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Won’t pull a house, but Chevy hopes its new Silverado will pull it closer to Ford in truck sales each year. Ford has been the champ for about a dozen years.

The full-size Chevy pickup has been redesigned and re-engineered for 1999 and given the Silverado name in lieu of the C/K tag.

Silverado is vital to GM not only because the full-size truck is Chevy and GM’s top-selling vehicle, but also because it is the basis for the model-year 2000 remake of the Suburban/Tahoe sport-utes.

We tested the Silverado in LS extended cab 4×4 version. Critics insist the restyling is too subtle.

Tame, to be sure. Rather than scowl, Silverado grins. But Chevy cares more its truck acts like a rock than looks like a Peterbilt.

More important is the choice of new engines for ’99. The 5- and 5.7-liter V-8s have been replaced with 4.8-, 5.3- and 6-liter V-8s that boast more power, yet better gas mileage. The 5.3 in our test truck, for example, delivers 270 h.p. up from 255 h.p. in the 5.7.

And the 5.3 is rated at 15 m.p.g. city/18 m.p.g. highway, 1 m.p.g. better city and 2 m.p.g. better highway than the 5.7 V-8.

Still to be resolved, of course, is how durable and dependable the new engines will be. GM points out that the 4.8 is a variant of the 5-liter, the 5.3 a variant of the 5.7, two time-tested engines.

In terms of ride and handling, Silverado comes with rear proportioning suspension to keep that rear end on an even keel when full or empty, moving or braking. There was far less up and down movement than in the Ford F-350, which at times felt as if motoring over ocean waves.

Silverado also comes with easy-to-engage AutoTrac. Press a button to engage 2WD or 4WD or press 4WD “automatic,” and the system detects slippage to direct torque to the slipping wheel to bring the truck under control.

Chevy enlarged the cabin by four inches to increase interior room. The rear seat on the extended cab is roomier and more comfortable than in the F-350 or Dodge Ram because the seat back is angled and not upright as in the rivals. But Silverado’s rear-seat headrests are annoyingly stiff. They do pop out, however.

Chevy’s seat bottom folds up and back to expose the floor as a cargo hold. And you better have long legs, foot stool or running board to get in back.

Upfront, the center seat back lowers to serve as a work console, but it comes with a plastic notepad holder on top that’s a tad clumsy to use. Still, the console will hold a lap top computer and a trio of power plugs in the dash service electronic accessories.

Silverado has a passenger-side rear access door and full-size Ford and Dodge trucks offer four-doors.

Nice touches in Silverado include four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock, driver/passenger seat belts in the sides of the seat for easy use, and dual air bags with a passenger side on/off switch that lights up to clearly warn “air bag off” when disabled.

Also, a convenient b utton on the gearshift regulates shift points under load and when climbing hills so you can tow even in overdrive; the full-size spare hidden under the cargo bed has a lock; and the tailgate can be removed only with a special tool.

Then, too, there are no bolts in the truck bed walls or floor to rust, and cargo bed outer panels are plastic so they won’t rust.

Yet there are shortcomings, such as three-door models only and no sunroof, though both are in the works, four-doors by 2000, a sunroof by 2001. The 2000 Suburban built off the Silverado platform will have a sunroof that Chevy hopes to adapt to its truck.

The new Silverado will be sold alongside the C/K for a while to ensure a steady supply of trucks –a ’99 half-ton C/K through this calendar year and three-quarter and one-ton and crew cab and dualie C/Ks through 2000.

>> 1999 Chevrolet Silverado
&# 169; 1998 Chicago Tribune Wheelbase: 143.5 inches Length: 227.5 inches Engine: 5.3-liter, 270-h.p. V-8 Transmission: 4-speed automatic Fuel economy: 15 m.p.g. city/18 m.p.g. highway Base price: $25,895 Price as tested: $28,732. Includes $480 for six-way power driver/passenger seats; $107 for tinted glass; $700 for 5.3-liter V-8; $995 for 4-speed automatic; $375 for Autotrac shift-on-the-fly 4WD; $365 for 16-inch all-terrain tires; $90 for cast-aluminum wheels; $140 for fog lamps; $295 for off-road suspension package; $285 for trailering package with hitch and wiring harness. Add $640 for freight. Pluses: More powerful yet higher-mileage engine. Cabin 4 inches bigger. Extended-cab rear-seat roomy and comfortable thanks to slanted seat back. Standard four-wheel disc brakes with ABS. Dual air bags with passenger-cutoff switch you can easily see to know whether bag is on or off. No bolts in cargo bed. Plastic outer body panels on cargo bed. Dialup 4WD. Minuses: No diesel, no sunroof, no fourth door–yet. New engine/transmission must prove themselves. >>