10 Things to Know About the Chevrolet Trucks Legends Program

2018 Centennial Edition Silverado front quarter ・ Photo by Chevrolet

Texas is the land of trucks, so Chevrolet chose the Texas State Fair as the venue to make several announcements about its truck program. The 2018 model year is the centennial year for Chevrolet trucks, and the bowtie brand is going to commemorate the anniversary with a few select models, special programs for owners, specially branded merchandise, and a Chevy Trucks Centennial Celebration on Dec. 16, 2017 — back in Texas, of course.

Trucks are a critical piece of the puzzle for Chevrolet and GM, which must be the reason for a 100-day Centennial Celebration for Chevy Trucks.

Kickoff Event at Texas State Fair

The 100-day celebration commenced with several important announcements at the opening of the Texas State Fair, which runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 22 in Dallas. Chevy has long had a big presence at the annual event, with the Chevrolet Main Stage free concert series and a popular ride-and-drive experience. Add Texas’ appetite for trucks, and the venue meshes with the message. Highlighting the Chevy presence will be a customized 1967 C-10 pickup that will make its way to SEMA later in October. “The Chevy Trucks Centennial is a huge milestone for us and is equally important to our customers,” said Sandor Piszar, Chevrolet trucks' advertising and marketing director. “That’s why we will be celebrating 100 years of Chevy trucks over the course of the next 100 days. It’s important that we share this celebration with our loyal customers who have helped us achieve this accomplishment.”

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2018 Chevrolet Silverado Centennial Edition

Truck owners love special editions, and Chevrolet will serve up two for the fans: The 2018 Silverado Centennial Edition and the 2018 Colorado Centennial Edition. Each will be coated in a special Centennial Blue shade of paint and will sport 100-year badges and heritage Bowtie emblems. The Silverado Centennial Edition will be an LTZ Z71 crew cab model with front and rear heritage bowtie emblems. It will have a 100-year door badge and a spray-in bed liner with a 3D bowtie. Its 22-inch painted wheels come with chrome inserts and will be wrapped with all-terrain tires. Chrome tow hooks and a chrome bowtie on the steering wheel round out the package.

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2018 Chevrolet Colorado Centennial Edition

The 2018 Chevrolet Colorado Centennial Edition will be a Z71 model offered in both crew cab and extended cab versions. Like the Silverado, it will come with front and rear heritage bowtie emblems, and it will have a 100-year door badge and a spray-in bed liner with a 3D bowtie. A body-colored rear bumper and front grille surround will further distinguish it from ordinary Colorado pickups, as will the 18-inch wheels with monochromatic caps, the chrome tow hooks, belt molding, mirror caps and door handles. “The Silverado and Colorado Centennial Editions area a result of collaboration between Chevrolet design, engineering, and marketing, to commemorate the history of Chevy Trucks,” said Rich Scheer, Chevrolet trucks' director of exterior design. “Both vehicles offer our most enthusiastic fans a way to demonstrate their love for Chevy trucks and celebrate the Chevy Trucks Centennial with us.”

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New 2018 Chevrolet Class 4 and 5 Trucks to Wear “Silverado” Name

Another big announcement at the Texas State Fair concerned Chevy’s Class 4 and 5 trucks, which up until now had been identified by number (4500, 5500) rather than name. Beginning with the 2018 model year, the all-new medium-duty Class 4 and Class 5 Chevrolet trucks will bear the “Silverado” name in addition to their numerical designation. The big trucks come in regular cab and crew cab models with either 4x2 or 4x4 capability and are powered by a Duramax diesel engine with an Allison transmission. “We are earning new business because we have more solutions to help businesses grow,” said John Schwegman. “The Silverado 4500 and 5500 will stand out because we’ve designed the trucks around how customers work.”

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Truck Legends Program

Truck guys have always bonded together by brand: There are Ford guys, Dodge guys and, of course, Chevy guys. Chevrolet has created the Truck Legends program to recognize its loyal owners and to foster a community of like-minded individuals. Since launching in Texas in September 2016, the program has gathered 5,400 members. Truck Legends will now be open to owners nationwide.

To be eligible to join, an owner must have a Chevy pickup with over 100,000 miles on the clock or must have owned or leased more than one Chevrolet trucks in their lifetime. Vehicles included in the program are Silverado, Silverado HD (and past C/K models), Colorado (and past S-10 models), Tahoe, Suburban, and Avalanche.

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Member Benefits

The big, nearly immediate benefit of being a Chevy Truck Legends member is an invitation to attend the Chevy Trucks Centennial Celebration at the Texas Motor Speedway on Dec. 16, 2017. Attendees will have a chance to preview the latest Chevrolet trucks and cars. They’ll also have the opportunity to meet Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other notable Chevy fans and stars. During the rest of the year, Truck Legends members will have special access to once-in-a-lifetime experiences that Chevrolet will set up with partners and dealers, like front-row concert seats and tickets to sold-out Major League Baseball games. In addition, there will be swag: Truck Legends memorabilia like branded hats, decals and personalized stickers that boast about truck odometer readings and the number of trucks owned. Chevrolet truck owners can find out more about the program and how to register at ChevyTruckLegends.com.

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Chevrolet-Branded Merchandise

Truck owners love to show their brand loyalty, even when they’re not driving. Recognizing that, Chevrolet has developed an extensive line of branded merchandise for the Truck Legends program and for the Chevy Truck Centennial.  Some of the highlights include men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, hats and caps, accessories, scale models, garage decoration and accessories, outdoor gear, commemorative decals, and more. This year, there will even be a special Centennial Edition bass boat from Phoenix Boats and a Centennial Edition closed trailer from inTech Trailers. Both the bass boat and 24-foot toy-hauler trailer will be designed with special edition badging and a paint/design scheme that uses the Centennial Blue color as its inspiration.

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Chevy Trucks Centennial Celebration

The culmination of the 100-day event will be the Chevy Truck Centennial Celebration on Dec. 16, 2017. While this will be a free event at the Texas Motor Speedway, tickets will be required and space is limited. Truck Legends members will be the first to get information and invitations to attend. Details are few at the moment. Chevy promises that there will be the opportunity to meet “Chevrolet Fans” like Dale Earnhardt Jr., and chances to preview new and upcoming Chevy products. “The event is Chevrolet’s way of thanking owners for putting their trust in Chevy Trucks for 100 years,” said Piszar, the advertising/marketing director. “We look forward to celebrating the past, present, and future of Chevy Trucks with our customers.”

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Chevy Truck Milestones of 1918 to 1959

Chevrolet was founded in 1911, and the first Chevy truck rolled off the line in 1918. It was an open-cab rolling chassis 1918 One-Ton with an inline four-cylinder engine that produced about 36 hp and had a top speed of 25 mph. The first closed-cab Chevrolet truck followed in 1929 with the International Series LD. The LD could be ordered in an inspiring array of colors, with contrasting paint highlights picking out the period Art Deco features.

The 1938 Half-Ton was the first designed by a team led by Harley Earl, later GM’s first design chief. The 1947 3100 Series introduced the five-bar horizontal grille and wide-set headlamps that became signature features on later trucks. 1955 saw the introduction of the 3124 Series Cameo Carrier, notable as Chevy’s first Fleetside design.

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Chevy Truck Milestones of 1960 to the Present

Truck design continued to evolve in the 1960s. In 1967, the C10 Fleetside cemented a feature that survives to today: The bowtie emblem at the center of the grille, visually connected to each headlamp with a horizontal bar. The 1973 C30 One-Ton Dually was the first crew cab truck with dual sets of rear wheels on the market, and it's widely considered as the first heavy-duty pickup truck. The 1988 C/K 1500 was the first pickup to be designed according to its aerodynamics, which had previously been considered unimportant in trucks. The 1999 Silverado 1500 LT Z71 was the first Chevy truck to be named “Silverado.” Since the first Chevrolet truck sold in 1918 and up to the end of the second quarter this year, there have been 86,246,570 pickups, SUVs, and vans sold under the Chevy banner. Last year, Chevrolet trucks represented 65 percent of the brand’s sales and 44 percent of parent company General Motors’ total volume.

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