The 2024 Chevy Silverado 3500 HD ushers in some big news from one of America’s favorite truck makers. This Silverado is more capable and innovative than ever, with advanced trailering features that engineer confidence and an expansive 13.4-inch infotainment system that puts all the connectivity and navigational tools within reach. While this news is exciting, Chevrolet enhances the Silverado HD’s capability in 2024 by making the legendary Allison ten-speed automatic transmission standard equipment with both powerplants.
Allison is a renowned brand in the automotive industry, but unless you’re a longtime fan, the company’s impact and ingenuity might not be well known. As a result, Allison is likened to every other manufacturer-specific nomenclature, like the Duramax diesel is to Chevrolet and the Power Stroke is to Ford. But there’s more to Allison than its name. From its significance in the industry to how Chevrolet utilizes the transmission to make the Silverado 3500 HD more potent in 2024, here’s a closer look at what makes Allison and its transmission extraordinary.
The Origins of Allison Transmission
Long before Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, and many others entered the automotive industry, James Asbury Allison was already planning something extraordinary. He teamed up with his friends in 1908 and purchased 320 acres of farmland to build the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The same year, William Durant founded General Motors, igniting the race to put the world on wheels. Allison joined that race a year later, establishing the Empire Motor Car Company, which he sold later to a group of investors.
By 1915, Allison’s interest in Indianapolis 500 racing prompted him to open the Speedway Team Company, which would later become known as Allison Transmission. A perfectionist in every way, Allison held his shop to higher quality standards and built the business around his philosophy to provide exceptional craftsmanship in every product. “Whatever leaves this shop over my name must be of the finest work possible,” he famously said.
Allison’s business philosophy set new standards in the industry, with his company building a reputation for introducing new automotive technology. That ingenuity played an integral role in World War I when the company rebranded as the Allison Engineering Company and began machining parts and tools for airplane engines. Even after the war, the company spent the next decade focusing on aviation until James Asbury Allison died in 1928, and the company was put up for sale. Fisher Brothers of Detroit purchased the business, but quickly sold it to General Motors for $400,000. GM tasked its new division with building a 1,000-horsepower liquid-cooled aircraft engine.
With quality and performance as its focus, the company excelled over the next several decades, inventing the world’s first heavy-duty automatic transmission and producing components used in locomotives, delivery trucks, and buses. Following World War II, Allison expanded its reach beyond the commercial industry to the civilian market. By 1969, Chevrolet introduced the Allison automatic transmission in its medium-duty trucks.
In the decades since, Allison Transmission has excelled behind the scenes, becoming the largest manufacturer of automatic transmissions for medium and heavy-duty vehicles worldwide. After a nearly 80-year partnership with General Motors, the company changed hands and was sold for $5.6 billion in 2007. However, even with the change, the company never faltered and remains committed to its high-quality standards. Moreover, the company’s working partnership with General Motors has given us modern marvels like the ten-speed automatic transmission found in the 2024 Silverado 3500 HD.
The Allison Ten-Speed Automatic Transmission
Allison transmissions are renowned for their reliability and precision, adding to the appeal of a heavy-duty workhorse like the Silverado 3500 HD that’s destined to tow heavy loads. The company ensures these trucks never miss a beat by engineering every transmission without compromising quality, performance, or capability. The result is extraordinary and utilizes Allison Transmission’s patented Continuous Power Technology.
Continuous Power Technology is at the heart of the Silverado 3500 HD’s ten-speed automatic transmission. The unique technology improves how easily the engine starts, optimizes its acceleration, and ensures seamless shifting. In doing so, the transmission gives the driver more precise control over the engine’s power output and efficiency, two critical advantages you won’t find anywhere else in the industry.
For the first time in the Silverado 3500 HD’s history, these characteristics are standard with every powertrain. Chevrolet eliminates its six-speed automatic transmission from the lineup, replacing it with an updated Allison ten-speed automatic transmission that pushes the 6.6L gas engine and potent Duramax turbo-diesel to new heights. So, what can you expect from the new pairing in 2024?
Extended Peak Performance
The transmission’s Continuous Power Technology and shorter steps between gears enhance the 6.6-liter gas engine’s performance, allowing it to reach peak power faster and hold it longer. As a result, drivers experience more on-demand power in every situation and reap the benefits of improved engine braking because of the closer gear ratios. The combination is exceptional, ensuring the Silverado 3500 HD can hold its own at any speed and for extended periods.
Improved Power Output
Allison’s patented Continuous Power Technology does something exceptional for the Silverado 3500 HD by improving its power output to transform your experience in the driver’s seat. The transmission continuously optimizes the engine’s power output, sending the maximum torque and horsepower to the wheels in every gear. Although the 6.6-liter gas V8 still make the same horsepower and torque as last year’s model, this transmission utilizes that power more effectively. This constant outsourcing of power improves the Silverado 3500 HD’s responsiveness, reduces drive times, and eliminates any question of whether the truck can handle every situation with or without a trailer in tow.
Better Use of Fuel
Another remarkable benefit of the Allison ten-speed automatic transmission is that it doesn’t force drivers to choose between capability, performance, or efficiency. Instead, the transmission’s Continuous Power Technology delivers the best of both worlds. By doubling the engine’s torque at launch compared to the old six-speed, it improves acceleration. However, because it’s constantly sending power to the wheels, it doesn’t force the engine to guzzle fuel, making the Silverado 3500 HD more efficient than most heavy-duty workhorses.
Streamlined Maintenance
The Allison ten-speed automatic transmission embodies the same philosophy of exceptional craftsmanship that James Allison established when he founded the company in 1915. But what does this mean when you get behind the wheel of the Silverado 3500 HD in 2024? The well-crafted transmission is engineered to last without frequent maintenance or high repair costs. Instead, routine oil and filter changes promote its longevity, reduce downtime, and keep more money in your wallet.
The Power Behind the Name
Investing in a truck like the 2024 Silverado 3500 HD guarantees the Chevrolet name’s reliability. As an automotive pioneer, Chevrolet holds incredible weight in the industry and stands behind its products. But Chevrolet furthers that reputation in 2024 by making the Allison ten-speed automatic transmission standard across the Silverado 3500 HD’s lineup.
By eliminating the six-speed automatic transmission, Chevrolet gives drivers a more capable, efficient, and harder-working transmission with a proven history of reliability and longevity. Like Chevrolet, the Allison name means something in the truck world and beyond. It’s the top choice for automakers like Chevrolet and General Motors, just as much as it’s the go-to for commercial and military manufacturers around the globe. That’s a reputation you can’t beat, and it’s one you reap the benefits of when you invest in a truck like the Silverado 3500 HD.
