General Motors Company (GM): Why Its New Pickups Should Worry Ford Motor Company (F)

Are General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)‘ new Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra losers?

A lot of Internet trash talk has been aimed at both full-size pickups since GM unveiled the just-redesigned new models in January. Even my Foolish colleague Daniel Miller has been skeptical, saying that the Silverado “looks to disappoint” when the all-new models hit dealers later this spring.

But I think it’s unlikely that the trucks will “disappoint.” In fact, I think there’s a good chance they’ll turn out to be great trucks once folks get a chance to drive them.

Here’s why.

More improvements than meet the eye
Most observers are keying off the new trucks’ looks — they bear a strong family resemblance to the outgoing versions they’re replacing. (The silver truck is a 2013 Silverado LTZ, and the red one is the all-new 2014 version.)

Image sources: General Motors.

But there appear to be a whole lot of subtle improvements baked into the new truck. GM certainly hasn’t been shy about saying so: The company called a press conference last week to tout its new haulers, pointing out, among other things, that a Silverado with GM’s new 5.3 liter V8 got slightly better EPA mileage ratings than Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)‘s much-advertised “EcoBoost” V6 truck.

That sounds like a trivial thing, but a lot of full-size pickup buyers would rather have the V8, all things being equal — even if it’s a V8 that runs on just four cylinders much of the time to save gas, as General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)’s new engine will.

GM has been touting a slew of other upgrades, from the new truck’s impressive towing capacity to an upgraded interior. But all automakers do that when they launch new models. Why should we take GM’s word for it?

Here’s why: Because after years of up and down quality, the company’s latest models have been very good.