PickupTrucks.com: 2014 Chevy Silverado Adds High Country Trim, Texas Edition

Aiming to compete with premium trim packages offered on Ford and Ram pickup trucks, Chevrolet has introduced the High Country package and Texas Edition on the 2014 Silverado. High Country offers exterior flourishes like unique colors, chrome inserts, projector headlamps and body-colored bumpers, as well as a host of interior upgrades. Available engines include a 5.3-liter V-8 boasting class-leading 16/23 mpg city/highway and a 6.2-liter V-8. The automaker says the Texas Edition will be limited in availability for two trim packages and is a nod to the dominance of Texas in full-size pickup sales.

Check out the PickupTrucks.com links below for more details and photos.

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2013 Chicago Auto Show: What to Expect

The Windy City is considered one of the fan-friendliest destinations during auto-show season, and to that end the 2013 Chicago Auto Show is unlikely to disappoint. This show will give visitors a first glimpse of a few new vehicles along with a closer look at a host of exciting cars that made flashy debuts at the Detroit auto show.

The 2013 Chicago show — the 105th time the event has been held since 1901, according to organizers — will be open to the public 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 9-17 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 18, with media and charity previews Feb. 7-8, at McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive. Organizers promote the Chicago show as the largest in terms of exhibit space used, as it occupies 1 million square feet of floor space and hosts about 1,000 vehicles.

For those most interested in the latest thing, the Chicago show will host the world debuts of the redesigned 2014 Toyota Tundra full-size pickup truck and the Kia Cross GT Concept. That's in addition to the North American reveal of the new Chevrolet Cruze Diesel. The 2014 Ram ProMaster van and the custom Superman-inspired Kia Optima Hybrid also are expected to be unveiled.

Most-Watched Videos of the Week

In the 2013 BMW M5 video, Cars.com reviewer Joe Bruzek notes the high-performance sedan's class-consistent "big engine, big brakes, big wheels." The video put up commensurately big numbers, landing in the top spot among the most watched of the week. That knocked previous champ, the $26,000 Midsize Sedan Showdown video, to No. 3 while PickupTrucks.com's peek at Chevy's and GMC's new heavy-duty trucks for 2014 held its ground in second place. Check out the M5 video above and see which others were popular this week:

• 1. 2013 BMW M5
• 2. First Look: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and 2014 GMC Sierra
• 3. Cars.com/USA Today/MotorWeek $26,000 Midsize Sedan Shootout
• 4. 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek
• 5. 2013 Toyota RAV4

Most-Watched Videos of the Week

A quintet of videos showcasing the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 dominate this week's most-watched videos list. The top spot goes to PickupTrucks.com Editor Mark Williams' overview, while the remaining four span Williams' interview with Jeff Luke, GM's executive chief engineer for full-size trucks, during the recent Silverado and Sierra unveiling outside Pontiac, Mich. Check out the videos above and below:

• 1. First Look: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and 2014 GMC Sierra
• 2. Part 1: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Interview
• 3. Part 2: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Interview
• 4. Part 3: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Interview
• 5. Part 4: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Interview

2014 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra Half-Ton Pickups Get Makeovers

Perhaps our hopes were unfairly inflated for the 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 and 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 pickup trucks after lengthy redesign delays. But put aside built-up anticipation over these new half-ton trucks and there's tons of stuff to be excited about. Both pickups offer three new engines, and the Silverado's in particular promises to be its most powerful and fuel efficient ever. Each has also had every inch of its body shaved, sculpted and tweaked for minimum drag.

Meanwhile, the interior design and materials for both have been impressively upgraded, with the Sierra's giving a trendy living room a run for its money.

Check out PickupTrucks.com for more info.

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Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: May 2012

Toyota dominated the sales landscape last month, with May sales up nearly 90%. That's versus a weak May 2011, when Japan's earthquake and tsunami had shoppers thinking Toyota, Lexus and Scion showrooms would have few cars in stock. It actually wasn't the case, noted Toyota spokeswoman Carly Shaffner; Automotive News data show Toyota maintained higher inventory in May 2011 then it did this past May, but the perception dried up demand and the automaker lost a third of its sales. Last month, it more than made them back: Camry and RAV4 sales more than doubled, Corolla/Matrix sales jumped 87.5% and Prius sales tripled. Even sales for the Lexus RX, which topped last month's Buzz Index, gained 82.1%.

Toyota wasn't the only mover.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: April 2012

Eight of March's 10 best-sellers returned to the table in April, but one of the newbies may surprise you. In March, an incentive-heavy Nissan Altima fell just 1,517 cars short of the redesigned Toyota Camry, clinching the No. 2 best-selling car position. Incentives remain high, but Altima sales dropped drastically enough to knock it off the top 10 list. Instead, shoppers drifted toward the Honda Accord and Toyota Prius.

The Accord, one of April's two newcomers, gained 25.6% last month, snapping three months' sales malaise to fall just 1,435 cars short of the hard-charging, recently redesigned Camry. The shift surprised us, given the Accord is in its final year before a redesign while incentives are about the same as a year ago.

There's little surprise that the Prius' sales catapulted 101.7% despite gas prices leveling off this month. Three new Prius variants — a subcompact Prius c, larger Prius v and rechargeable Prius Plug-in — accounted for 76% of that rise. Strip those away, however, and even the original Prius handily outpaced its year-ago sales.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: February 2012

Chrysler and Hyundai saw big increases in February sales as shoppers, spurred by positive economic news and rising personal income, hit dealerships to find incentives remain high. Dealer and manufacturer discounts, including trade-in bonuses and discount financing, totaled 16.1% off the average car's MSRP in early February, CNW Market Research reports. That's about even with January but much higher than February 2011's 13.3% in total discounts.

Sales for Ford's F-Series improved 25.9%, with the V-6 model — both naturally aspirated and EcoBoost (turbocharged) models — accounting for nearly 60% of sales. The Escape, an SUV that made the best-selling list for nine months running, dropped off as sales increased a modest 3.7%. Ford keeps piling on Escape incentives — up versus February 2011 — but perhaps enough shoppers are waiting for its replacement.

The redesigned Toyota Camry maintained a thin lead over the Nissan Altima to remain America's best-selling sedan, despite the Altima selling nearly 60% better. Nissan is cleaning up: Altima incentives are just a tad higher than they were a year ago, and the car is selling despite being in its twilight years. A redesigned Altima will debut at next month's New York auto show.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: January 2012

After capping 2011 with four decent months, the auto industry hit 2012 running. Analysts expect auto sales to outpace 2011 figures anywhere from 6% to 10%, which could make 2012 the best sales year since 2007.

January enticed consumers with total incentives — including financing offers, automaker and dealer cash, and trade-in bonuses — amounting to 16% off the average car’s MSRP, CNW Marketing Research reports. That beats January 2011, when shoppers saw only 13.5% off the average MSRP.

Shoppers took advantage. January sales jumped 11%, beating Tuesday’s expectations. This marks the best annualized month since 2009, Automotive News reports. Chrysler, Nissan and Hyundai-Kia saw double-digit sales gains, with GM the only top-seven automaker to post a loss.

IIHS Says Several Pickups Don't Meet Expectations

While you might envision large pickup trucks as pretty safe vehicles to be inside during a bad accident, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has news for you: The new Dodge Ram, Nissan Titan and Chevy Silverado all performed below expectations when IIHS tested four-door versions for side impacts.

Both with and without optional side airbags, the Chevy Silverado 1500 got a Poor rating, even though the Silverado got a five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Director of media relations Russ Rader told Autoblog that this was due to different testing methods; IIHS simulates the impact of a large truck or SUV with a taller barrier that impacts the more vulnerable parts of the door.

The Titan also received a Poor mark for side impacts, but increased that rating to Marginal with optional side airbags. The Ram, which has standard side airbags, managed a Marginal rating as well.

In case you’re wondering, IIHS really doesn't have it in for large pickups: The new 2009 Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra both were chosen as Top Safety Picks.