Divide, Dive Into Mode, and Conquer: The 2024 Colorado's Off-Road Mastery

Trucks have continued to amaze us year after year here at Jim Butler Chevy of St. Louis, as watching the development of new features for handling terrain has brought about a thrilling taste of the future. Modern suspensions, music and navigation options, and brand-new safety tech have made each day on the job site or beyond a power-rich pleasure. Conditions can change drastically every moment, and today’s technology has brought about many ingenious ways to conquer challenging terrain.

The GM Authority blog took a close look at all the drive modes on the 2024 Chevy Colorado this week, as this excellent tool can quickly prepare the truck for incoming drops in terrain quality and other everyday occurrences. Once you enter “Driver Control Mode” with the knob just to the left of the shift lever, you can access each icon on the Infotainment display and prepare to change things up within split seconds if needed! You can select from Normal, Off-Road, Terrain, Tow/Haul, and Baja modes here. 

Normal is the default mode to be situated in and is always active when you fire up your Colorado with your morning coffee and get ready to roll. It provides excellent handling and comfort levels for driving in everyday conditions and picture-perfect clear skies! Off-Road mode enhances many tech features and systems to beef up performance at low to medium speeds. Fresh dirt, trails, gravel, mud, or a few inches of snow are best tackled in this useful yet universal mode. 

The Off-Road mode also changes the steering, transmission shift points, Electronic Stability Control, and Traction System to allow for smooth navigation on unpaved or washed-out surfaces. Terrain mode steps things up even further to enhance performance when it comes to crawling. There’s a reason why expert rock crawlers are always moving so slowly when you check them out. Crawling is such a precise endeavor that your equipment should be ready to take measures such as engaging in one-pedal driving for ultimate mastery.

This increases brake response aggression while you are in low gear and hold on to upslope until the accelerator is pressed again. This avoids the very dangerous disaster scenario which results in the truck rolling suddenly backward down the incline you’re fixin’ to tackle! The Tow/Haul mode properly preps things for effective trailer hauling. It modifies the pedals, transmission shift points, steering, ABS, ESC, TCS, and Trailer Sway Control. If you happen to shut things down in a hurry, this Tow/Haul will stay active for four hours before reverting to Normal mode. 

The sand-sweeping Baja Mode is only included with the ZR2 and is designated for the roughest and toughest off-road performance. It boosts responsiveness during high speeds, allowing you to move like lightning over gravel, hard dirt, and firmly packed sand. Rear lockers are firmly locked at all speeds, making for a thoroughly expert-grade setting that allows for drifting in the sub-Saharan shake of desert areas. Just around a decade ago, drivers had to deal with their journey head-on, without the ability to make concessions for anything out of the ordinary dished out at them.

Lift kits, knobby tires, and amazing GPS systems made navigating the “tough stuff” a bit better overall when in an excellent truck such as the 2024 Chevy Colorado. Drive modes have become so advanced that they allow for a “cloak and dagger” game plan to pivot quickly on a dime and expertly change up your approach.

Power, Polish, and Prevailing Pistons: 2025 Chevy Silverado HD Is a Hefty-Hauling Assassin

The spring season here at Jim Butler Chevy of St. Louis always provides ample doses of full-size trucks which are massively equipped for the season’s many “good weather" tasks!” From hauling sod and mulch to a simple spur-of-the-moment Lowe’s run, there’s no substitute for hard-working and dependable trucks like the 2025 Chevy Silverado HD. With the standard HD as a starting point in the trim lineup, the Trail Boss and ZR2 provide the mud-splattered and rock-crawling options on standby.

The HD has already thoroughly established itself as a very capable workhorse, with the 6.6-liter turbodiesel V8 existing as a very solid component to round things out with a 36,000-lb towing capacity. Both the diesel and gasoline engines come paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission, and the option of rear or all-wheel-drive. The High Country trim is where the sweetest features become unlocked. At the same time, the Car and Driver review crew appreciated the lower trim levels’ understated approach when held up against the usual rivals from Ford and Ram. 

The HD’s Adaptive Cruise Control is specially calibrated for use with a trailer, and modern technology has craftily made its mark with the numerous camera views that are an amazing help while hitching things up. The Trail Boss package adds the incredibly capable off-road suspension and unique 20-inch wheels. The Midnight Edition now brings 20-inch wheels for the thrilling ride, while the Work Truck, Custom, and LT trim levels are prepped for urban
duty with front and rear parking sensors. Spaces such as The Soulard and Kirkwood Farmers’ Markets may be tight enough for you to get some great use out of features like this!

The Z71 Package provides very cool 18-inch wheels, all-terrain tires, a spray-in bedliner, and beefed-up underbody protection to make things supremely capable. The Convenience package adds to the comfort factor with a 10-way power driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, LED cargo-bed lighting, remote start, and a heated steering wheel. The 6.6-liter V8 engine is prepared to slay your daily duty list with 401 horsepower and 461 lb-ft of torque, while the diesel V8 doubles down on 470 horsepower and 975 lb-ft.

There is so much patented and all-American “big truck love” for the diesel for its tow rating alone: it beats out the gas engine by 2X and has proven its worth to extreme mountaineers and weekend lake warriors alike. The Car and Driver testing team enjoyed their time with the HD in California’s quite challenging Johnson Valley, where they finished impressed with its off-road manners and on-pavement comfort as well. The Silverado HD lineup offers a bare-bones work truck up to the very luxurious crew cab, with a few models offering a storage compartment directly under the backseat that is ideal for any trip’s necessary lug-along. 

Every Silverado HD comes with a touchscreen that offers Chevy’s very own Google-based infotainment setup, which runs Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for ample tuneage and other in-cabin goodies. The Edmunds.com crew was thrilled with the Silverado’s 2022 facelift, which brought the interior completely up to speed with the usual suspects for defiantly sworn rival trucks. The True Car staff test-drove a 2025 model and rated the ride as “incredibly smooth for a big truck”, while also giving the Duramax diesel engine major props for its time-proven abilities. The experts at Road and Track gave the 2025 Chevy Silverado HD great marks for its massive 147-inch cargo bed, and readily available and rich torque from the diesel option.   

From Grocery Runs to Grand Adventures: The Versatility of the 2024 Chevy Traverse

The evolving world of 3-row crossovers has been fascinating to witness over the past decade here at Jim Butler Chevy of St. Louis! We publicly ushered in the Chevy Traverse for the first time in 2009, where it smartly moved into the passing lane and left the "family truckster" segment far behind. More crossovers have edged in on the once-popular minivan space and have gravitated toward squared-off styling yo imitate the powerful body-on frame machines such as the Suburban or Tahoe.

One amazing detail that the 2024 Traverse boasts is proudly powertrain related, as there’s a smaller displacement turbo-charged 4-cylinder that is more powerful and efficient than the outgoing V6. To make things thoroughly sizzle for the coming days of summer and extra-long road trips, there’s also the addition of Super Cruise, the hands-free driving technology that allows you to kick back lavishly and enjoy the ride. The 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine now cranks out 328 horsepower and 326 lb-ft of torque and is paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission. 

We can fully understand the heaping amount of love drivers had for the legendary outgoing 3.6-liter V6, which served its purpose so well for two decades. Even though the newer engine is a bit smaller out of the gate, it still manages to pack 18 more horsepower and 60 more lb-ft of torque. Another category that’s surprisingly better when held up to the old engine is the EPA fuel rating, which sees an improvement of 2 mpg city and combined with FWD. When experienced test drivers got down to business and were seeing how the engine feels, the available torque on the low end offered up a smooth yet welcomingly-punchy character. 

Minus the potential for abundant exhaust noise, this new 4-cylinder does absolutely get the 4,972-lb Traverse hustling rapidly along with a notable swagger. Every model now comes with rear automatic braking, blind-zone steering assist, adaptive cruise control, and traffic sign recognition. Stepping up to the RS trim provides the inclusion of Super Cruise, which has embraced advances in technology such as Onstar to work its magic! Using real-time cameras and sensors, it is an additive that will make long drives much more comfortable. 

This year’s model also flaunts another thrilling addition, as the off-road ready Z71 package’s protective gear and trail-ready chops will no doubt appeal to many avid adventurers. There’s a slightly lifted suspension to contend with the ruts and other imperfections of the wayfaring path, a host of protective skid plates underneath, and a twin-clutch AWD system. You’ll also be able to navigate a smooth pass through inclement terrain thanks to a new Terrain drive mode, which lends a helping hand with the brake while you have control of the throttle for daunting inclines. 

The new Traverse’s frame is an inch wider than last year’s, offering a welcome boost in hip room in the cabin. The Autoweek.com testing crew loved the very easy third-row access available, thanks to the flipping second-row captain’s seats. Drivers have enthusiastically welcomed the infotainment screen spaces that are growing each year, and the 2024 Traverse is equipped with a 17.7-inch model that is joined with an 11-inch display. The Edmunds.com auto buffs praised the 2024 Traverse for being “the best-equipped and smoothest-driving bet for anyone with young ones to haul around!” 

2024 Chevy Corvette E-Ray: Effortlessly Dominating the Road with a Touch of Patriotic Pride

While pulling out all of the stops against Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, the 2024 Chevy Corvette E-Ray boasts a thorough sense of all-American swagger. Roaring jazz clubs, cowboy ranchers navigating the red yet unforgiving Rio Grande, and generations of breadbasket high-school football teams all come to mind when drawing a comparison! We watched eagerly here at Jim Butler Chevy of St Louis as this amazing car’s performance has been pushed even further with the aid of electrification. 

An electric motor powers the front wheels, while the C8’s quite trusty 6.2-liter pushrod V8 handles propulsion duty out back. Invigoratingly in unison, the pair creates 655 horsepower, which means this year’s E-Ray is within 15 horsepower of the incessantly fire-breathing Z06. The convenient “Stealth” mode allows you to come and go from your residence via electric power without disturbing the neighbors. Since the C8’s enthralling launch, it has become a Car and Driver “10Best” winner and staff favorite due to its excellent power and class-leading handling.

The E-Ray now sports the same wide-body kit and front-end treatment as the high-performance Z06 model and also proudly struts onto the stage as the first all-wheel drive ‘Vette. It is available as either a coupe or convertible and adamantly wears a folding hard top. It is offered in 1LZ, 2LZ, and 3LZ trim levels with the Car and Driver team’s best recommendation being upgrading to the 2LZ version. This adds some very cool features to the mix including a 14-speaker Bose system, blind-spot monitoring, and a wireless charging pad. 

A very small 1.1kWh battery pack allows the E-Ray to travel at 45 mph on a purely electric power source in Stealth mode, which is crucial for retaining your much-needed HOA membership! With both the electric motor and V8 humming along at full steam, the E-Ray launched confidently up to 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds. All-wheel drive will absolutely provide some intense winter advantages, and all-weather high-performance tires now come as standard on the E-Ray. This crew was equipped with summer rubber, and they billed the cornering grip ability as “outright heroic.” 

Acting as a sports car that truly operates with two personalities in one, it also arrives on the scene with an interior that is not too different from the Z06 or Stingray models. The coupe offers a removable roof, channeling the true Corvette spirit and boasting the space to quickly store it in the trunk. The interior design is a bit less simplistic than some out there and remains very driver-focused while offering a “Great Wall” of necessary controls. The E-Ray uses the brand-new Infotainment 3 Plus system, which proved to be easy to use while offering a razor-sharp and quick response.

Last fall, Car and Driver claimed post-test-drive that “The Corvette emerges from the petroleum age into the modern era of electrification, with a hybrid juiced to go faster, and not necessarily farther.” Big V8 horsepower and heaping amounts of low-end torque make the E-Ray a purveyor of lightning-fast performance that is all incredibly available. The Z06 possessed a very shrill and rabid personality, while the E-Ray remained sophisticated and well-polished. Braking takes place with a characteristic and powerful motion, with a pleasantly soft character at the tip-top of the process. 

The verdict here is memorable and not surprising in the least: after a few runs around the curvy and speed-demon-friendly Colorado Springs turf, the E-Ray proved to be highly evolved and consistently refined. Making the change from silky smooth to capable of brute force exists where we have always loved it: at the spirited push of the throttle.