“Butch, Party of One”

By Joe LaMuraglia

If you are a regular reader of Gaywheels.com, you may have noticed that I’ve been writing my reviews in blog format lately. It helps me stay on top of the vehicle review to-do list and, I hope, it gives our readers a more personal connection to the vehicles we are reviewing.

Occasionally, time is of short supply and I am not able to keep up with the demands of a daily blog. Ok, who am I kidding? That happens most of the time. In the case of the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado that graced my driveway for a week recently, I was too busy USING the truck and driving back and forth TN to stay on top of a daily diary.

Our Silverado was a bright red, 2WD Crew Cab with the Z71 package. The interior was clearly designed for comfort with leather bucket seats, sunroof, power rear sliding window and XM radio on top of all the other standard goodies. The first think you notice when climbing behind the wheel is the sheer presence that the Silverado has. Even though it shares a lot with other GM products, this package seemed to instill a lot more confidence and bravado. Perhaps it was the red paint that got my inner bull boiling.

I took the truck on the normal Atlanta to Nashville route and it performed like a champ. It rode like a sedan, essentially ignored the steep grades and made the drive as easy as any other vehicle I’ve driven to date.

You’ll read a lot of criticism of GM’s trucks because they only have a 4-speed automatic. I am here to tell you that it performs flawlessly, was matched perfectly to the engine and combined with GM’s Active Fuel Management, delivered 20 MPG on the highway. According to GM, that is better than any of its competitors. They’ll be offering a 6-speed in the future but if you need a truck now, there’s no need to wait.

Very soon after arriving in Nashville, we put the Silverado to work. My other half ordered furniture from the Pottery Barn outlet and we had to pick it up at the distribution center. Driving through rural TN in a big new Chevrolet pickup made me feel right at home and the admiring glances, I had to keep reminding myself, were for the truck not the driver. When they came out of the warehouse with a pallet full of furniture shrink-wrapped beyond recognition, I got a bit worried that it would fit, let alone how I’d explain the scratches in the bed to GM. My energy was wasted as the pallet was placed gently into the bed and it fit perfectly. We used the optional adjustable tie-down points to secure our cargo and were off. At that point, I realized why people buy pickups. Having never owned a vehicle that could achieve a feat close to this, it made me feel really capable and dare I say…masculine……Ok, it made me feel BUTCH.

The Silverado handled that pallet without even breaking a sweat and was our transportation choice for the remainder of the weekend as we continued the hunt for deals in our quest to furnish the new abode. The big truck was generally easy to drive around town with excellent visability and always plenty of power…size only becoming an issue when parking in the tight spots at Targay…I mean Target.

The Silverado has a choice of two interiors – a luxury-oriented setup and what GM calls the “pure pickup” interior. Ours was equipped with the latter interior and was solid, and made of high quality materials except for the glove box. It is a minor complaint for sure but it simply felt flimsy. We predict a re-design in the near future. The seats passed our resident seat critic whom shall henceforth be called Pia (Pain In the A**). She is unbelievably critical of automotive seating and it is rare when she gives her approval. Kudos to the seat engineers.

The Silverado ushered me back home and around Atlanta a few days later. As I reflect on the time spent with the truck, I can understand why it was awarded North American Truck of the Year. It is great looking, solid, and with a choice of 8 engines, three cab configurations, 2WD or 4WD and two bed lengths – it would be hard not to find a combination that suits your needs. For guys and gals who really use their trucks, this is a no brainer. For someone like me, it would be a case of emotion overriding rationale. I don’t need anything this big or with this much capability but I’d seriously consider it if I was in the market for a vehicle. I can hear the gay valet now calling out the arrival of my truck – “Butch, party of one”.

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