Motor Trend has named the CHevy Silverado "2007 Truck of The Year."

 

Motor Trend's awards are a sham.

 

Only when foreign vehicles win.

 

IMO, MT's Truck Of The Year award is a joke...

They basically give the award to the new truck that year, if there is one...

There's just not big enough of a pool of vehicles out there to make it worthwhile.

 

Oh, they picked a truck this year?


I agree with Case and Darth. A useless award.

 

It is a sham, but at least it can be used for marketing purposes. Was the Tundra in contention? Or will it only be eligible next year, since the Tundra isn't hitting dealers until the start of '07 or so...

 

 

That's what I'm wondering. The only reason why the award might be somewhat significant is if the new Tundra was also in contention.

 

Yup, last year there really wasn't any now trucks so they gave it to the minivan based pickup.

Maybe It would be worth a little more if they would let the winner of the previous year defend there title. It is good for Marketing though.

When will GMC win a TOTY

 

I think the Honda Ridgeline won last year and Honda dealers can't give them away, they have the largest rebates ever for a Honda. And who wants a truck that only comes with a six and can't haul anything. You have to be a Honda fanatic to want one.

 

The answer to the question "was the Tundra eligible" is no:

From Motor Trend's Announcement:

Think maybe this might partially explain why Toyota had delayed the Tundra (and maybe why GM pulled their trucks ahead, though that happened before Toyota delayed their launch)? By released, I assume they mean "made available for sale". Because Toyota has obviously released the design and tons of info to the public. So basically the Silverado had only other GMT900s and the Explorer Sport Trac as competition.

Similarly, the Tundra will be a shoe in for next year's award, because the Silverado won't be eligible. They might let the HD trucks in next year, but they'll probably say they are a "variant" of an existing model (even though they are on completely different frames than the half tons). So, most likely, next year the HDs will not be in. Even if they are, along with the new Ford Super Duty line (which have different frames AND sheetmetal than the F150, so they'll be even more likely to be included), does anyone here really think they'll pick what they perceive to be a niche player like the HD lines over a hugely new and significant Tundra? Even though the Super Duty line alone probably outsells the current Tundra, and maybe the new one too (next year). Like it or not, the Tundra is significant simply because it comes from darling Toyota, and is the first time they've had the goods to more seriously compete, unlike their halfassed efforts the first two times.

You heard it here first. 2007 Truck of the Year = Silverado (GMT900, really). 2008 Truck of the Year = Tundra.

Unless the Ram is getting significantly revised (and even then, they'd never choose it over a Toyota)... F150 should be set for a while. Titan is getting a face lift/interior enhancement, I think. Other than that, there aren't really any contenders...

:blah:

GEEZ, Motor Trend sucks so badly, it is almost painful.

EDIT (again): Really, can you imagine the editors trying to put together this year's article? 3 of the 4 eligible trucks are basically the SAME (ok, so the Escalade EXT is an Avalanch sibling, which means it has more in common with a Suburban/Escalade than the Silverado, but still). The only other option is a niche truck that, while a nice vehicle, isn't even in the same realm in terms of significance as the full size GMT900s. How do they keep a straight face when writing an article like that? It was really tough to predict the outcome of this one (and the next one...).

 

Give Toyota next year.

 

When they have a marketing budget to match Chevy's.

 

Here is a funny thing the Tundra will be rated under the current EPA ratings to make it seem higher than it really is. So the GM trucks are rated under the new are out first AND Toyota moves their truck back but will still call it a 2007 model to get the better EPA rating. Tell me what would happen if GM tried to pull that!

 

If that were the only problem with the award, it would still be a sham. But the reality is even worse. The MT car/truck of the year awards are basically sold to the highest bidder. Auto companies pitch ad campaigns to Motor Trend that involve the award, and MT goes with whichever one shows off their award and pays better than the others.