Yea, they're pretty ridiculous.....buuut.....
a coworker of mine out here in Baltimore, MD just bout a 2014 Silverado. It has the new "mini crew" I call it, since they're not making the suicide door extended cab anymore, like Dodge did a while back...(wtf by the way??).....
He actually opted for the LT model. After talking with him, I learned a lot about the new truck market nowadays. He said he bought the truck up in Delaware. When he started looking at all of the $47,000 LTZ's and High Country models, it sort of hit him....
WTF do we need all of this extra crap for that they put in these things? That's what jacks the price up. It isn't the basic stuff used to provide simple affordable transportation. So he went home and took one of the option books with him. He started looking at what he REAAAALLLY needed vs wanted. With his selections in hand, he went back to the dealer and showed them and told them he wanted to order one. Turns out they had one on the lot with only like 2 seperate things different than his that he could live with.
He walked away with a 4x4 "mini crewcab" 6.5 ft bed, v6 silverado LT, cloth interior, power everything for like $30,500.00
After driving his truck with him quite a bit, the v6 has enough balls for all but the heaviest loads, and honestly I truly believe that probably 90% of the buyers out there who are getting the v8's truly have no use for them and get them out of napoleonic complexes. I never really considered a v6 truck, but if I were to ever consider a new truck, I would highly consider it. Not to mention, all of the bells and whistles cost money. A lot of money. To have your truck as luxurious as a Cadillac, with 20" plus rims on it.....well you gotta pay to play....
.....or you could be like my friend and realize you're buying a damn truck and not a Cadillac and order what you need and not what the big 3 WANT you to thing you need.
Just my $0.02.
Oh, anyone wanna buy a beat up 2000 Kia Sephia 5 speed, primer black paint with 126,000 on it? $4800 obo.