I bought an 03 Silverado, ECSB, 4x4, 4.8L back in July and LOVE it! I had two Dodges before (01 and an 02). I unfortunately lost my job and had to get rid of either the 02 Ram or the Firehawk...that was a no brainer. Anyway, once I got back on my feet I was in the market for another truck and went looking for a hemi...it was too expensive and Dodge wasn't budging much at all and I didn't want a 2wd...my trucks have to be 4x4's. Well, my buddy bought an 03 HD and told me to go to the dealer where he bought his so we did. I didn't like the front ends at all either but they grew on me and now I like them a lot. The one I bought is the one I test drove and the power was so far above the 5.2 and 5.9L I had in the dodge's I couldn't believe it. I told my wife how impressed I was with the 5.3L and she politely told me it was a 4.8L which really impressed me...anyway, the bottom line is that Dodge was a nice truck, but I am sold on the Chevy's...I realized how much those Dodge's lost their value and I learned the hard way...I think the Chevy's have a higher resale and that stands for something. Either way, everyone loves their truck for one reason or another and I am loving my Chevy. I took off those tiny crappy 245/75/16 Goodyear tires, replaced them with 285/75/16 BFG AT TA KO's, got the windows tinted, GM molded mud flaps, extang full tilt tonneau cover and what really woke up the truck was a Trenz billet grille!! If you want to wake up those front ends just add a billet grille and watch it turn into a whole new truck! Just my .02

 

Thats very true, they should come stock like dodges.

 

Larger displacement does not mean a heavier motor. I don't know the weight of the motors, it may work out that way, but displacemnts are bore and stroke.

 

Then again the 5.7 wasnt an aluminum block (or were the vortechs ) The 5.3s are aluminum, thats enough of a difference to make a change in weight, even though thats besides the point.

 

In a test of crew-cab models in the latest Car and Drivel, Silverado finished dead last. Behind the Tundra. I knew the critics would look more favorably on the Ram and F-150 because they are newer models but yikes...GM can't be happy with this. Seems the new full size trucks couldn't come fast enough.

 

The Gen III 5.7s are all aluminum block.
The Gen III 5.3s are all iron block except as used in the mid-size SUVs and the SSR.

 

yeah because they tested the trucks like a car not like a truck!! oh yeah let's test them on a slalom and drag strip....please....trucks weren't designed for that and they should have tested them like trucks....throw a trailer on the hitch and pull it down the track, take it off road, etc....that's how a truck should be tested....consider the source "CAR and Driver"....and if you noticed the first two trucks were BRAND new models and the dodge and chevy came in last....wonder why? i don't take anything the CAR magazines say about trucks...after all Motor Trend named the Toyota Prius as car of the year When was the last time you saw a foreign truck on the cover or spread all throughout the pages of "Off-Road" or "Four Wheeler" magazines? I don't think I've ver seen one. Consider the source and know that regardless of what any magazine says the big three truck buyers are loyal to their make and it doesn't matter what some magazine that accepts whoever gives them the most money thinks! Just my thoughts!

 

I agree, there were some stupid tests like the ones you mentioned...but their assessment of the interior materials and general look are hard to argue with (but again, they were testing far newer trucks alongside the Silverado.) There were also some complaints about the 5.3. I think the Silverado overall has to be a better truck than the Tundra though it'd be hard to place it above 3rd right now.

Titan was ranked #1. I'm wondering if this is A) because it really is better than the F-150 or B) it's the new kid on the block, and it's from Japan, so even if it's competant it is the "chic" pick.

 

if you think about it every year a new model truck comes out it's the end all to be all of the trucks for that year.....the new silverados (99 becasue the 03 was just basically a face lift not an all new model), the new ford, the new dodges and now the titan....every time a new model comes out it gets all kinds of awards.....i have yet to see a brand new model come out that still finishes behind the other models...see a trend? i think the interiors are all in the eyes of the beholder though....i like the chevy interiors as well as the ford interior....it's tough to say which one is better because it's all subjective which is why i take what they say with a grain of salt....the only thing i consider is when i see the long term tests to see what sort of problems pop up, gas mileage, etc...that i consider legit, but everything esle is subjective to me...the new fords are sweet and i would buy one over the dodge and i had an 02 dodge with the new body style...i think the sales figures (fleet vehicles or not), customer satisfaction and resale value mean a lot....the silverado 1500 still has the highest resale valuse of any of the 1500 trucks out there (1999 - 2002) and there is a reason for that....just my thoughts