Spied: 2010 Chevrolet Silverado HD

[Blake Noble]

Spied: 2010 Chevrolet Silverado HD
Silverado HD to recieve mild revisions for 2010.
Link to original Article @ Pickup Trucks.com

Even with truck sales way down and fuel prices way up, General Motors' heavy-duty pickups have to keep up with changing federal regulations and the competition. Here are the first pictures of a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Duramax diesel test mule.

The Silverado HD (and its twin, the GMC Sierra HD) first went on sale about 18 months ago but GM is giving the truck a mild facelift that hints at major revisions happening under the hood.

The grille in these photos is temporary, cribbed from a current light-duty Chevrolet Silverado 1500, but the revised front bumper is meant to be a production version. GM has softened the huge metal flares at the corners of the current Silverado HD's bumper by topping off the uppermost portion with plastic from end to end for 2010.

The inlet in the middle of the front bumper feeds air to the truck's transmission oil cooler. It's about a third larger than the current inlet, which makes us wonder about the changes GM has in mind for the Silverado's Allison transmission.

The Allison gearbox is mated to a 6.6-liter Duramax diesel engine, which will be overhauled to meet tough new EPA rules for nitrogen oxide emissions that go into effect Jan. 1, 2010. The bigger inlet could mean a next-generation Duramax engine that requires extra air for a new exhaust gas recirculation system, which reduces NOx, but GM has already stated that the 2010’s NOx emissions would be scrubbed using urea selective catalytic reduction, which should require a less complex EGR system.

Maybe it's just the heat, but we’re wondering if GM and Allison are planning to add extra gears to the current six-speed Silverado for improved fuel economy and towing efficiency. Could the Allison transmission get eight cogs, like some recent luxury cars, or will it make the leap to 12, like some big rigs use? Twelve gears isn't as hard to attain as some might think; a gear splitter can be added between the back of the transmission and the driveshaft or transfer case, depending whether the truck is two- or four-wheel drive. The bottom line, though, is that extra gears would likely require improved airflow to the transmission oil cooler, and thus a bigger inlet in the front bumper.

Extra gears could also allow the Silverado to one-up new heavy-duty pickups from Dodge and Ford, expected to arrive by 2010 and 2011, respectively. The 2011 Ford Super Duty will feature a new 6.7-liter Scorpion V-8 diesel engine and six-speed transmission.

[vonVeezelsnider]

Part of me thinks they're 'conservatizing' the look of the truck b/c of GMC being so in-question.

[CMG]

Not much of a difference to me, I don't think anybody who isn't a car/truck nut will even notice a difference?

[CSpec]

A smaller diesel would be an excellent addition!

[loki]

A smaller diesel would be an excellent addition!

the 4.5L?

isn't that supposed to be coming "soon"... 1-2 years?

...slated for the suburban/yukon, h2 and the trucks?

it's not a big change visually

[ocnblu]

You guys know the picture at the top of this thread is not the 2010 HD, right? While I wasn't upset about the ungainly bumper on the '07 HD when it first came out, this one-piece bumper on the 2010 is instantly more attractive than what we have now. I wonder if the LD 900s are getting a one-piece bumper as well. Nice, effective, yet simple improvement.

[BigPontiac]

A good start in lessening the ugliness of the Silverado. Next step lose the weird fender contours and slab sided doors. Finally fix the tailgate and lose the big black plastic surround on the rear bumper. Finish it off by extending the side molding to span the cab and front part of bed up to the wheel well.

[Blake Noble]

What I am curious to see is the interior. Anyone remember these?

[Robert Hall]

A good start in lessening the ugliness of the Silverado. Next step lose the weird fender contours and slab sided doors.

A simple horizontal crease/character line starting at the top of the headlight cluster and running down the fenders, doors, back to the taillights (like the side crease on the '81-87 models) would look good, I think...

[turbo200]

I find the silverado to be the most attractive pickup design, largely, for me, due to a charming fascia up front, and then clean uncluttered and sophisticated look elsewhere. of course sierra is also good looking, and easily as good or better than silvy. just adding, but i think both are the best in the market right now. there's a sketch of the F100 pickup in this month's MT that is mighty attractive, if Ford gets that going quickly, it could be an incredibly good move for them, so long as prices stabilize and people are still in the market for trucks...

[gm4life]

Cool but when are we getting the 4.5 in half-ton models?

[CSpec]

What I am curious to see is the interior. Anyone remember these?

Those look more like the Insignia/Lacrosse no?

[Paolino]

Those look more like the Insignia/Lacrosse no?

They look like it, but the LaCrosse's controls were mounted high up on the stack, not near the gear shift. Besides, there's a control for the rear wiper.

[Blake Noble]

Those look more like the Insignia/Lacrosse no?

Nope. Although I think some bits and pieces might be shared there, those images are what GM officially released months back that were for a proposed MCE of the GMT-900s.

[Northstar]

Those are not T900s, those are the Lambda MCEs. Notice the location of the shifter. I thought I had saved those, but I can't seem to find them right now. I remember when they were on GM Media and then quickly removed. I forget what you had to search for to find them, but it was different than what the caption actually read, which said Lambdas.