Chevy’s New Silverado Package Offers Lockable Cargo System, Magnetic Ride Control

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Chevrolet today revealed its Silverado High Desert package, offering a cargo system for the full-sized pickup that is lockable and water resistant, along with a magnetic ride control suspension that delivers more precise body motion control. The package will arrive in dealerships in the fall.

“The High Desert package blends the capability and utility of Silverado with the refinement and luxury of Suburban,” says Sandor Piszar, director of truck marketing for Chevrolet. “It’s ideal for those customers who want both the security of a lockable cargo area, as well as the flexibility of a pickup truck bed.”

Based on the concept first revealed at the 2014 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the package is available on LT, LTZ, and High County trim levels. Piszar says the package offers a lockable storage system that installs over the steel bed to add dual side storage bins and a three-piece hard cover. Inside, a cargo divider can be raised to secure smaller items or lowered to access the full length of the bed. He says the tailgate locks with the keyfob.

Piszar says the High Desert is the first Silverado offered with magnetic control suspension, which delivers a more precise body motion control. He says the sensors “read” the road, triggering damping changes in as little as five milliseconds. They’re filled with a magneto-rheological fluid containing tiny iron particles. Under the presence of a magnetic charge, the iron particles align to provide damping resistance.

The Silverado’s 6.2-liter, V8 engine is available on the LTZ and High County models, producing 460 pounds per feet of torque and 420 horsepower.