Fullsize Metal Flares

[454SSChevy]

Although I don't particularly care for square wheelwell shapes, I could probably live with them. I suppose I did for 2 of my 80's Chevy trucks and also my albeit toned down flare 02. What really gets me or turns me off about the current and new Chevy's is the flares. I don't get it nor understand why they do this? Dodge doesn't do it, I don't see that Ford really does it and Chevy never did it until the 07 model came out either. What gives? The current truck has the whole bed flared way out and the front fenders also. It looks just awful. The next truck it looks like they didn't flare out the whole sides but they still flared the metal around the openings like the Terrain quite a bit. Like some sort of cartoon exaggeration of the wheel opening. I just don't understand why GM does this? They never did before. I think it just looks terrible. That and the combination of the round wheelwell shapes make the Ford and Dodge trucks so much more appealing. It's the flare's that kill these new Silverado's for me though. Then they have to widen the front end to accommodate the fender bulges which in turn makes the truck very wide and porky. The old Chevy's were always so clean lined and perfect in their design. The 07's and up look like some kid who played with Transformers and read one too many comic books was in charge of their design. I was at Lowe's this weekend and in the parking lot were both a current Silverado and an Avalanche. The Avalanche looked SO nice on the sides compared to the Silverado! Why didn't GM use those sides for the Silverado? It would have looked like all of the old Chevrolet trucks from the past instead of some bizarre creation. And why did they stick with this bizarre obsession? Why not just make the truck clean and mean on the sides liked they used to do them instead of looking like a comic book character turned into a truck? I think it really hurts their market share and sales to do things like they have been.

[Abraham5G]

The '07 and up Silverado is one ugly truck. I hate the front bumper in the 1500's and the flares too. I really like the new '14 Silverado though, its an overall improvement over the current one

[Gritts]

The '07 and up Silverado is one ugly truck. I hate the front bumper in the 1500's and the flares too. I really like the new '14 Silverado though, its an overall improvement over the current one

I agree 100% with you on this. I just don't know about the interior design. Clearly better materials, just not sure about the design. Personally I would have liked an updated version of the 2004 interior, but then again I haven't actually seen the truck in person. Makes a difference in perceived quality when seeing and touching.

[SDRacing]

X10 on the square GMC TERRAIN fenders molded onto the NEW Silverado. The current Silverado was done this way to make the truck appear wider from the front, where as the GMC was done to appear taller. To me, the current Silverado front fenders would work, "if" they were functional, which as we all know... The rear fenders are horrid.

The current ford and dodge wheel wells look great, and can accommodate stock larger tires than the gm twins. And if you go to a somewhat larger tire, you dont have to lift them sky high:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=ram+p...w=1280&bih=603

[cc1999]

Although I don't particularly care for square wheelwell shapes, I could probably live with them. I suppose I did for 2 of my 80's Chevy trucks and also my albeit toned down flare 02. What really gets me or turns me off about the current and new Chevy's is the flares. I don't get it nor understand why they do this? Dodge doesn't do it, I don't see that Ford really does it and Chevy never did it until the 07 model came out either. What gives? The current truck has the whole bed flared way out and the front fenders also. It looks just awful. The next truck it looks like they didn't flare out the whole sides but they still flared the metal around the openings like the Terrain quite a bit. Like some sort of cartoon exaggeration of the wheel opening. I just don't understand why GM does this? They never did before. I think it just looks terrible. That and the combination of the round wheelwell shapes make the Ford and Dodge trucks so much more appealing. It's the flare's that kill these new Silverado's for me though. Then they have to widen the front end to accommodate the fender bulges which in turn makes the truck very wide and porky. The old Chevy's were always so clean lined and perfect in their design. The 07's and up look like some kid who played with Transformers and read one too many comic books was in charge of their design. I was at Lowe's this weekend and in the parking lot were both a current Silverado and an Avalanche. The Avalanche looked SO nice on the sides compared to the Silverado! Why didn't GM use those sides for the Silverado? It would have looked like all of the old Chevrolet trucks from the past instead of some bizarre creation. And why did they stick with this bizarre obsession? Why not just make the truck clean and mean on the sides liked they used to do them instead of looking like a comic book character turned into a truck? I think it really hurts their market share and sales to do things like they have been.

100% Agreed !!!!!!!!

What was wrong with having flairs optional like they had with the GMT400&800s? It should have been left as an option IMO. The optional add on flairs to me always looked better anyway, than the stamped steel flares. To me that would have allowed them to appeal to two different market segements, with a simple click on the order screen. That to me is why you here some many people comment on how much better the current SUVs look then the trucks. Case in point with the 900 platforms and add on flares, they have been doing it with the Z71 pkg chevy Suv's.

I think the Chevy was most improved of the 2, largley because they did tone down the fenders some, just not near as much as I had hoped for.

[454SSChevy]

That to me is why you here some many people comment on how much better the current SUVs look then the trucks

We had a new Tahoe for a couple of years and then our neighbor bought it. What a beautiful SUV it was and still is! Just a pleasure to own. I still think the current Tahoe like we had is the best looking SUV on the road from any manufacturer. I most likely would have bought a Silverado had it looked like that or should I say the Avalanche. I just don't like all the plastic stuff on the Avalanche around the bed and I didn't like the way the back of the cab sloped at an angle. Straighten out the back of the cab and ditch the plastic and you'd have had one awesome looking Silverado! It's a shame GM didn't do that. Sometimes I don't think they know what their customers want anymore. One could point to X amount of sales on the current truck and view it as a success but I stongly feel had they done the Silverado off of the Avalanche they would have outsold Ford by a large margin.

X10 on the square GMC TERRAIN fenders molded onto the NEW Silverado.

Almost a direct rip off it seems. Many have commented on it all over the net on other sites and not very positive I might add. It's the one thing about the truck I just can't get past. I could live with the interior. I think it's probably as nice of a layout as my King Ranch if the High Country materials are the same or better. I could live with the wheelwells. I even like the front end actually. It's the side flares that ruin the truck for me personally. Why can't they clean that stuff up and make them look nice again??

[SDRacing]

Why can't they clean that stuff up and make them look nice again??

Car guys trying to design trucks?? They already admitted to this on the past interiors. Sure wish I knew.

[cc1999]

If you look at the aftermarket fender flare market, there are several different styles, different in size and shape color etc. Part of the fun in owning a truck is making it look the way you want or making it perform different task that you need or want it too.

GM seems to have taken the notion that since aftermarket flares are popular, that stamping some into the metal would be as well. I think they misunderstand the market as to why the different flares were or still are popular with other brands.

The guy giving that speach at the GM launcha few weeks ago seemed to have no clue about trucks or the vast demographic that buys them. He had mentioned a crazy pigion holed description of why GMC appeals to one dempgraphic and Chevy another, it seemed just plain nuts to me. Between business and personal, we have over 40 trucks of all brands shapes and sizes for different applications. GM's whole idea of what type of customer buys one thing or another seemed very strange to me. Which leads me to believe they just don't really understand the truck market, like other mfgs do.

[amxguy1970]

100% Agreed !!!!!!!!

What was wrong with having flairs optional like they had with the GMT400&800s? It should have been left as an option IMO. The optional add on flairs to me always looked better anyway, than the stamped steel flares. To me that would have allowed them to appeal to two different market segements, with a simple click on the order screen. That to me is why you here some many people comment on how much better the current SUVs look then the trucks. Case in point with the 900 platforms and add on flares, they have been doing it with the Z71 pkg chevy Suv's.

I think the Chevy was most improved of the 2, largley because they did tone down the fenders some, just not near as much as I had hoped for.

Probably becuase if they have a bolt on flare then when you do go with that option the sheels look tucked in by a couple inches to the side of the truck. I agree I always liked the added flare look but always hated how they wheels would sit pretty much flush with the side of the unflared truck then would look tucked in if you got the flares, so I am glad they got ride of it in that respect.

With that being said I don't see a problem with it, they match the shape of the wheel wells and give a little more aggressive look to the truck. Each person thinks something different looks better, this is the same reason we have guys where skinny jeans, eye liner, meggins (some new leggins for guys) and affliction shirts. For each person that likes it there is another that thinks it looks ok and another that think it looks horrible. me personally although I think the Ram looks good, with out the flares on a flat color truck the side looks flat and boring, to each their own...

Tyler

[454SSChevy]

GM seems to have taken the notion that since aftermarket flares are popular, that stamping some into the metal would be as well. I think they misunderstand the market as to why the different flares were or still are popular with other brands.

The guy giving that speach at the GM launcha few weeks ago seemed to have no clue about trucks or the vast demographic that buys them. He had mentioned a crazy pigion holed description of why GMC appeals to one dempgraphic and Chevy another, it seemed just plain nuts to me. Between business and personal, we have over 40 trucks of all brands shapes and sizes for different applications. GM's whole idea of what type of customer buys one thing or another seemed very strange to me. Which leads me to believe they just don't really understand the truck market, like other mfgs do.

I completely agree. And this is coming from a car guy who just so happens to love driving trucks. I couldn't argue SFA'a and articulation angles with you guys to save my life. I do know that my Super Duty rides like a Cadillac and the 2011 Chevy HD I rode in does not. I do know my SD has a frame that isn't visible and is high up into the body and the Chevy hangs really low to the ground and IMO makes it look bad. I do know that the current Chevy looks like crap and the new one is much improved but again IMO still looks messy on the sides completely turning me off to it. Another thing I do know is I'd Still prefer to drive a Chevrolet over my Ford if they offered something the same. They just don't. So what the heck is a guy to do? I guess I'll wait for the American redo of the Colorado but I'm not holding my breath. As you said, these guys are clueless when it comes to the truck market it seems. Dodge has taken every single page of the Ford book and ran with it and it's paying off.

With that being said I don't see a problem with it, they match the shape of the wheel wells and give a little more aggressive look to the truck. Each person thinks something different looks better, this is the same reason we have guys where skinny jeans, eye liner, meggins (some new leggins for guys) and affliction shirts. For each person that likes it there is another that thinks it looks ok and another that think it looks horrible. me personally although I think the Ram looks good, with out the flares on a flat color truck the side looks flat and boring, to each their own...

Well, I agree with ya of the Affliction shirts, skinny jeans and eyeliner. I just like cleaned up bed sides. There is no need for Chevy to be doing this because there isn't even historical precedent for it. They were always clean. The problem with them making a permanent stamping is it's permanent. If I want flares on my Silverado I'll buy them thank you. Same with my Super Duty. Although since I've never needed them before, I doubt I ever will.

Car guys trying to design trucks?? They already admitted to this on the past interiors. Sure wish I knew.

Most likely. There's no other explanation for the GMT900's. At least the new trucks have an entire bumper all the way from side to side now. Who on planet Earth approved of sticking 2 plastic end caps on either side of a metal center strip on the current trucks?? I hope they were fired.

[cc1999]

One thing I be believe to be true, is that there is something to be said for keeping it clean and simple. I think there are more potential buyers to be had for a vinella styled truck with a great Powertrain then there buyers for a bold styled truck that many may precieve as ugly or strange looking with the same great Powertrain. I say this because the aftermarket has everything imaginable to make a plain looking truck as bold and wild as the owner desires. What we have been getting is very polarizing, with potential buyers, so much so GM has been faced with a rapidly declining market share.

I firmly believe gm will stil sell a lot of these trucks, I just think they could have had a much better chance of gaining back lost market share by leaving bold polarizing styling up to the aftermarket.

[amxguy1970]

One thing I be believe to be true, is that there is something to be said for keeping it clean and simple. I think there are more potential buyers to be had for a vinella styled truck with a great Powertrain then there buyers for a bold styled truck that many may precieve as ugly or strange looking with the same great Powertrain. I say this because the aftermarket has everything imaginable to make a plain looking truck as bold and wild as the owner desires. What we have been getting is very polarizing, with potential buyers, so much so GM has been faced with a rapidly declining market share.

I firmly believe gm will stil sell a lot of these trucks, I just think they could have had a much better chance of gaining back lost market share by leaving bold polarizing styling up to the aftermarket.

I do agree with most of what you said, a rather plain truck should sell better given same drive train because of the after market. What I am not so agreeing on is the fact that many people consider the gm trucks plain looking, but then others such as your self consider them quite the opposite. Just keeps going on to what I have been saying that arguing over style is pretty pointless as there are so many others that have different tastes. Now if it were styled as such as a Aztek where 98% of the public thinks it looks horrid then that would be another discussion, but these trucks are pretty good looking, could there be some imporvements to make them better sure? Could they have done other stuff to make them hideous? Heck yeah. I really think those that are so critical of style should just wait until getting behind the wheel of one and seeing the #'s before making brash judgments.

Here is a fun game, how about everyone list a vehicle that when it came out they thought was just beyond ugly and would never think other wise but after a little time and seeing it more or maybe driving it their mind changed?

I will go first, for me the first gen avalanche with all the plastic trim. Liked the idea but hated how it looked. What changed it for me was a lifted red one with all the grey painted red and gloss black on the cover of an off road magazine. Then driving one too. I realized with a little more tire and some nice tlc to keep the grey looking good the truck didn't look bad. Still not a fan of the fog light/turn signal area, but when owned by people who actually take care of the plastic it doesn't look bad, maybe even a little aggressive at angles.

I am sure there are others like some people felt the same way about the last gen colorados and I am sure there are plenty of cars or suv's (like the current Yukon or maybe a late model Lincoln). What about ya'll?

I will make this another thread to get more people participating too...

Tyler

[FanOfDurant]

X10 on the square GMC TERRAIN fenders molded onto the NEW Silverado.

They are a rip off of that GM thing which is a shame. What an ugly shape. Chevrolet's should be held to higher standards over anything wearing a generic GM'c' badge. At least the new one doesn't have the entire bed flared out. I don't know. As I said in another thread, I'd pay a few thousand more for an optional stamping design. If I wanted massive mudder flare's I'd go buy them. They don't need to be part of the metal which I can't remove. Plus they stick out and will be more prone as a result to dings and dents while trying to load cargo in from the bed sides. I wish Chevrolet would clean up the sides of their trucks again. Ever since the GMT-800 ended, it's been a real mess. It's literally the only thing I don't like about the new trucks. I'm still buying one as I love the rest. I'm upbeat about the higher quality interior and higher build quality concerning body metal. I too however wish they would have shaped that metal differently. If there's 1 thing where Ford and Dodge shine here, it's their sides.

I will also be looking Very close at the stampings on the new trucks when they hit the lots. Looking for stamping indentations, waves in the metal and so forth. The current trucks look like they were Made In China when it comes to this. Very poor quality. Likewise, I'll be looking at the frame and it's coating. If they don't spend a few more pennies and paint these things and I have to paint my own frame in the booth, I'm going to be mighty upset. I shouldn't have to break out the gun and PPG for a brand new truck. Wax dip is cheap cheap cheap Crap.

[DGA]

Imagine if one of the twins had a different shaped wheel wells than the other... In my mind it would go a long way in differentiating the two brands.