4×4 Chevy Cheyenne

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When many people mention the Chevy Cheyenne, they could be referring to just about any Chevrolet pickup. A lot of folks out there seem to think that "Cheyenne" is the name for any Chevy full-size pickup, but that is just untrue. The label "Cheyenne" actually refers to a trim package of the Chevrolet C/K, nothing more, nothing less.

Introduced in 1971, the Cheyenne package for the Chevrolet C/K series of pickups consisted of mostly luxury and aesthetic items. The Cheyenne generally has nicer interior and can be recognized from the outside by its extra chrome. GMC had a similar package for their pickups that they called "Sierra". Four wheel drive was never really associated with the Cheyenne name, and it is not difficult to find either a rear wheel drive or a 4x4 Chevy Cheyenne.

Advantages to using a pickup with the Cheyenne trim over one of the more standard trims would include the additional sound dampening, which can help with road noise against loud off road tires, and the addition of some luxury features that are now generally standard, such as air conditioning and cruise control. On the flip side, the resale value of the Cheyenne trim is probably the highest of any Chevrolet pickup of its time. That alone will deter some offroaders who are mainly buying the truck as a toy and might end up stripping all of those luxury features out in the end anyway.

In 1998, the Chevy C/K series was replaced by the Chevrolet Silverado. The name "Silverado" had been used before by Chevrolet in reference to its full size pickups, but only as a trim level. Oddly, the GMC version of this generation of trucks is labeled "Sierra". One can only guess that maybe GM's marketing team was trying to associate these trim levels of the past with the new trucks for whatever reason, but either way, the Cheyenne label was technically dead and the Sierra label had been given to a whole new series of pickups as opposed to just a trim level.

Although people continue to refer to new Chevrolet pickups as Chevy Cheyennes, the name has been incorrect now for over a decade. It is hard to fault the general public for confusing labels when it comes to Chevrolet products, however, considering how GM loves to move labels around and put them in strange new places.

The name Cheyenne returned in 2004 as a concept truck, but has not seen production since the 90's.

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