General Motors' heavy duty trucks received some serious upgrades for 2011. Despite the upgrades, pricing on the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD and 2011 GMC Sierra HD carry a similar pricetag of $28,960 including a $995 destination charge.
The 2011 Silverado HD and Sierra HD look almost identical to the 2010 heavy duty pickups. But underneath, the frame is all new and has been significantly beefed up, giving the trucks more capability. Additionally, GM's optional 6.6-liter Duramax turbo-diesel V-8 and Allison transmission combination has also been upgraded for 2011 in order to keep up with Ford and Ram's new heavy duty offerings. The new 6.6-liter Duramax can run on B20 biodiesel and produces 397 horsepower and 765 pound-feet of torque.
Even though both trucks sport significant upgrades, GM kept pricing of the trucks remarkably similar to the outgoing 2010 models. The 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD starts at $28,960 including a $995 destination fee, an increase of $320. Perhaps the most important part of the new Silverado HD's pricing is that GM didn't increase pricing of the optional Duramax engine. It's still an $8395 option.
Unlike the 2010 models, where the GMC starts at a slightly lower price than the heavy duty Chevy, the 2011 Sierra 2500 HD sport the same $28,960 starting price as its Silverado counterpart. The new starting price is only $500 higher. The real news in the GMC heavy duty pickup lineup though, is the addition of a heavy duty Sierra Denali. Previously, this high-end truck was only available on the less capable Sierra 1500 model. The new Sierra Denali HD starts at $46,865 including destination, surprisingly, only around $3000 more than the Sierra Denali 1500.
Both the 2011 Silverado HD and Sierra HD come standard with GM's 6.0-liter gasoline-powered V-8 that produces 360 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque. Of course the improved 6.6-liter Duramax is an option on all heavy duty trucks. Production of the new trucks begins in May with deliveries slated to begin in June.