chris! People make trade-offs for image all the time. All new-car buyers, for instance.You're not "smart" because you drive a "zippy" city-car.Who's worse? The guy who gets an "ego-boost' by commuting in a truck? (According to you.), or the guy who gets an ego-boost disparaging others who drive different vehicles to them?
firstwagon says:
10:59 AM, 01/22/07
Bad way to buy bark. Doesn't your nursery have an area where you can get it by the tractor scoop?
I bought a load last summer and the tractor load was 1/5th the price for the same stuff.
carlisimo says:
11:00 AM, 01/22/07
The one in the truck, I'd say; their ego trips cancel out, which leaves one guy in a big truck with its greater externalities.
jm33 says:
04:13 PM, 01/22/07
While I see the logic of those defending the trucks, I do not think this is just an all points equal harmless personal choice thing. I believe that people who drive overly large vehicles to satisfy a deficiency in their ego and create an image thing are quite selfish. It is not a good reason to use the planet's resources so extremely inefficiently and to put those who try to be more responsible at greater risk of harm due to the possibility of being hit by one of these things. So if it were only a personal choice impacting only you I would say go for it and what should anyone have to say. However it is not.
oldmanshirt says:
12:04 AM, 01/25/07
jm33, im not saying you're wrong, but may I ask what you drive? Everytime I hear Al Gore or enviornmentalists disparage trucks and drivers of trucks for the sake of "conserving resources", I always wish I was a reporter and could ask them what they drive. Do they actually drive Priuses and Civic hybrids, or do they think their moral stance exempts them from heeding their own words? Anyways, /rant
theronrohr says:
09:59 PM, 02/ 4/07
Although I consider myself pretty much a bleeding heart liberal I do find it tough to criticise people for "using the planet's resources inefficiently". There are so many other factors involved its tough to say what's right and wrong there. For a change after small hatchbacks I bought a v8 mustang a year ago and was struck by the irony that I probably burned less gas than an ex co-worker did in his prius. My commute was 4 miles vs his 50. I guess you could say he made a responsible choice to buy the Prius given his commute but why did he choose to take a job so far from home? I think we have the right approach already: legislate emissions and let the market price controle consumption.