The Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid is the culmination of a full size pickup truck history that goes back more than half a century. The first Chevrolet pickup truck was the Advanced Design, released in 1947. It was followed in 1955 by the Task Force and in 1960 by the famous Chevrolet C/K design. In the 1999 model year the Silverado, Chevy's current full size pickup truck, made its debut.

The hybrid version of the Silverado hit the streets in the 2005 model year. While hybrid technology is advanced science, the basics aren't that hard to understand.

The Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid has a gasoline engine and two electric motors. The computer completely controls which engines are used when, so the driver doesn't have to concern himself with that. For speeds up to 30 miles per hour, the Silverado Hybrid can run on electricity, alone. Above that speed the gasoline engine kicks in, but in city driving it will stop and start as needed, such as when you stop for red lights, etc.

Typically, one electric motor runs, or helps run, the vehicle and the other acts as a generator, running the accessories and charging the battery. The "battery" is a 300-volt nickel-metal hydride system. In addition to the electric motors, the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid uses other advanced fuel economy measures, including closing off four cylinders when cruising.

The gasoline engine for the Silverado Hybrid is 6.0 liter V8 with 322 horsepower. When it's in operation, it's matched with a four speed automatic transmission with overdrive. The electric motors use their own continuously variable transmission.

Fuel economy is up to 21 miles per gallon in the city and 22 miles per gallon on the highway. As you can see, the real savings are in the city, where there is more stop and go and slow speed driving.

Beyond the drive systems, the Silverado Hybrid is a Silverado, with the same body style and features as any other Silverado. The last significant change in body style was in the 2007 model year. It comes in two trims, HY1 and HY2, each of which can be had in either rear-wheel or four-wheel drive.

Maximum towing weight for the Silverado Hybrid is up to 6100 pounds, which is light for a full size pickup, one of the trade offs for the hybrid technology. On the other hand, safety is very good. NHTSA crash tests give the Silverdo Hybrid five stars in every area except rollover, where it gets four stars. Few, if any, pickups get five stars for rollover.

The current year model Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid (2009) sells for a base price of $38,020. Some feel that this makes it too expensive for the hybrid to really save you any money. But as the technology advances you can expect the price to come down and the power to go up.