Hooniverse Asks: What should a heavy-duty truck look like?

Jeff Glucker

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Comments

A truck shouldn’t really be polarizing, at least with respect to its design. But that’s the age in which we live, where a pickup is judged on more than just its tow rating, fuel economy, and ability to get a job done. It’s not the fault of the truck, of course, but of designers attempting to upscale corporate design language onto a larger canvas. Sometimes it works, and others times it’s not that great.

The latest truck to get a fresh skin is the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD. This heavy-duty workhorse boasts a turbodiesel V8 that cranks out a massive 910 pound-feet of torque. It’s three quarter angles are its best sides, but the face leaves folks divided. Personally, I’m a fan because it’s squared off “toughness” and I like that in truck design. At least for the full size rigs.

Hop the jump to see the head-on angle. Then sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below.

About

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff

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47 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: What should a heavy-duty truck look like?”

  1. P161911 Avatar
    P161911

    Probably not a good sign when this is the first thing that I though of when seeing that front end. It is just all the stuff above the chrome CHEVROLET that puts it over the top. Also, the stacked headlights went away with sealed beams.
    https://cdn1.mecum.com/auctions/ha0413/ha0413-150057/images/ha0413-150057_1@2x.jpg?1364340012000

    Reply
    1. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      Ford begs to differ about stacked headlights.
      http://assets.clickmotive.com/inventory/inventory/dealers/WebIOL2/2000026/2070904/640×480/36091/1FT8W3BT4JEC42045/c24b84ab11324084b2ec1f7242251a0a!20181019184513000.jpg

      Reply
      1. P161911 Avatar
        P161911

        At least those don’t look like they are trying to mimic square sealed beams.

        Reply
      2. Zentropy Avatar
        Zentropy

        I honestly wish Ford would bring out a sub-Ranger pickup that carried styling elements from the Super Duty. I like the straight sides, vertical taillamp, and rectilinear grille/headlights.

        Reply
    2. fede Avatar
      fede

      it looks like they designed it up to that chevrolet chrome bar, but later decided they needed moar truck

      Reply
      1. Monkey10is Avatar
        Monkey10is

        Basically it looks like ‘moar truck’ is emerging above the waterline of ‘enough truck’.

        Reply
  2. GTXcellent Avatar
    GTXcellent

    I can tell you what it shouldn’t look like – that face is a huge heaping of yuck
    Oh wait, I get it, that’s one of those cell phone tricks right – like an upside down face
    https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h86EmDN_oZM/UfLcthzBH2I/AAAAAAAADiA/oaPCaE8T-m0/s1600/John-Cena1UD.jpg

    Ha, that’s pretty funny Chevy. Now what is the real truck going to look like?

    Reply
    1. ptschett Avatar
      ptschett

      Reply
  3. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    this… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b6e7ff2cd6d5744dba515aa263094b372b07abe81c3f6e1f69331c6dae218da4.jpg

    Reply
    1. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      It’s not often that looking more like a Ford is an improvement, but yeah, that Chev is way under that bar.

      Reply
      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        Modern Fords should look like this too.

        Reply
      2. P161911 Avatar
        P161911

        There was a time in the 1980s were Ford, Chevy, and Dodge all looked about the same.
        https://www.allpar.com/photos/ram/vintage/ram-250.jpg
        https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61lo60Xn3bL.jpg
        https://i.pinimg.com/originals/26/6b/29/266b29cc091d890f830f92602a451e21.jpg

        I mean there isn’t much more brand differentiation between these three as there is between a Chevy and a GMC.

        Reply
        1. P161911 Avatar
          P161911

          https://i.pinimg.com/originals/26/6b/29/266b29cc091d890f830f92602a451e21.jpg

          Reply
        2. Alff Avatar
          Alff

          The square body era was the best era for pickups. They all seem to be trying to get back to that but the trucks are so freaking huge now.

          Reply
        3. 0A5599 Avatar
          0A5599

          Dodge and Ford appearances were even more similar before Dodge switched to the crosshair grille.

          And of course in the 90’s after Dodge adopted the mini-semi styling, Ford’s next redesign copied the look.

          https://media.discoverstuff.com/img/listings/ga/garysargent/listing_pic_1591617_1539533333.jpeg

          Reply
          1. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
            SlowJoeCrow

            these always looked more Chevy than Ford to me

      3. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a9cbd17455c25b82c6696e82ccbbdfffcee2880e56f2222d6d1e9d1802fce537.jpg

        Reply
  4. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    It should look like you could load sacks of concrete into it over the sides and not tear a rotator cuff.
    It should look like you could put a garden trailer on it without one of those ridiculous drop attachments because the hitch is up by your bellybutton.
    It should look like it can hold a 4′ x 8′ sheet of plywood without needing a red flag tied to it.
    Two Fucking Doors.
    It should look like you could see a Smart Car over the hood if it was three feet from your front bumper.
    It should look like it wears a hardhat and not a white one.
    It should look like the guy who designed it does this on his way to work.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b2b09c50da68ab66448483627b850233f28d68f696b6dbd687e9a11b12571035.jpg

    Reply
    1. Maymar Avatar
      Maymar

      I’m not going to judge four doors (Alff’s example looks like it needs a big orange gumball on top and some municipal logos on the front door, and ergo, just as much a work trunk in its own right), but this is the correct answer.

      Reply
      1. Batshitbox Avatar
        Batshitbox

        It should at least look like it only has two doors. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/26623a18c7b057ed781635f595abdd4d4b478e7608cac07a09debc55e4e4e015.jpg

        Reply
      2. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        Only provided crew cab because the question was about “heavy duty” trucks. Light duty trucks should look like my ’96 F150 – single cab, 8′ bed and all of Batshit’s characteristics.

        Reply
        1. Maymar Avatar
          Maymar

          For sure – I look at it like this, as far as I’m concerned, Canadian is the optimal form of pizza (regular cab, short bed), but I have no quarrel with Deluxe (fleet-spec crew cab) in the right conditions. But this new Silverado HD is Hawaiian pizza, and Should. Not. Exist.

          Reply
        2. Vairship Avatar
          Vairship

          Light duty trucks should look like this: http://southernclassic.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/hudsonterraplane.jpg

          And then heavy trucks can look like this: https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/uploads/monthly_2017_08/59846edec479b_1941MackED.JPG.086b62e0d74db310228ac72f9328277f.JPG That way you can brag that your daily driver is a Mack.

          Reply
    2. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      Agreed.

      https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/24819593354_97c4b84541.jpg

      Reply
      1. Vairship Avatar
        Vairship

        From the Pizza Box school of styling. Tastes great, more filling!

        Reply
    3. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      A real truck for real work, not just posing, like everyone else uses in the rest of the world?

      https://www.mercedes-benz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/02/02-mercedes-benz-new-sprinter-generation-2560×1440-1280×720.jpg

      Reply
  5. 0A5599 Avatar
    0A5599

    I assumed whoever designed the Aztek and original Avalanche would have been let go from GM by now. I guess not.

    Reply
    1. neight428 Avatar
      neight428

      Thinking the same thing. He’s spreading his dominion one grille abomination at a time.

      Reply
      1. 0A5599 Avatar
        0A5599

        “He”?

        I figured a design that grotesque could only come from a committee.

        Reply
    2. ptschett Avatar
      ptschett

      If I heard right from Regular Car Reviews’ Aztek video they posted this week, the Aztek designer went on to pen the C7 Corvette.

      Reply
  6. Bob Kuykendall Avatar
    Bob Kuykendall

    “No, no, Johnson, I want more frontal area, higher Cd, and make sure
    nobody can see out of it, especially not forward! Now get back to your
    desk before I send you down to the Sedans team.”

    Reply
    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Exactly my first thought, too. How the heck are people supposed to park this well without cameras? The blind area is gigantic and could hide all sorts of things you don’t want to hit on e.g. construction sites. Like a kneeling mason or a bag of bricks.

      Reply
      1. Monkey10is Avatar
        Monkey10is

        Well we are already into the era of mandated backup cameras. Chevrolet are clearly daring the legislators to start insisting on forward facing cameras as well…

        Reply
  7. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    A heavy duty truck should look like this:

    https://www.thehenryford.org/linkedpub-image/KB1GRDY1frQD610-bkXMnFWv8hpzVOHLej24ce53Sgzsy9Faq-h-VGwWRR8XKWSvk1oiwjhOQhoGDbp8ikO143uykP920vLHWwO8u2HsS_dh6dN_Ubd6aGPbg7_TpQrHEdO7qxPJmHBjYQYUkvdi3ZrSyIjiBxfezB0WZObhbhOYCvQ6v4WsJdYoDLi3Tp0Y

    Reply
  8. Blackfoot Avatar
    Blackfoot

    Heavy, medium or light-duty, all trucks should look like a Studebaker.

    https://i1.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Studebaker-Transtar-PU-fq.png

    Reply
  9. fede Avatar
    fede

    that’s a very high hood… is there any real need for it? no engine can be that tall… is it just styling? is it to make the cabin bigger?

    on the first photo the windscreen looks too small, almost like it was chopped. I’m sure you can hide a small car in the front blind area

    Reply
  10. Zentropy Avatar
    Zentropy

    This is the truck equivalent of penis envy. Chevrolet can’t come up with a decent enough design to compete with the chiseled Ford nor the surprisingly stylish new Ram, so they just go for BIG. Much like piling on more mashed potatoes doesn’t make for a more satisfying meal, this truck is just a huge lump of insubstantial calories.

    Reply
    1. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      I read a book on mid-century architecture once, and at the very front of the book were two quotes:

      “Less is more.” -Mies van der Rohe, director of the Bauhaus School

      “Let’s say you like ice cream. Why have one scoop? Have two.” Morris Lapidus, architect of Miami’s Fontainebleau and Eden Roc hotels

      Reply
  11. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    As if the people designing it would use it themselves. And with “use” I mean “applying for utility purposes”, not “applying for country club membership”.

    Reply
  12. ptschett Avatar
    ptschett

    I kinda like the front end. It reminds me of ’60’s and ’70’s Fords.
    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/–X3jDGvCbt0/Tk1nS7ZwDPI/AAAAAAAAQOs/-LDdn7oI-EM/s1600/65ford+001.jpg

    http://i1.wp.com/hooniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Ford-F-250-Trailer-Special-in-Ford-eBay-Motors-Google-Chrome-9142013-52958-PM.bmp.jpg?resize=720%2C539

    Reply
    1. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      Complete with color coordinated dog! As it should be.

      Reply
  13. neight428 Avatar
    neight428

    The new Chevy design language is apparently pig Latin.

    Reply
  14. Manxman Avatar
    Manxman

    If you want it to look like a truck, then make it look like a truck. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5b99622cda308c68331a151bf1adf8daa791e294c6fcb4fb6c5046976943cdb7.jpg

    Reply
  15. njhoon Avatar
    njhoon

    Its starting to grow on me, it is not as awful today as it was yesterday. Sort reminds me of the crazy ass large truck designs of the 50’s/60’s

    Reply
  16. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
    SlowJoeCrow

    A really serous work truck would have a low dropside body doe easy loading and minimal cab length for maneuverability like so

    https://d3lp4xedbqa8a5.cloudfront.net/imagegen/p/black/800/600/s3/digital-cougar-assets/momoads/2016/10/27/165211/12Z6570_1.jpg
    This is not a US market NPR but you could easily get a similar body. Also a lot of pickup truck applications in the US would be better filled by a van anyway

    Reply
    1. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      A really serious in-town delivery truck would add side opening. It’s much easier to find parking along the street than at 90 degrees to the street.

      https://www.morgancorp.com/images/08_options/05_doors/options_large/43_opt_doors.jpg

      Reply
      1. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
        SlowJoeCrow

        That would be a great feature on a box truck, or if you can accept less security, go with a curtain side body. I’ve seen that in the US on building materials trucks since a lot of what they haul is most easily handled with a forklift from the side.

        Reply