GM imbibed deeply of the EV Kool Aid – but it’s not so addled by it that it has forgotten what keeps it in business. That thing being big trucks and SUVs and – more exactly stated – the big V8s that power these big trucks and SUVs. GM did try selling (and continues to try to sell) a a tiny, turbo’d four as the standard engine in the Silverado, which is its hot-selling big truck. It has not exactly sold well – probably for the same reason the Satanic Bible doesn’t sell well at Vatican City.
GM gets the drift. Evidence of this being the very happy news that not one but two new V8 are coming – are almost here, in fact – and they are bigger than the V8s they are replacing in the Silverado, its GMC-badged sibling the Sierra and also (probably), GM’s big SUVs – the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade – that are based on GM’s big trucks.
A new 5.7 liter (350 cubic inch!) V8 will replace the current 5.3 liter V8 that is the upgrade V8 in the Silverado (and standard in the Tahoe). The current/outgoing 5.3 liter V8 touts 335 horsepower and 383 ft.-lbs. of torque. GM hasn’t officially confirmed how much power the new 5.7 V8 will make but inside baseball says 400 horsepower and 450 ft.-lbs. of torque, which would be nearly as much power as the current top-dog 6.2 liter V8 that’s standard in the Escalade (and optional in less prestigious Chevy and GMC-badged SUVs and trucks) produces.
That, of course, requires an upgrade over the current top-dog 6.2 liter V8, which makes 420 horsepower and 460 ft.-lbs. of torque. The upgrade will take the form of a new 6.6 liter (400 cubic inch!) V8 with output reportedly – off-the-record – in the 475 horsepower and 500 ft.-lbs. of torque range.
All without resorting to turbocharging or (apparently) hybrid augmentation. Or multiple overhead camshafts and multiple valves. Both new engines will be single cam – in the block – and overhead valve (and just two valves per cylinder) designs, like the first “small block” V8 that came out in 1955. The current line are of course aluminum rather than cast iron, have roller camshafts and electronic fuel injection but the basic layout is still pretty similar. This means these new V8s will continue to be relatively simple engines, as modern engines go. But that’s not the main thing. The main thing is they’re V8s, not multiple-turbo’d sixes, augmented by batteries and electric motors.
Well, there is one other thing. The unhappy thing.
Unlike the big V8s of the past – which were within the means of the masses – these V8s are going to be for the affluent-only. The fulsome scurvy truth (as the late and very great PJ O’Rourke used to say) is they already are. The current Silverado regular cab “work truck” is only available with the ridiculous 2.7 liter turbo’d four. If you want to be able to buy the current 5.3 liter V8, you must first buy a double cab Silverado, which has a starting price of $40,200 for the “work truck” version.
The 5.3 V8 is a $1,595 option. This does not, of course, include the insurance – or the property taxes (in states that impose them).
Undoubtedly, the new V8s will cost even more, especially the 6.6 liter variant. The current 6.2 liter variant is only available in the higher-priced Silverado/Sierra/Tahoe/Yukon trims and is, of course, standard in the Escalade – which (being a Cadillac) has a starting MSRP just over $91k. Equipped with the new 6.6 V8, the Escalade’s starting price will edge closer to $100k – further cementing its status as a vehicle for the few who can afford such vehicles. And such engines. Of course, Cadillacs were never for the rank-and-file.
But Tahoes used to be.
Back in 2010 – it seems like yesterday and yet so far away, doesn’t it? – a brand-new Tahoe with the same 5.3 liter V8 that’s still the standard engine in the 2026 Tahoe stickered for $37,280. The current (2026) Tahoe, with that same engine, stickers for $60,700. That’s about $22k more now vs. then for what is still pretty much the sam truck, excepting the slight styling changes and the huge LCD displays the current Tahoe comes with. Under its very similar skin, the 2010 had the same basic body-on-frame layout and largely the same 5.3 liter V8, too. So how come largely-the-same takes $23,420 more to buy?
Inflationary apologists will say it’s just the decreased buying power of money rather than the increased cost of the item. The government – need more be said? – says that $37,280 in 2010 is equivalent to $57,565 today. To begin with, that’s still about $3k more than it was, isn’t it? Keeping in mind that the 2026 Tahoe is largely the same as the 2010 iteration and arguably superior in that the 2010 wasn’t afflicted with LCD touchscreen interfaces but had conventional (analog) gauges that could be counted on to work reliably for 20 years or more, as well as a simpler, more reliable (and much less expensive to replace, if necessary) six speed automatic rather than the ten speed automatic used in the current Tahoe and all its kin.
But it’s more than just that. For the current Tahoe to be as affordable as the 2010 Tahoe, today’s would-be buyer has to be earning a lot more than he was earning back in 2010, when a person earning what is generally considered a middle class or even a working class income could afford to buy a Tahoe. Can middle class people today afford a $60k-to-start 2026 Tahoe? How about working class people? Maybe some can swing a six-year loan, but that is not quite the same thing, is it? Here’s another way to look at it: Are you making roughly 40 percent more today than you were back in 2010? If you’re not in the top five percent, probably not. And if you’re not, a new Tahoe is probably beyond your means.
It is likely to be even more so next year, when these two new V8s become available.
. . .
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button is here.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is:
EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079
PS: Get an EPautos magnet or sticker or coaster in return for a $25 or more one-time donation or a $10 or more monthly recurring donation. (Please be sure to tell us you want a magnet or sticker or coaster – and also, provide an address, so we know where to mail the thing!)
If you’d like a Baaaaa hat or other EPautos gear, see here!
I’m sure the biggest customers for GM’s new V-8 powered vehicles will be federal government agencies ranging from the Secret Service to the Border Patrol and in between. All paid for by we the peons who can’t afford them for ourselves. But not to worry, I’m sure they have autos powered by Briggs & Stratton and Kohler engines with belt-drive transmissions planned for us for 72 month payment plans.
The elimination of the middle class continues whether by design or incompetence as we head to a two class society of the rich and poor. The elimination of the private banking cartel which devalues the money seems to be slim and none!
Take it one step further, and recall that 25 years ago, the GMT800 Tahoe was available with steel wheels and a 4.8 V8 in the mid to high $20k’s.
A basic wagon with a small V8 would be nice, but far less to FINANCE, which is the new business model in the auto industry.
‘The current Silverado … is only available with the ridiculous 2.7 liter turbo’d four.’ — eric
GM has done permanent brand damage by putting a ridiculous four in a giant pickup. My buddy bought a silver Silverado with that ridiculous four … and quickly lost interest in it. Now it sits forlornly in the driveway, as he borrows his wife’s Prius whenever he can — because the Prius is simply more practical, ergonomically and economically.
One day we took his Silverado out on some forest roads. Thanks to the 47-inch elevation of its hood above the ground, a blind spot extends 30 or 40 feet in front of the hulking beast. This is stupid and useless when you need to maneuver around big rocks or ruts five feet ahead.
Channeling Ralph Nader, the New York Times made some animated videos showing how the Silverado’s high hood line and thick A-pillars create large blind spots, which can make a pedestrian venturing into the crosswalk invisible when you’re turning left — an issue that hardly existed with the old, non-codpiece, non-four cylinder Silverado of a generation ago.
What’s the point of sitting so tall, if you can’t frickin’ see? Sheesh!
Offering an optional V8 in place of a standard 2.7-liter four ain’t gonna work, at least with me. Until proven otherwise, I assume every Silverado I see is equipped with that small-dick four, and shake my fist in derision. Our fight against automotive enshitification has barely begun, comrades!