Chevrolet marks 100 years of making pickups with special Silverado, Colorado

Both trucks, shown for the first time Thursday at a media preview at the State Fair of Texas, sport retro-themed Chevrolet "bow tie" badges, larger wheels, spray-in bedliners, special chrome trim, a custom Centennial Blue paint job and several other cosmetic tweaks.

Chevrolet's first pickups weren't generally available to the public. They were cobbled together from car parts and used to lug heavy equipment and parts around plants, but by 1918, Chevrolet realized there was a market for such a vehicle and launched the 490 Light Delivery -- which looked like a car with the rear half of the body removed.

Since 1918, Chevrolet has sold more than 85 million pickups.

The Centennial Edition Silverado is likely the last special edition of the current-generation pickup, which went on sale in 2013 as a 2014 model. A lighter-weight Silverado, to be built using General Motors' mixed-material manufacturing system that mixes steel, aluminum and magnesium, is expected to debut next year as a 2019 model.

GM gave its new manufacturing system a test run on the Cadillac CT6 sedan, which, when it debuted, was not only the lightest car in the full-size sedan class but also in the midsize class.

Ford whacked as much as 600 pounds off the F-150 when it switched to an aluminum body in late 2014. Since then, Ford has increased its aluminum-bodied offerings to include the Super Duty pickups and the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.

The debut of the Centennial Edition pickups kicks off a celebration of Chevy trucks that is scheduled to conclude Dec. 16 at the Texas Motor Speedway.

"Both vehicles offer our most enthusiastic fans a way to demonstrate their love for Chevy Trucks and celebrate the Chevy Trucks Centennial with us," Rich Scheer, Chevrolet Trucks director of exterior design, said in a statement.