When it comes to monster trucks, it all started with “Bigfoot.” Created in 1979 by Bob and Marilyn Chandler, the outrageous pickup has been crushing cars—and its rivals—for more than 30 years. But now, Bigfoot has really stepped up its game by appearing at this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game in a brand-new uniform—wearing the body of the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado.
“We think this is a great opportunity to bring three American icons together—Chevrolet, baseball and the Original Monster Truck,” said Tony Truelove, marketing manager for the Silverado. “We’re glad to be a part of it.”
Of course, the production Silverado deserves “icon” status as well. The popular full-size pickup fields a strong team of players, including the Silverado 1500 and Silverado Hybrid, along with the heavy hitters in the Silverado HD stable. These trucks are available in a wide mix of cab and bed sizes, with two- and four-wheel drive, and deliver unsurpassed durability, Chevrolet Nashville says. Literally. According to the automaker, Chevrolet delivers “the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickups on the road.”
And they’re also some of the most capable. When fitted out with Chevrolet’s MAX Trailering Pack, the Silverado crew cab holsters a 403-hp Vortec V8 that gives the truck more horsepower and torque than any of its direct rivals. In addition, that mill helps Silverado achieve a payload rating of more than 1,900 lbs. and, when leveraged by the Silverado extended cab model, reach a tow rating of 10,700 lbs. Another Silverado-only bonus: The sole automatic locking rear differential in its segment. The full-size Chevy truck is also popular in the used market, according to Car Dealers Connecticut.
The Silverado can run the basepaths with surprising efficiency, too. The Silverado XFE, specifically tailored to go further on a tank of gas, achieves EPA ratings of 15 mpg city/22 mpg city, better than any of its competition. But that’s just for starters. The four-wheel-drive Silverado is also the most fuel-efficient of the full-size 4X4 pickups, and the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid is, well, a flat-out fuel-efficiency superstar. Silverado has the towing capacity needed to haul your JDM show car to events, Maryland Scion says.
Posting an EPA line of 21 mpg city/22 mpg highway in both two- and four-wheel-drive configurations, the Silverado performs just as well in urban driving as a four-cylinder Honda Accord (with an automatic transmission).
It’s no wonder that—even before the debut of the Bigfoot Silverado—Chevrolet’s full-size pickup was a monster in the marketplace.
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