GM announces pricing for 2014 pickups

The redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups go on sale this spring with V8 engines that General Motors claims will get slightly better fuel economy than the rival Ford F-150 equipped with a turbocharged V6.

Chevrolet is holding the base sticker price on the 2014 Silverados to the same as that of the 2013 models. This means a rear-drive 2014 Silverado with the base V6 engine will sticker at $24,585, although that model won't be in dealerships until this summer. The comparable 2014 GMC Sierra gets a base price of $25,085, a $1,495 increase over the current base, rear-drive Sierra with a 6-foot bed.

Chevrolet and GMC are launching the new trucks with the crew cab body style and optional 355-hp, 5.3-liter V8, which adds $895 to the sticker price. GM expects the 5.3-liter V8 and six-speed automatic transmission powertrain to be the most popular with truck buyers.

Base prices, including shipping charges, for the GM trucks, with rear-drive and 6-foot beds are:

-- Regular cab: Silverado, $24,585; Sierra, $25,085

-- Double cab: Silverado, $28,610; Sierra, $29,110

-- Crew cab: Silverado, $32,710; Sierra, $33,210

GM says a rear-drive, regular cab 2014 Silverado and Sierra with the 5.3-liter V8 will deliver 16 mpg city, 23 mpg highway and 19 mpg combined, compared with 16/22/18 mpg for a 2013 Ford F-150 with the 365-hp EcoBoost 3.5-liter V6. Four-wheel-drive versions of the GM trucks will be rated at 16/22/18 mpg, compared with 15/21/17 mpg for the comparable Ford F-150.

Later this year the Chevrolet and GMC trucks will become available with an optional of a 6.2-liter V8. The V6 and both V8s are all equipped with direct fuel injection, variable valve timing and cylinder cutoff technology to boost fuel economy. The cylinder cutoff allows the V8s and V6 to run on four cylinders. All engines are mated to a six-speed automatic.

GM will also give buyers of the new Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra a service maintenance plan that runs for two years or 24,000 miles. The plan covers scheduled maintenance costs for four visits during that term, which implies a 6,000-mile schedule for oil changes. The GM trucks use an oil life monitor to alert the driver to the need for an oil change, rather than a preset mileage/month schedule. The current GM trucks use the same oil life monitor.

While the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra look little-changed from the 2013 model on the outside, GM made several changes to the interior and under the skin.

Among them:

-- The extended cab body style is replaced with a double cab that uses rear doors hinged at the B-pillar and that open toward the front of the truck and can be opened without opening the front door.

-- The trucks' frame and body use more high-strength steel to reduce weight while increasing stiffness.

-- All versions use electric variable-assist power steering, which reduces load on the engine.

-- The interiors were redesigned to add more leg room in the rear of double cab and crew cab models. The instrument panels include an optional 4.2-inch monitor that shows vehicle status info.

-- All trucks get four-wheel disc brakes.

By Dale Jewett