[TonkaTitan]

I owned a '99 Chevy Silverado extended cab Z71 LT and loved it. It a weak moment I traded it on an SUV. This year I went back to a pickup and bought the Titan CC LE off-road, big tow. I was considering an Avalanche 2500 as well because I want to be able to tow a tad more than 8,000 lbs and the Chevy 1500s barely reach that. The equivalent Chevy 2500 or Crew Cab MSRP list for quite a bit more than the Titan but it seems the Chevy deals and incentives get them down in price.

The Chevy Crew Cab is 6 inches longer than the Titan Crew Cab but its short truck bed is only 1.4 inches longer. The Chevy just seemed more gangly for parking (and I park in a downtown parking garage daily) without offering much trade off in capacity. The Chevy has better leather captain's chairs for comfort but not enough to make a difference. The Chevy ride is mushier and smoother which might be considered a plus for 90% of my commuter driving. Quadrasteer could be a decider if you could afford it and were into serious towing. I almost went Avalanche but finally decided the rear bed features might be more Rube Goldberg than I wanted. Being able to tow up to 12,000 lbs might be another consideration to go Chevy. Mentally for me it is difficult to buy the same vehicle and the current Chevy is essentially the same as its 1999 introduction year.

After I test drove the Nissan all indecision ended. The truck just felt perfect. It just felt right. With the Avalanche I could have put my kayaks on roof racks and still had an enclosed waterproof bed. With Nissan I had to make a decision with overhead racks. The emense back seat storage area with seats up helped. With the overhead racks I can jump up in the bed and tie down the kayaks with ease. That was not in my consideration at the time but is now very much appreciated. I am an 8 time Chevy truck owner, once worked in the Chevrolet Truck Manufacturing Plant in Indianapolis, and came from a loyal Chevy family of employees. The Titan overcame all that imprint.