General Motors launches the much-anticipated 2014 Silverado and 2014 Sierra

The truck wars are heating up again as Chevrolet announced initial pricing, performance data, and EPA fuel efficiency estimates for the 2014 Silverado 1500, raising the bar in the fiercely competitive light-duty pickup segment.

Manufacturer’s suggested retail prices for the new 2014 Silverado regular cab will start at $24,585, including a $995 destination freight charge, the same base price as the 2013 model. For that price, the 2014 Silverado regular cab, which starts production this summer, will include a number of major improvements:

– A more powerful, more efficient EcoTec3 engine
– A six-speed automatic transmission
– A stronger, quieter cab with an all-new interior
– Four-wheel disc brakes with Duralife rotors
– A new bed with standard box rail protectors and CornerStep bumper

The base starting prices for the Silverado crew cab, the first model to launch later this spring, and for the new double cab Silverado, which replaces the extended cab, also will be the same as for the corresponding 2013 models.

Buyers of all 2014 Silverados also will receive a standard scheduled maintenance program for two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. Up to four maintenance visits are included in the price of the vehicle, each one of which includes a regularly scheduled oil change, oil filter replacement, tire rotation and multi-point vehicle inspection, based on the schedule in the vehicle owner’s manual.

Proven V-8 power with better efficiency than a turbo V-6

The 2014 Silverado launches later this spring with crew cab models equipped with the all-new 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V-8, which is expected to power three out of four Silverado 1500s.

Chevrolet today announced EPA estimates of 23 mpg highway for 2wd models, and 22 mpg highway for 4×4 models. That is better than any V-8 competitor and beats the EPA estimates for the 2013 Ford EcoBoost turbocharged V-6 for both 2wd and 4×4 models.

Silverado’s 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V-8 is SAE certified at 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque, with more than 300 lb-ft of torque available from 2,000 to 5,600 rpm for responsive performance under a broad range of real-world conditions.

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2011 Silverado 2500 4WD LTZ Crew Cab Gallery

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Bullz-Eye is rolling in a 2011 Silverado 2500 4WD LTZ Crew Cab and this is one beast of a truck. This workhorse boasts a Duramax 6.6 liter V8 Turbo Diesel with an Allison 6-Speed Automatic Transmission. Oh, Did we mention the truck looks great too! Check out these pics of our Steel Green Metallic test vehicle and look out for our upcoming review!

  

Load up on guns and bring your friends: Twenty great action movie ensemble casts

When we saw the cast that Sylvester Stallone assembled for war machine throwback that is the upcoming “The Expendables,” well, we were just giddy. It didn’t matter that Stallone’s recent writing projects (“Rocky Balboa,” “Rambo”) were as predictable as a sunrise and safe as houses – he has put together the single biggest cast of ass-kicking movie stars we’ve seen in decades, possibly ever. Indeed, as we looked back at great action ensembles from the past, we discovered just how infrequently the big stars worked together for an action movie. It happens all the time for dramas (two words: Oscar bait), but one quick look at the ‘80s in particular will tell you that action movies, by and large, are a single man’s game.

However, there are times when movie stars have forsaken the lion’s share of the spotlight in order to deliver something special, and so we salute the great guy movie ensembles of years past. In the interest of full disclosure, once we discovered that the list was going to consist almost entirely of war movies, westerns and sequels, we decided to play around a little bit with the definition of “action movie.” To the point where it included Tim Burton and Steven Soderbergh. Don’t judge.

Ensemble casts

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Cast: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Brad Dexter
The Plot: A village of farmers, frequently raided by a group of bandits, recruits a group of gunslingers to defend their town.
The Back Story: In the 1950s, it wasn’t exactly the easiest task to get the average American to go see a Japanese film, no matter how great it may have been. Fortunately, director John Sturges was up to the task of seeing Akira Kurosawa’s “The Seven Samurai,” and upon doing so, he saw elements in the story and characters which would translate well to the Western genre. Boy, was he right…and if his instinct for hot properties was good, then his gift for casting was downright remarkable, given that the only truly top-shelf actor in the cast at the time was Brynner, who was riding high on the Academy Award winning success of “The King and I.” Combining these upstanding gentlemen, the inspiration of the original source material, and the classic score by Elmer Bernstein, and you’ve got yourself one of the greatest Westerns of all time.
The Money Shot: There are a lot of great small moments leading up to the big showdown between the Magnificent Seven and the despicable Calvera (Wallach), including the classic knife-throwing sequence that introduces Coburn’s character, and, indeed, the grand finale offers several immortal death sequences. None, however, match the power of Calvera’s final seconds onscreen, specifically his stunned reaction to the fact that Chris (Brynner), despite his earlier retreat, has not only returned but, indeed, successfully taken him down.

The Great Escape (1963)

Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance, James Coburn, James Donald
The Plot: A group of Allied prisoners plan a daring escape from a supposedly escape-proof German prison.
The Back Story: Remember what we said about Sturges’s gift for casting? It wasn’t a one-off, as this ensemble clearly demonstrates. Based on a true story, utilizing Paul Brickhill’s book of the same title as its inspiration, “The Great Escape” was adapted somewhat from its source material, pumping up the importance of the Americans in the story and adding a bit more motorcycle action. The latter was reportedly done at McQueen’s request, but whoever came up with the idea deserves a round of applause, as it makes for some of the film’s most exciting moments. Ironically, “The Great Escape” got more shrugs than kudos upon its original release, but it has since gone on to become recognized as a classic.
The Money Shot: When Hilts’s mad motorcycle ride through Germany ends abruptly when he attempts to jump the fence into Switzerland, only to get caught in the barbed wire. That’s got to hurt…

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