What's New for 1998

This year's big news is a standard theft-deterrent system, revised color choices and fresh tailgate lettering. The Sport package has been dropped from the option list. Second-generation airbags are standard on models under 8,600 GVWR.

Review

General Motors' best-selling vehicles, as truck loyalists know full well, are the full-size pickups: half-, 3/4- and one-tonners with a reputation as reliable workhorses. Ford's similar-sized F-Series grabs the higher sales totals each year, but faithful Chevrolet buyers are seldom swayed. The pickup that feels right at home to a Chevy fan tends to send prickles up the spine of a Ford fan, and vice versa. Each is likely to declare the other's truck to be harder riding or anemic in acceleration, even if an impartial observer discerns little difference between the two.

Most truck fans know by now that an all-new Chevrolet pickup is due in showrooms within months. Dubbed Silverado, this 1999 model will be available as 1500 and 2500 light-duty models initially, with the heavy-duty 2500 and 3500 trucks following a year or two later. So, it's not surprising that few changes are on tap for the 1998 C/K pickup. A theft-deterrent system is now standard, tailgate badging is updated, the Sport model is dropped and colors are shuffled.

Four-wheel anti-lock braking is standard fare, and models under 8,600 lbs. GVWR have an airbag installed in the steering wheel hub. Correctly fitted, a C/K pickup can tow as much as 10,000 pounds. Long-life engine components extend service intervals up to 100,000 miles on some items. For luxury-oriented truckers, a C/K can be trimmed in leather when the top Silverado trim package is specified.

When selecting a full-size Chevy truck, you have to face the usual bewildering selection of models, which vary by wheelbase, cargo-bed size, cab design, and Sportside or Fleetside bed styling. Don't stop yet: you also have to choose from five engine sizes (including two diesels), and decide whether you want two- or four-wheel drive. Then, you still have the dizzying option list to ponder.

We get tired just thinking about all those possibilities, but they come with the territory when you're heading into big-pickup range. Truck customers don't want the same hauler that everybody else is buying. They want one tailored to their own specific needs, and Chevrolet provides these customers with myriad possibilities to create that special, one-of-a-kind truck.