A translation: Like the woodsman’s lore that you can’t outrun a grizzly bear, there are plenty of cars that can’t outrun this 7,384-pound behemoth. Mash the accelerator and a moment of turbocharger lag quickly gives way to a frenetic rush to the 3,000-r.p.m. horsepower peak, the tall rear tires clawing for traction. Perched as you are in the ether — the step-in height is 26 inches, which means you’re riding around with your posterior at least three feet off the ground — the sensation is of piloting a low-flying plane in traffic. Sierra 2500, requesting permission to land.

With the diesel’s full measure of torque available by 1,600 r.p.m., towing isn’t much of a challenge, either. I was towing or hauling something practically the entire time I had the Denali, so the mileage numbers are a little warped. (Because of its weight rating, this truck does not get E.P.A. mileage numbers on its window sticker.) But I did see that it would manage 12 m.p.g. while towing my boat. Which is pretty good, considering the boat and truck together are 10,000 pounds of messy aerodynamics.

Tow ratings vary according to a particular truck’s configuration, but the one I drove — diesel, 4-wheel-drive, crew cab with the 3.73 final drive ratio — maxes out at 17,100 pounds using a fifth-wheel trailer. That is, ballpark figure, the weight of a school bus. Configured for maximum towing capability, a Sierra HD with the same Duramax engine (but the 3500 model) can handle 23,200 pounds, which ought to be sufficient to tow the entire New England Patriots 90-man off-season roster, provided you could find enough roller skates. What I’m saying is that it probably won’t have a problem getting your Glastron to the lake. The Duramax V8 isn’t unduly stressed, even at this power level.

G.M. says that from the factory, the Duramax diesel is intended to suffer whatever rough-duty abuse you can throw at it for at least 200,000 miles without a major overhaul. This engine’s laudable combination of power and longevity bears consideration when you’re scratching together an extra $8,395 to go diesel: $7,195 for the motor and $1,200 for the Allison transmission. And there we are with money again.

As Dr. Plache pointed out, pickups have become far more capable than they were a decade ago. In the GMC camp, a half-ton Sierra can tow as much as 10,200 pounds, which is probably enough for most drivers. But if you’re making the leap up to the 3/4-ton league of the 2500 series, you may as well go all the way and get the diesel, which is not available in the half-ton models.

Then go ahead and throw mulch in the bed. Haul gravel. Tow an elephant or two. Reconcile the dichotomy between luxury price and workaday purpose, because trucks are no longer wheezy agricultural implements trimmed in cardboard.

And anyway, if the last decade is any indication, 10 years from now we’ll wax nostalgic for the humble days of $70,000 pickups.