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2014 Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra full configurators truck in

You can now put prices to your wildest option-sheet dreams of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. A microsite for the full-size pickup truck twins has been up since January, and now the full-blown configurator is live and ready to take your virtual orders. The only two chassis configurations available at the moment are the Crew Cab with either a short or standard bed - Regular and Double Cab versions will come later. In Silverado flavors that will run you $32,710 for the short box, $33,010 for the standard box, while the Sierra adds a $1,500 premium to both of those prices, and destination and handling for both models adds another $995.
Since these are American pickups the list of modifications is lengthy, but we added $11,450 in just two steps by starting with the Silverado Crew Cab and standard bed, then checking four-wheel drive and the LTZ Z71 package. Our final truck, resplendent in Brownstone Metallic paint, heated and cooled Cocoa/Dune perforated leather seating and tasty details like chrome recovery hooks, and engine block heater and LED cargo box lighting, rang up $57,285 at the candy store.
They'll be on dealer lots sometime this summer, so now's a good time to start practicing your box-checking.

Corvette Stingray designer lists five goals of new exterior shape

Redesigning an icon is a difficult task, especially when you've got a blank sheet of paper in front of you and the all-new C7 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is intended to be your final objective.
General Motors has released a new short video featuring Kirk Bennion of the Corvette's exterior design team, talking about the challenges of sculpting Chevrolet's new flagship sports car and the five goals the team had to keep in mind as it worked. In the end, Bennion's team had the pleasure of seeing their hard work take center stage as the Corvette captured the world's eyes at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year.

Chevy's 6.6-liter Duramax is pretty much all new

To say there's a heated battle in heavy-duty pickups is an understatement, with Chevrolet, Ford, and Ram constantly trading blows of increased torque, horsepower, and towing capacity. The latest salvo is the revised, more powerful turbo diesel 6.6-liter Duramax V8 in the 2017 Chevy Silverado. It has 910 pound-feet of torque, an increase of 145, putting it nearly level with the Ford Super Duty. Here's a closer look at where those gains come from. How exactly did Chevrolet add all that torque plus 48 horsepower? The automaker essentially took a fine-tooth comb to the entire engine. Chevy says it changed 90 percent of the V8, and the cumulative effect of those small changes adds up to big increases. As you might guess, the turbocharger is updated. The larger unit features electric actuation of the variable nozzle turbine (VNT), and what Chevy calls a double axle cartridge mechanism that separates the VNT moving parts from the housing. That helps with heat performance as well, with a claim that the exhaust side of the turbo can run continuously up to 1,436 degrees Fahrenheit. Helping that cause are six exhaust gaskets made of Inconel - an nickel alloy that contains chromium and iron – and upgraded stainless steel for the exhaust manifold. Despite having the same cast iron cylinder block, albeit with some minor enhancements, the engine has new cylinder heads, pistons, piston pins, connecting rods, and crankshaft, which have all been upgraded to handle 20 percent higher cylinder pressures. Alongside the increase in pressure, Chevrolet also increased the cylinder head's structure with a honeycomb design. The pattern features high-strength aluminum with dual layer water jackets that not only improve strength, but also optimize water flow for better cooling. For 2017, the cylinder head also benefits from integrated plenum that aids the engine in getting more air under heavy loads. The cylinder head isn't the only component to get a minor update, as the pistons have a larger diameter pin for improved oil flow. The same detailed improvements has been bestowed to the humble connecting rods (second in our hearts only to the inanimate carbon rod). The new design has the bolts oriented roughly 45-degrees to the rod instead of parallel. The angle split design, as it's called allows for easier passage through the cylinder.