2014 Chevrolet Silverado High Country enters highfalutin pickup market

The BeDazzling infection running through automakers' full-size pickups has struck General Motors, which revealed the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado High Country this weekend, a $47,000 version of its new trucks meant to impress an apparently growing market of rhinestone cowboys.

While the herd of such trucks has grown over the past year with models like the Ram Laramie Longhorn and upcoming Toyota Tundra 1794 edition, Detroit has been pushing for years to create a market for high-profit luxury pickups; just ask any of the 14 people who still own a Lincoln Blackwood. Despite that misstep, Ford has made the most of its King Ranch pickup line, which has a more upscale image than most Lincolns. Yet the equation always seemed less effective for GM, which has an entire upscale truck division in GMC and the Cadillac Escalade EXT for those who really wanted to spend $60,000 on a vehicle with a bed.

Chevy says the Silverado High Country will distinguish itself with unique projector headlights, a leather-swaddled interior in the tasteful saddle brown shade and a few fencerows of chrome trim, including 20-inch chrome wheels, powered by either Chevy's 5.3-liter V-8 or the new 6.3-liter V-8. Most important of all, the truck will sport large "High Country" badges on the flank and tailgate; what good are a few jewels if no one sees them sparkle?