Just when you think the waves may finally stop crashing down, the year throws another chaotic twist into the newsfeed: General Motors is reportedly working on advancing its six-way pickup truck tailgate with a new, secret seventh feature on the upcoming Chevy Silverado.
Other sites have picked up GM Authority’s report on this groundbreaking rumour, but they seem to be overlooking the ramifications here. Those sites have focused on the most likely of all the new GM truck rumours, which is that the Chevrolet Silverado will soon adopt the MultiPro tailgate.
From GM Authority:
First and foremost, Chevy’s new multi-function tailgate could wear the Multi-Flex brand (potentially spelled MultiFlex). That name is the front-runner among a handful of names being considered by the Bow Tie brand. It’s also worth noting that GM initially applied the Multi-Flex name in 2003, albeit in conjunction for naming seats for motor vehicles.
But that’s not all:
GM Authority has also heard whispers that the Chevy Multi-Flex tailgate could be differentiated from the GMC MultiPro via a new feature or position. However, it’s also possible that the MultiPro tailgate will be updated to have the new feature, thereby bringing feature parity to both tailgates.
The six current featured positions of the current “MultiPro” version of the tailgate include the primary, traditional gate down, the primary gate down with the built-in load stop, a foldable inner-gate on the tailgate that lets you reach further back into the bed, and then that gate can open into a foot step, which can then be folded back up into a raised load stop, or the step/stop can be closed for a chest-level work surface.
Perhaps they’ll add a swing-gate! Who knows at this point?
GM Authority claims the spreading of the MultiPro gate was originally planned for the “interim” 2021 model year of the Silverado — so one model year before the mid-cycle refresh, which would be very soon — but it’s possible the Covid-19 outbreak could delay things until the refresh.
Either way this always seemed inevitable. Place your bets below on what that secret seventh tailgate feature is. How far can they go? What about full side-gates, with steps, and tables? And I want toolboxes dammit! Tools everywhere.