Chevy Silverado styling toughened up for 2016

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Automotive News / July 13, 2015

Chevrolet is scrapping the long-running dual stacked headlights on the freshened 2016 Silverado and giving the hot-selling pickup a mean-machine look.

The stacked headlights -- a fixture on Chevy’s big truck since the 1980s -- have been replaced with smaller, more stylized units that recall high-tech electronics. The 2016 model also adds a more muscular hood and a new front fascia.

The styling changes were planned to keep the truck, overhauled for the 2014 model year, fresh against Ford’s revamped F-150 and Fiat Chrysler’s Ram 1500, Chevrolet spokesman Tom Wilkinson said. Also, Nissan Motor Co. is just months away from rolling out a new version of the Titan pickup.

It's one of the most radical mid-cycle changes to the face of the Silverado. Some dealers, truck enthusiasts and journalists questioned whether the Silverado's 2014 redesign went far enough. Some critics griped that it looked too much like the truck it replaced.

U.S. sales of the light- and heavy-duty Silverado have spiked 15 percent this year in a full-size truck market that has expanded 4.7 percent. Deliveries of the F series, including super duties and the redesigned 2015 F-150, have dropped 2.4 percent and Ram volume has climbed 4.3 percent.

Upper trim levels of the 2016 Silverado, such as the Z71, will feature two rows of LED lights separated by an accent bar that stretches the width of the grille.

The lower fascia has also been redesigned and features smaller vertical fog lights. Mechanical and trim changes are few.

Chevrolet is expanding the availability of an eight-speed automatic transmission for models with a 5.3-liter V-8 engine. The eight-speed gearbox had been available only on models with a 6.2-liter V-8.

Inside, the Chevy MyLink system has been reworked to support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

It’s not clear if the Silverado’s platform mate, the GMC Sierra, will receive similar updates for 2016. GMC spokesman Brian Goebel said GMC is not yet releasing any information about the 2016 model.

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2016 Chevrolet Silverado Gets Early Facelift, More 8-Speed Availability

Car & Driver / July 13, 2015

Barely two years after going on sale in its current iteration, the Chevrolet Silverado is getting a refresh. Yep, that’s early, especially considering the typical full-size truck life cycle is measured not in years but in eons.

Chevy provided a single photo with the release, showing a Silverado in snazzy LTZ form, brandishing new horizontal grille vanes; a chunky new hood; squinty new lights; and a deep, aero-friendly bumper with outboard LED lamps and a large chrome chin. We expect some minor changes to the rear of the truck, as well, based on spy photos of the 2016 Silverado we posted earlier this year.

Additional enhancements include more widespread availability of the eight-speed automatic transmission across the Silverado 1500 lineup, added safety technologies, and support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. More photos and details will be made available closer to the truck’s public debut this fall, and based on recent spy photos of the GMC Sierra, we expect to see a similar batch of enhancements bestowed upon the 2016 GMC Sierra, as well.

Pointing out that Silverado sales are up 14.6 percent through June, Chevrolet says the update is part of “an aggressive strategy to build on Chevy trucks’ momentum”—but we can’t help but think it is also part of an aggressive strategy to thwart Ford trucks’ momentum, which has accelerated now that the aluminum-bodied Ford F-150 has been in dealerships for a while. Certainly, the Silverado’s handsome new face can’t by itself trump the benefits that aluminum gives to the Ford, but it certainly won’t hurt Chevy’s cause.