The new Chevrolet Media Silverados are a big surprise for commercial truck customers.

The new Chevrolet Media Silverados are a big surprise for commercial truck customers. 

After mocking the introduction of the first Silverado brand of class 4 and 5 of medium-duty chassis cabins a couple of months ago, Chevy showed up at The Work Truck Show in Indianapolis on Wednesday with a Class 6 version in tow. That puts the automaker with Ford in each segment of trucks in Class 7. The new Silverado 4500, 5500 and 6500 were developed in partnership with Navistar and mark the return of Chevrolet to the medium-service segment with an internally designed model after an absence of 10 years. It has been filling the void in recent years with Isuzu retro-style low pickups.

The Silverados are powered by a version of the existing 6.6-liter Duramax V8 from Chevy that has been designed to produce 350 hp and 700 pounds of torque in this application. That's 50 horsepower more than the F-series trucks and the same amount of torque, but the Silverado 6500 has a maximum of 22,500 pounds of gross vehicular weight GVWR while the F-650 is available in a version with a GVWR higher than 29,000 pounds.

Chevy is trumpeting other design features it hopes will help its trucks stay separate, including a factory-painted flat frame with wiring inserted inside to simplify accessories, an available rear air suspension system and a sloping composite hood of light front. Interior amenities include the Chevy Apple CarPlay and the infotainment system equipped with Android Auto and an integrated 4G Wi-Fi hotspot.

SOURCE: SCIENCE AND MORE