BigPontiac

The Vortec Max package on the 2007 Silverado and Sierra replaces the rear drums with rear discs. Also includes larger sway bars and a beefier rear axle. Package is geared toward increased towing capacity.

I just saw a CPO 2005 STS 3.6 at a local dealer for $23,888!!! I looked it up online on their website to confirm. I didn't think they depreciated THAT much! Mileage was slightly high for a 2005 at 35K, but Kelly Blue Book showed 28K as average for a 2005. VIN: 1G6DW677850121889 Dealer web site

It's the key fobs that are the issue not the keys. If I'd bought the CTS instead of the BMW, I'd have two bulky GM key fobs hanging off my key chain. The trend towards keyless ignitions is making the fobs bigger.

I wish this could be programmed to control more than one GM vehicle. I find the fobs annoying...if you have more than one vehicle in your family and have the keys on the same key ring you're stuck with multiple fobs...which may even look identical. Add GM vehicle 1-4 to that sucker! Works for TV remotes, why not cars? I love the integrated key/remote on my BMW...eliminates the exact multiple fob issue...GMC has the external remote, BMW was it integrated on the key...all keys on same key ring.

Hopefully they sweated the details on the Enclave. I hope they also realized that not everyone in the world uses the 3rd row seat...some people put dogs in the back of their SUVs! The cargo net that BMW and Audi wagons have (as well as the Mazda6) would be a nice detail to see. The dog barrier offered for the Ranier was a joke...and it required you to cut into the headliner to install! The one for the Saturn Vue is equally sad. Nissan offered mounts for a dog barrier starting in 1996 on the Pathfinder...

I saw one article and it sounded nitpicky... Article

The new truck evolves the rear seat design of the current trucks. From the brochure pictures, the extended cab and crew cab models appear to share the same rear seat design, but the bottom cushion on the crew cab is longer. Also, the new trucks (other than the WT models) have a 60/40 split folding rear seat. Based on the volume of combined Silverado and Sierra sales, the Avalanche's design is likely in the minority. The old model also had an optional tool box that would fit under the seat when it was being used, which likely will show up for the new trucks too...the seat flips up to access the box. The Avalanche back seat folds the opposite way so it can extend the bed. While this creates a flat surface, it's also several inches higher than the open floor of the pickup. As my dog rides in the back of the extended cab of my truck, I'd hate that setup. I much prefer the current approach with a husky liner over the floor. I rarely use the rear seat in my extended cab, but the floor space is equal to the "way back" space of my old 2000 Nissan Pathfinder.

Interesting about the braking as the VortecMax package gets rear wheels disc brakes vs. the rest of the Silverados have rear drums... I still can't believe that they won't offer the 6-speed auto until MY2009. Can anyone confirm that's true???

Beyond the 500 Internal server error, I've also been getting a max users error message as well lately: Warning: mysql_connect(): User cheers_ipbuser already has more than 'max_user_connections' active connections in /home/.curly/flybrian/cheersandgears.com/forums/ips_kernel/class_db_mysql.php on line 120

Red Silverado LTZ with tan interior, nav, and optional 18" Z71 wheels. ebay link

Video of GM @ SEMA is available at: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid261091692 link

Best looking Tundra so far: SEMA: TRD Street Concept @ Autoblog

Finally a different color! White Silverado LT on eBay.

Edmunds.com in their new car prices section.

Nothing says sales success like a $2000 Cash to Dealer "incentive" from 09/06/2006 to 12/31/2007. The Pilot has a $2500 offer, but at least it's only for the month of Oct like the rest of the 2006 Hondas. How 'bout that production cut Honda made earlier in the year when the Ridgelines were stacking up on dealer lots? The new Civic is a sales success, the Ridgeline not so much.

I seem to recall C&D saying this same thing when the Nissan Titan and Honda Ridgeline came out...

All Diet Coke, all the time.

I'd suggest looking for a set of OEM take-off wheels on eBay for the winter tires. Usually you can pick up a set of 4 for a few hundred.

I believe that Seville body style ran from 1980-1985. I like the extended version of the ad.

I got a 2007 Silverado brochure today...it's 50 pages!

GM to Use Cost Savings to Fight Toyota `Green' Cars, People Say By Jeff Green Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., losing sales to Toyota Motor Corp., will use some of the $9 billion in savings from cost cuts this year to make vehicles that match the Japanese automaker in technology and fuel efficiency, according to people familiar with the strategy. GM's plans include a hybrid-electric vehicle with a battery that recharges at any outlet, improved gasoline engines, hybrid versions of its Silverado pickup trucks and hydrogen-powered fuel-cell models that emit only water vapor, according to the people, who didn't want to be identified because the plan isn't public. Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner will outline the strategy in a speech before the end of the year, one of the people said. "GM has to change the rules of the game through new technologies because they are simply fighting to not lose share now,'' said Pete Hastings, a fixed-income analyst at Morgan Keegan & Co. in Memphis, Tennessee. ``The first and best to market will be critical for future share dominance.'' Wagoner, 53, is under pressure to return the world's largest automaker to profitability after he shunned an alliance with Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. GM's board rejected the partnership proposed by Kirk Kerkorian, GM's largest individual investor, in favor of Wagoner's plan to shut factories and increase sales with new models. Plug-Ins The company reported a third-quarter loss of $115 million two days ago and said it was spending more cash on its automobile business than it was generating through vehicle sales. GM lost $1.66 billion in the year-earlier quarter. GM shares have risen 77 percent this year, the biggest gain in the Dow Jones industrial Average. They fell 35 cents to $34.65 yesterday after Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst John Murphy downgraded the stock to "sell'' from ''buy,'' citing slower progress than he had anticipated. The Detroit-based automaker has assigned a team of engineers to help develop plug-in hybrids, according to one of the people. The project -- known internally as I-car, for Icon car -- is meant to be the centerpiece of the new strategy, the people said. Plug-in hybrids recharge when the vehicle isn't in use and switch to the gasoline engine when the batteries are drained. GM is playing catch-up in "green car'' technology. Toyota sold 235,000 hybrids worldwide last year, and said in June it plans to double its hybrid models to 14 by early in the next decade and sell 1 million of them annually as early as 2010. GM's first true hybrid, the Saturn Vue Greenline, went on sale this month. "Toyota has a head start, and it's always a challenge to catch the guy in front,'' said Eric Fedewa, director of powertrain forecasts for consulting firm CSM Worldwide in Farmington Hills, Michigan. "Toyota dedicated themselves to hybrids much earlier.'' Prius Boost Demand for the Toyota's hybrids, including the Prius, has helped the Toyota City, Japan-based company boost U.S. sales 11 percent in the year through September. GM sales have dropped 11 percent. Sherrie Childers Arb, a GM spokeswoman, said the company is exploring a broad range of environmental technologies. She declined to comment on specific plans. Hybrid vehicles combine electric motors and gasoline engines to use less fuel. Regular hybrids such as the Prius use friction from braking and engine power to recharge the battery for the electric motor, which is used at start-up and lower speeds. The gasoline engine powers the vehicle at higher speeds. Toyota and Honda Motor Co.'s hybrid vehicles led the U.S. government's list of fuel-efficient 2007 models, released this month. GM didn't have a model in the top 10; Toyota and Honda had seven combined. 'Major Shift' Wagoner and Vice Chairman Bob Lutz this month toured GM's hybrid development center in Troy, Michigan, for the first time to let researchers know the company is making such technologies a priority, according to people familiar with the visit. In meetings, Wagoner, 53, has stressed the automaker is now fully committed to hybrid and other technologies, they said. "This is a major shift for GM because in the past it had gone out of its way to criticize the financial viability of hybrids,'' said John Casesa, managing partner at Casesa Strategic Advisors in New York. The initiative doesn't have a price tag yet, said one of the people. GM has cut $9 billion from its annual spending this year by limiting health-care benefits, firing white-collar employees and getting union workers to retire early and accept buyouts. In addition to the Saturn Vue, GM plans 11 other hybrid models over the next few years, including full-size SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and pickups such as the GMC Sierra, both redesigned this year. Ethanol Blends Toyota, which is on its way to passing GM in global vehicle sales, is spending a record 920 billion yen ($7.9 billion) on research and development this year. GM spent $6.7 billion last year and hasn't released a 2006 figure. The U.S. automaker has also said it plans to build 400,000 vehicles next year that use both regular gasoline and a fuel that is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. So far, there are fewer than 1,000 ethanol pumps available at 170,000 U.S. fueling stations, limiting sales of the models. A decade ago, GM was focused on the EV-1, the first modern electric car. It abandoned the technology because the cars were expensive and needed frequent recharging. "The biggest risk is that historically GM changes its priorities often,'' said analyst Casesa. "GM will have to make some tough choices about the things it really wants.'' To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Green in Southfield, Michigan, at [email protected] Last Updated: October 27, 2006 00:12 EDT Full Article

It's too bad they copied the x-cab door design from Dodge and not the GM, Ford, Nissan version. I really like the rear-hinged design on my Sierra a lot better. That one feature has huge dealbreaker potential for me when I shop for my next truck.

It's too bad they don't offer the G35x with the 6-speed manual transmission. My dad has a 2006 G35x and the only thing he dislikes about the car is that the manual wasn't available with AWD.

More Silverado pics from eBay: LT1 with chrome front bumper LS Work truck Another LT