As mentioned, Chevrolet continues to offer a proper column shifter in some of its trucks, like the 2025 Silverado 2500 HD Trail Boss with its nifty appearance package. The primary reason why the automaker does this is simply because customers like the old-school shifters. It’s good business really — listen to your customers, and give them what they want.
Furthermore, having the shifter mounted on the steering column frees up a significant amount of space down in the center console. In the Silverado HD’s case, Chevrolet uses this space to house two generously sized cup holders and a wide cubby, perfect for note pads, snacks, phones, and whatever else. With a shifter here, that space is lost, and it’s not like you can mount notepads and drinks to the steering column. In reality, the reason why Chevrolet continues to offer column shifters is due to customer demand and because doing so offers drivers an extra helping of useful space, right where they need it.
