The 10-year-old boy in me lived a life-long dream this past weekend when I attended a taping of "American Gladiators." Now, Hulk Hogan is no Larry Czonka and there was a disappointing lack of teal and pink No Fear wife beaters decorating the crowd, but heck, it was sure fun. They were only doing one event (which still took 2 hours to film four contestants), but it was Hang Tough and we got to yell out such classic heckling as "Oh yeah, scissor her! Yeah scissor!" Plus, I got a high-five from Wolf. Not Tower, Turbo or Laser, but certainly the awesomest new Gladiator.

Oh, and Magrath and I drove to the taping in the Silverado. They now tape Gladiators at USC's old arena, so when the parking attendants saw our crew cab behemoth coming, they knew quite correctly that the Silverado wasn't fitting in the normal makeshift parking spaces they'd set up on a nearby access road. Instead, we got a primo spot right-smack next to the arena. If you look closely, that scaffolding is part of the Eliminator set. The famous handbike is located in there and we also got a peak at the Atlaspheres! Atlaspheres people!

So, the moral of the story is: "American Gladiators" is awesome, drive there in a Silverado.

James Riswick, Automotive Editor

Our long term Silverado just returned from service at S&J Chevrolet  in Cerritos, Ca. Oil and filter change plus tire rotation rang up a bill of $67.96.

Before and after the dealership visit, I drove the Silverado extensively and really love the center storage area - In past week, I've stuffed tons of junk in it. Contents this trip - wallet, hard sunglasses case, two DVD cases, two Quaker granola bars, bottled water, Garmin nav system, two packets of seeds, three Sharpie pens and a notepad.

Another thing I really like about the Chevy is the size - yes, it's big but the Tundra feels bigger and more difficult to manage around town.

Brian Moody Road Test Editor @ 27,409 miles

Like so much congealed cheese oozing from a burnt, three day old Hot Pocket, the foam from our Silverado's driver seat is starting to show through a tear in the upholstery.

It's not a big deal. I'm sure it could be stitched back together. But it's a truck, so does it really matter?


Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor @ 26,616 miles

Here's one clear way in which the Chevrolet Silverado gets it right, and the Toyota Tundra gets it wrong.

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My husband's Xtracycle needed some professional help this weekend, so I grabbed the keys to our long-term Chevrolet Silverado, and we made a trip to the bike shop.

I was so happy to have a reason to need a full-size truck and was all ready to write a post about the trip (it was an uneventful success), but then, as I was walking along the outside of the truck, the light of the setting sun hit the fuel filler door just right, and I noticed the unsightly chipped paint you see in the photos. The chips, near as I can tell, are due to normal fuel fill-ups. And so I post this question to you: Are our editors extremely uncoordinated, or is it unreasonable to expect a factory paint job to maintain its integrity in Southern California for 25,000 miles?

I also noticed that we haven’t given you an update on the truck’s fuel economy since June 2007. Eesh. Sorry about that. Let’s catch you up on the Silverado’s progress: Our lifetime average is 13.35 mpg. Our worst tanks have been in the high single digits; best tanks have reached into the high 16s.

Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com @ 25,062 miles

 

My friends and I took our Silverado to Mammoth this past weekend for three days of skiing and snowboarding in fresh powder.  The problem with fresh snow is that it doesn't just fall on the trails, so needless to say the roads weren't in the best condition.  Even with a total of 36 inches of snow fall while we were there the Silverado remained as sure footed as ever.  We never once had to stand outside in the cold and wrestle with chains or dig our way out of a ditch, all we had to do was put it in 4wd and go. 

However, after driving through the pass into Mammoth in 4wd there was the faint smell of burning coming from the Silverado.  The next three days were spent driving around town in 4wd and then through the same pass on the return trip in 4wd.  The smell was never duplicated and the Silverado ran without any problems for the rest of the trip. 

 

Seth Compton, Broadband Production Assistant @ 24,563 miles

In no one's estimation is the 2007 Chevy Silverado LT small. It is a very large truck: 19 feet long, more than 6 high and 6.5 wide. But it doesn't really feel that way. I even drove the Honda Fit subcompact the preceding few days, and the Silverado felt quite comfortable afterwards.

As you may know, a few months back I had an "incident" with our long-term Toyota Tundra. I remember that day, I felt somewhat intimidated by its size, which I never feel with the Silverado. So I thought I'd do a comparison, side by side. And they're nearly identical. The two trucks are the same width, but the Tundra's 1.2 inches shorter and 2.1 inches taller. But the Silverado feels a lot smaller, which is important when you drive. It's not remotely narrower, but it is just so much easier to back up, to move around in tight spaces, all of that good stuff. Must be a case of my favorite things: big windows, reasonable beltline, and big mirrors. The 3 keys to safe truck driving.

Senior Copy Editor Doug Lloyd @ 23,813 miles

Our Chevrolet Silverado en route to the Race Track in Death Valley.

Chevy guys can begin fist pumping now -- our 2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT  tamed the 54 miles of pounding Death Valley Road that turned our 2007 Honda Ridgeline into a bouncing idiot.

I spend a lot of time praising Hondas so this blog post is about giving equal time to the competition.

Three years ago I decided to explore the famed Race Track in Death Valley in our Ridgeline. Made it in and out of there but the next day the Honda was all over the road. Took it to the dealer and they said all four struts were blown out. Apparently, the type of shocks Honda used didn't dissipate the heat effectively and it melted the seals. Honda replaced all struts and wheels under warranty (read more).

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Ok, I know what I'm going to talk about isn't the news flash of the hour but it's been a while since I've been in the Silverado:

The tranny is down right awful. It ain't fixed, it's worse. I know for many of you this is the ump-teenth post you've read about this, but last I heard was this thing was fixed and it's been a while since I've driven it so it's news to me.

The "whump" shifts are so bad that it snaps your neck. After driving it around for a while I started tense up at the point of shifts to minimize the mini whiplash.

Not only is it uncomfortable, the sounds and jolts coming from those hard shifts are very unsettling. That kind of racket can't be good.

I'm officially swearing off the Chevy until it's fixed. Fixed for reals this time. I don't get into the cars that often, but even if I get handed the keys for this guy I'll pass. I love trucks so this is kinda sad.

Sorry, Silverado. I know in the past we've been pals and all, but you've got issues. It's time for an intervention.

Scott Jacobs, Senior Photographer

A big bagel.

I drove the Silverado to jury duty the other day. This bagel joint is around the corner from Bellflower courthouse.

On a work related note, we have an appointment scheduled for next week to address the hard 1-2 shift we've mentioned on numerous occasions. And it's not with Santa Monica Chevrolet this time.

We'll post an update when it returns.

Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Coordinator @ 22,200