There’s a button on the tailgate of the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado that, when pushed, slowly lowers it to the open position. Big deal—that’s Detroit innovation, circa 2015.
Push it again, however, and the gate closes itself.
We’re in the later stages of evolution when it comes to the genus pickup, and the margins for improvement have grown slim. Chevrolet’s new half-ton moneymaker offers a smattering of Easter eggs to stand out, if just a bit, from rivals. The corner steps in the rear bumper are a little wider. A driver can check the trailer-hitch camera while traveling to make sure the load isn’t miles behind. And then there’s the robot tailgate, which you won’t find on any F-150—at least, not yet.
Here’s the dirty little secret about the Ford-versus-Chevy pickup truck slugfest: Both companies make great rigs. They are Motor City’s ultimate cash crop, and as such get all the greatest resources—the best designers, most talented engineers and biggest research and development budgets.
Which one is better? It’s tough to say and frankly, it doesn’t matter. At this point in the game, the prospect of any player increasing their slice of the pickup pie—“conquesting” in industry-speak—is slim. Moreover, it would be a flawed strategy, given that a huge swath of Americans is clamoring for a pickup (whether they actually need one or not).
The pie, in other words, is growing fast.
Chevy wants the “pickup-curious” to take a look at its new Silverado https://t.co/bg9kIVcJj9
— Bloomberg Pursuits (@luxury) October 29, 2018
And it’s not just middle-aged men looking to telegraph a blue-collar image. The valedictorian of my high school class, who went on to Harvard and a lucrative investment banking career in Boston, recently swapped his Audi for an F-150. On weekends, he packs the kids up and takes them skiing in Vermont while the Range Rover sleeps in Back Bay.
This guy is the paragon consumer for Detroit’s savviest executives. They aren’t focused on changing the mind of die-hard “truck guys.” Rather, they’re out to lure the millions of “pickup-curious” out there. “We’re focused on serving customers, instead of chasing the competition,” explained Todd Eckert, head honcho of Ford’s truck marketing.