Chevrolet Avalanche (United States of America, 2002-present)

The Avalanche is a four-door, five to six passenger sport utility truck launched in 2001. At the time it shared the same long-wheelbase chassis with the Chevrolet Suburban and Cadillac Escalade EXT.

The most striking feature of this model is its open bed which opens to the back seat area via a folding panel (midgate) and removable rear window. Hence, this model was advertised as marketed as being able to "change from a pickup to an SUV". In 2002 the Chevrolet was awarded Motor Trend magazine's SUV of the Year.

In 2007 a new generation of the Avalanche was introduced. It is based on the GMT900 platform and still features its typical midgate. A new version of the Vortec 5.3-liter V8 engine allows the car to run on E85 ethanol. The 5.3 produces 320 horsepower (240 kW) running on normal gasoline, its output rises to 326 horsepower (243 kW) on E85. Since 2010 the 5.3 V8 is the only engine available for the truck, previously also available with a 6.0-lite...