They don't call em long lasting Chevy Trucks for nothing...(or GMC, which I like better!)

However... Get the V8... This is AMERICA!!!

It's underpowered. Get the V8.

I don't own one, but why get a truck with that capacity and tongue weight if you are going to have a V6? Match the engine to the body (works well for women, too).

In particular, is the vortec 4300 V-6 engine a dog? YES

Are these vehicles reliable? As much as any Chevy can be

If you HAVE to buy a Chevy that engine is definitely a dog.

I got a 2001 chevy Z-71 silverado this spring and I love it.Igot the 327 vortech and love it.I have a vortec V-6 in my 94 model and have over 124,000 miles on it and have never had it in the shop except for having the A/C compressor replaced.If you like quick starts,get the V-8,you will be glad you did.

twenty years ago, chevy sold millions of full sized trucks with the 350 cid engine with 140-160 horsepower. no automakers knew how to make power under emissions standards. the current crop of v6s put out more power that the 350 v8 did at that time. so... power or underpowered is relative.

Chevy Rules! Get the 5.3L V-8. BTW, Chevy/GMC combined outsell Ford by a huge margin. Dodge, as everybody knows, sucks.

The Vortec is an extremely reliable engine - been around a long time.

Unless you are NOT going to haul stuff, consider the V-8. May even get better gas mileage and it will be worth more on trade-in.

Yeah! I'd like to comment:

I'll never by a Chevy until they stop with the anti-American advertising! "Built Like Iraq!" How's that supposed to endear me to their product! And why are they built like Iraq? Do they overheat? Are driven by terrorists? Can only be parked facing Mecca? What!

You want a Holy War, just get that whole Ford vs. Chevy vs. Mopar thing going.

BTW, MOPAR RULES!

I will NOT ever buy a GM product. My wife had a GM, and a wheel just fell off of it. It could have killed her. No, I am not talking about the tire, and lug nuts sheering off, the WHOLE WHEEL came off! I had my dad come out and look at it, and he couldn't figure out how they intended this wheel to stay on in the first place!

Since then I have paid attention to wheel-less vehicles on the side of the road, and 98% of the time they are GM products. To be fair though, I have yet to see a drive wheel missing. If you go GM, and get a 4wd model you will probably be ok.

I can't recommend Ford either, I bought a new one in 1990 and still have it. I have had nothing but problems with the brakes on the front. The rotors need to be replaced every couple of years.

Look into Dodge, that is the make I am planing on for my next truck. Everyone I know that has one loves it. You might want to look into a desil motor also; better milage and more power.

MARK A SITY
http://www.logic101.net/

Up in Vermont, the best truck to have is a Toyota all-wheel drive. They are great in snow and on bad roads, and my experience with Toyotas is that they are very well made and need very few repairs. They like them in Afghanistan and Somalia, too, which is pretty rugged terrain. Second to a Toyota, I'd get a Ford.

I went up to the 2500 and diesel. The torque pulls (2) 20,000 pound hay wagons at an idle. It gets 22 mpg on the highway when not pulling. 15 pulling or around town. Better mileage than any of the gas engines.

We have recently had, quite coincidentally I'm sure, three reviews of similar automobile products in our local POS PC P&C rag. First was a review of some offspring of the Avalanche - that I have characterized as a good attempt to build something uglier than the Aztek. Then the next day came a review of Cadillac's version of Avalanche/Escalade incest. In it I learned what "kicky" means in relation to auto interiors; by the context "kicky" was used, "butt ugly." Then today's paper carried an apology of the Aztek and a promise of improvements and better sales. Uh huh.

BTW, MOPAR RULES!

Years ago I had a '69 Super Bee. I had a '70 Roadrunner Superbird too. Those were automobiles...

I sold one cheap, and traded the other for an Olds Cutlass. What an idiot...

Built like Iraq??

LOL... I don't know but I'm thinkin' it needs looking into!

This could be a small but uinmportant part of your "Farewell to Free Republic Manifesto!" [IMHO]...

Rear windows on the king cab leak air, so highway travel is very noisy. There doesn't seem to be any sound proofing to them at all. I prefer the Dodge trucks for fit and finish. Overall they are not bad trucks, but the noise is a bother. I have a 2000 Seirra 2500.

We test drove them all, and chose this one. It kicks @ss!

My comment on Chevy trucks?

I bought a Toyota T100. There's no stronger statement than that.