The primary promotion for General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Chevy Silverado full-sized pickup is that it is made of “high strength steel, for high strength dependability.” With Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) launching a new version its best-selling F-150 pickup made partially from aluminum, what more can Chevy management say? Steel is better than aluminum. With Ford rolling out the new F-150, the debate will begin to be settled. In the meantime, Chevy is discounting the Silverado’s price as aggressively as possible as a means to hedge its bet.

One version of the Silverado has a discount package that can save customers as much as $8,000. The 2015 Silverado Crew Cab LT All Star 4WD has discounts that include $4,250 “total allowance,” “$3,000 factory reduction below MSRP” and a “$750 option package discount.” The base price of the Silverado runs from $27,365 to $36,115, depending on the configuration. Any way a customer looks at the $8,000 package, it represents a huge price cut for any and all versions of the vehicle.

The full-sized pickup sits at the top of the food chain of vehicles in the United States. The F-150 and Silverado are the best-selling vehicles among all car and light trucks each month. They are often followed by the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) Ram full-sized pickup. The importance of these products to the bottom lines of America’s Big Three car manufacturers cannot be overstated.

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Ford claims that it has only started to build enough of its new pickups to handle demand. The accuracy of that claim will show up as F-150 sales get posted beginning this summer. A large, aluminum pickup truck as not been tested with pickup buyers. Either Ford will get an explosion of demand, or it will have to join Chevy in the discount business to hold its market share.

Full-sized pickups are the backbone of the American car industry, and that backbone has started to be tested.

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