#2011ChevySilveradoHd

Just prior to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia over the weekend, Motor Trend‘s Editor-in-Chief Angus MacKenzie, presented General Motors CEO Dan Akerson with the coveted truck of the year award, in reference to the 2011 Chevy Silverado HD.

GM has added numerous improvements into its 2011 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra Heavy-Duty full-size pickups, but barely a month after production began at the Flint assembly plant, the company recently decided to suspend it in order to trace and repair a defective part.

After unveiling the new 2011 Silverado HD at the Chicago Auto Show earlier this year, Chevy has now released pricing for the big truck. Standard models will start from $27,965, while those wanting the Duramax diesel and Allison transmission combo will have to spend $36,360 – a jump of $8,395. That price is, however, the exact same number as last year’s model, which is impressive considering the improvements made for the all-new 2011 truck.

With Ford announcing its F-Series Super Duty power, payload and towing capabilities just a few weeks ago, Chevrolet has responded with some big numbers for the all-new 2011 Chevy Silverado HD. The new 6.6-liter Duramax V8 is rated at 397-hp at 3000 rpm  and 765 ft-lbs of torque at 1600 rpm. This tops the F-Series Super Duty that’s rated at 390-hp at 2800 rpm and 735 ft-lbs of torque at 1600 rpm. The increase for Chevy is a total of 32-h and 105 ft-lbs over the previous Duramax.

Chevy chose the Chicago Auto Show to debut its all-new 2011 Silverado Heavy Duty pickup truck with more power and capability. New Silverado HD models sit on new frames and come with an optional all-new 6.6-liter Duramax V8 and Allison 1000 six-speed transmission. The truck’s base tow rating is now 16,000 lbs, while a 3500 crew cab/long box can pull up to 20,000 lbs. For the record, that’s 2,400 lbs more than the RAM 3500 and 1,200 lbs more than the 2010 F-350 – although no 2011 F-350 stats are available. Maximum payload is now 6,335 lbs, well above both the Ford and Dodge, although (again) Ford claims segment-best payload… but that was before the new Silverado HD was unveiled.

The all-new 2011 Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty models might not look all that new and there’s a good reason for it. With tight budgets at GM as of late, the Silverado HD team was given limited funds to build the truck and so they chose to put the money where those who really need a heavy duty truck will appreciate it most. Aesthetically, the only real changes to the 2011 model are a new chrome bumper, a “power-dome” hood and a revised grille. Changes to the rest of the truck, however, are significant.

General Motors’ vice chairman of global product operations is so strong a believer in his company’s product he’s willing to prove it in a tug-of-war between the GMC Heavy Duty and the Ford F-Series Super Duty.

Chevrolet is expected to unveiled the all-new 2011 Silverado 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty pickups at the Chicago Auto Show in just a few weeks. The same show, just a year ago, is where Dodge launched the new Ram HD line. Later this year, Ford is preparing to introduce its new 6.7-liter Powerstroke-powered F-Series HD.