I just got finished watching another commercial for the new Chevrolet Silverado proclaiming ‘This Is Our Country”.

This commercial shows people in the prairie putting up a fence and as the camera scrolls by, different models of full size Chevrolet Trucks go by. However, I found myself asking this question after seeing the commercial…

Where is the 1988 Chevrolet Truck?

1988 Chevrolet Truck

In the history of Chevrolet trucks, this was a revolutionary Chevrolet truck. Well, I will rephrase the last statement. In the history of trucks, this is a revolutionary truck. Before then, trucks were known as boxy vehicles with the purpose of hauling. GM redefined the truck that year from not only being just a hauler but a truck that hauled like a truck but had the ride and the creature comforts of a car. This was the truck that set the benchmarks that other manufacturers had to follow. Ford went from a boxy F-150 to a bloated ‘truck-de-taurus’ for 1997. Dodge went from their box to their Peterbuilt look-a-like in 1994. The 1988 Chevrolet truck was a truck that distinguished itself worlds apart from the 1973–1987 series truck that it replaced.

1973 Chevrolet Truck

The commercial in the chronology goes via the different eras and then goes from the 1972 Chevrolet truck to the 1999 Chevrolet truck. In many ways, I can understand the skipping of the 1973–1987 series because of the known rusting problems (even though the 1981 version began the extensive use of galvanized metal instead of standard steel and the bodies lasted a lot longer). However, I just can not understand why the marketeers skipped this crucial truck and GM allowed it.

What were they thinking?

It looks like the new 2007 may be in many ways very similar to the 1988. Revolutionary, distinctive, and even more beautiful than the previous series it replaced.