automationgame.com

My wife was not exactly thrilled with a few things happening in rapid succession to our minivan.

First off, the Air Bag light came on. Pretty common problem, usually a clock spring in the steering wheel causing a driver's air bag failure. Whatever, we've been driving around for a couple months like that. Then she comments about how soft and squeaky it's getting, so I check it out and figure it probably needs new front struts and rear shocks. This thing has been used for towing, even BEFORE we got our hands on it, so the factory original parts are just flat worn out. The cost of repair was pretty shocking, at about $1200. That doesn't go into the fact that even with trailer brakes, our trailer is pushing the limits of the van's capacity, so going up/down hills is kind of... interesting. Then the next day after we got the quote, the tabs/registration renewal notice came in the mail from the state.

So she sent me to do what I love to do when I get bored: look for cars. She wanted to get an idea of what we could get should we limp along till next spring, but what I found was something we knew we should jump for right away if we tested it and liked it/found it suited our needs.

Thusly, right now our 2007 Hyundai Entourage SE (3.8L V6, 5-speed automatic FWD) is being retired at just shy of 107k miles, to be replaced with...



A brand NEW 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 LT (4.3L V6, 6-speed automatic 4WD). Yes, I'm aware that it's August 2015. "New" and "2014" is not a typo. One of the local dealerships apparently had too many 2014 demo units on hand last year, and has been slowly selling them off throughout the course of this year. It has 3600 miles on it, but has never been sold or registered, thus it is considered "new" and retains the full factory warranty as well as On-Star trial period. All of this sums up to one thing: I got it ridiculously cheap. Like, cheaper than buying an equally equipped used 2014.

It's very nicely loaded, too. It's the "All-Star Edition" with LT Plus package, so it has height adjustable pedals, a power sliding rear window, dual zone automatic climate control, a 110V power outlet, 8" MyLink screen, integrated trailer brake controller, and back-up camera with dynamic guide lines. Among other goodies.



"But bruh, why a V6? Why not a V8? That's un-MURICAN"

First off, it was the last new 2014 around, so I didn't have a choice in that matter. Second, the 7200 pound standard towing capacity of the V6 model is more than enough to tow my 3500 pound trailer. Third, I like fuel economy for some strange reason.

Congrats on the new purchase! And thanks for answering the first question that popped into my head. Not that you really *need* a V8 when it's got 285hp/305tq... that's plenty. Good luck with it!

Congratulations on your purchase. I have a couple of questions, first, how is rear legroom, that profile photo makes the rear look quite cramped. And, second, who will drive the truck daily, you or your wife? Sorry if that was intrusive, it just got me thinking.

Not intrusive at all, I'm happy to answer.

The rear on the double cab is reasonably spacious. The specs state it has the same rear leg room as my Sonic: 34.6 inches. My wife and I are both 6' tall, so one of the first things we did was adjust the front passenger seat to check to see if one of us could comfortably sit behind the other. The answer was: yes, but probably not for long road trips. Since our boys won't be that tall for 10-ish years, we figured it's fine for us. It's perfectly fine for people with small kids, or for a full adult crew to make short trips. The crew cab has much more rear space, almost as much as a minivan's center row.

It will primarily be for whoever is off of work on any particular day. I will commute to work in it twice a week, since my commute is now only 2 miles. My Sonic is a shared commuter, with her driving it 4 days a week and me twice a week. So we don't expect to rack up huge mileage on the truck.

Is it the old 4.3L Vortec (last year was 2014), or is it the new EcoTech3?

All 2014+ Silverado 1500s use the Ecotec3 for the V6. VVT, Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation), and direct injection.

Well, color me even happier with the decision.

Our minivan would get about 14.5 MPG under normal around-town usage.

Just put our first tank in the Silverado. Doing exactly the same things we were doing before, it got 17.1 MPG. That's no small change.

Nice job, it sounds like you couldn't really have gone looking at a better time nor gotten a better buy for your needs!

So you got more size, more towing, more storage, more power, and more fuel economy... Nicely done sir, nicely done.

Thanks all. Yeah, it's a definite (positive) change.

I towed with it for the first time today. So smooth, so easy.



The gear was removed for storage when I towed the trailer, so it only weighed 2400 pounds (normally closer to 3000 because of gear, battery, and propane tank). But still... felt like nothing at all. Couldn't say the same for any of my previous tow vehicles. And the truck is so tall I can actually see OVER the trailer (despite the trailer having a 4" lift on it)

Not to jump too far off topic BUT



My girl recently picke up a chevy sonic, how do you like yours?

It's well-liked by my whole household. So much so that my wife has kind of... usurped it... for her daily driver. That little thing doesn't get a day's rest. Not even 2 years old and it has 30k miles on it. It fell victim to the water pump issues that early 2012 and 2013 turbos had, but that's been fixed and it hasn't given a lick of trouble since. Roomy for a subcompact, good economy. The turbos don't like heat, though. If it's 80+ degrees, it is an absolute dog off the line. Ours is the sedan, not the hatch. Trunk is big enough for the kids' hockey bags, but not their sticks.

Fair enough. The gf ended up getting the 1.8NA, not a bad little motor. Not as responsive as the turbo but the bottom end isn't that bad

The other major difference between the turbo and N/A is the maintenance schedule. Turbos have timing chains, N/A has a timing belt. That was one of the major factors in my deciding on the turbo over non... didn't feel like forking out $800 or so every 60k miles for that particular service.