As the year draws rapidly to a close, it is time to reflect on the way in which Chevy Trucks have chiseled their way through the landscape successfully for the last hundred years! Torque is the actual twisting force that an engine generates, and over the past decade, Chevy Trucks have generated the torque that over 85 million new truck purchasers have relied on daily. Pulling boats and trailers, hauling cargo through beautiful cities like where we reside in West Lynn, and impromptu fishing trips are just some of the fun that can be had with a truck that you select just right for your needs.
Things have really progressed since the one-ton model from 1918, which featured a 2.8-l 4-cylinder engine that provided a rather meek 45 lb-ft of torque. Its closest-related engine is the very standard 2.5-L engine now situated in the Colorado, which is rated at 191 lb-ft of torque, or 76 lb-ft per liter. This is an astonishing 480 percent power increase, a sign of just how far along things have developed since those earlier days. At the very highest end of the powerful spectrum is the contemporary Silverado 3500 HD truck, weighing a full ton, and with an available Duramax 6.6-Liter Turbo Diesel V-8. Vital advances like direct injection and turbocharging help contemporary Chevy Truck engines on their quest to provide more torque per liter, meaning customers are able to haul more when all is said and done.
The First Stovebelt Six was introduced in 1929, and was an outstanding option for the times, in that it allowed the Chevy namesake to increase its work-truck load rating from 1 ton to 1.5 tons. The nickname came from the type of external fasteners that are similar to the bolts on wood burning stoves. They quickly became known as symbols of the engine's durability, and there were several more generations of Chevy overhead-valve straight-six engine conceptualized from this design.
Chevy's first small Block V-8: During 1955 is when Chevy introduced its revolutionary overhead-valve V-8 engine. In later days it was widely-known as the “Small Block”, and was equipped with a 265 cubic-inch engine producing 238 lb-ft of torque. This was a model that later evolved into one of the industry's most long-lived engine architectures. Ten years after the Small Block was first introduced, the big block engine family made its debut, which really boosted performance level for the entire realm of gas-powered trucks. One awesome fact about it is that it's still around: it is enjoying its spot currently situated in its fifth generation of 2018 Chevy trucks.
When 1987 Rolled Around, Chevy made the choice to exchange high compression ratings for boosted levels of technology, developing electronic fuel injection resulting in higher efficiency numbers. Torque in the small-block engine was boosted to 300 lb-ft during 1987, seeing a 10% increase a few years later, thanks to the 5.7-L Vortec Small Block. It has been exciting to watch what technologies like variable valve timing and direct injection have provided for the performance factor of trucks: in the current 2018 Silverado 1500, an astounding rating of 460 lb-ft of torque has been made possible.
Duramax Technology was introduced in 2001 for Chevy HD trucks, and rang in a brand-new era of very high capability. Technological advances pushed output higher, and currently the second-generation iteration available in the 2018 Silverado HD lineup has an output of 910 lb-ft of torque. Car and Driver recorded 0-60 mph in 6.2 seconds for a Silverado powered by Duramax, the quickest time ever laid down for an HD truck. It's been amazing to sit back and look at how the Chevy brand has evolved in terms of trucks, and everyone here at the Mid-Missouri Powerhouse is eager to see the heavy dose of thunder the 2018 truck models will bring to eager owner's hands!
