2011 Chevrolet Silverado — 2010 Chicago Auto Show

What is it?
2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD

What's special about it?
At first glance, there's isn't anything particularly special about the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD. The modest styling changes — louvered hood, revised grille and new wheel designs — don't do much to differentiate it from the current model.

Most of the changes this time around are the kind you don't see — a new frame structure, upgraded suspensions and a few new features. All are designed to give the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD increased towing and hauling capacities above and beyond the current trucks, and just about every heavy-duty truck on the market.

The single biggest change to the Silverado HD is its new frame. According to Chevrolet, it uses more high-strength steel and additional cross-sections to improve bending stiffness by 92 percent. But what about beaming stiffness, you say? Well that's up, too, by 20 percent, Chevy says.

All of the extra frame strength helps provide a stiffer backbone for an improved suspension design that ultimately yields the big-time tow ratings. Chevrolet's engineers kept the same basic suspension design, but made slight tweaks to its construction. Up front, the independent setup gets stronger upper and lower control arms in addition to torsion bars that are individually tailored to five different weight capacities. The straight-axle rear end gets wider leaf springs with an asymmetrical design that's supposed to decrease axle hop.

So what are the results? Chevrolet says a 3500HD can tow up to 20,000 pounds using a fifth-wheel hitch while it can haul up to 6,335 pounds in the bed. The maximum Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating has also been raised to 27,500 pounds. Chevrolet says all these numbers surpass the ratings of the current Ford F-350 and that Ford had yet to announce the ratings for the 2011 F-350.

Strangely enough, Chevrolet has yet to publish horsepower or torque numbers for either of the Silverado's V8s. Don't expect much change, though, as both the 6.0-liter gasoline V8 and the 6.6-liter Duramax diesel are essentially carry-over engines. Same goes for the transmission lineup as each engine sticks with its own six-speed automatic, the Allison 1000 for the Duramax and the Hydra-matic 6L-90 for the Vortec 6.0-liter.

One new engine feature is an available exhaust brake system on Duramax-equipped Silverados. All models also get improved braking systems with larger rotors, redesigned wheel hubs and stiffer calipers. Oh, and there's a new 36-gallon fuel tank that's standard on all models for increased range.

Inside Line says: Not much to look at, but if all you care about is towing capacity and frame stiffness this is a significant upgrade for the Silverado HD. — Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor