The first generation Avalanche was launched in 2001 and its main attribute was the famous unique foldable mid gate. Thanks to this feature, the Avalanche can be transformed from a five passenger SUV with a 5-foot-3-inch bed into a standard cab pickup with a full 8-foot-1-inch load bed.
The Avalanche is based on the Suburban model and was designed to fill the big gap between the SUVs and pickups. The Chevrolet Avalanche however, is a couple inches longer than the Suburban, but half a foot shorter than the Silverado extended cab.
At the launch the first generation Chevrolet Avalanche was offered with a standard 5300 Vortec V8 engine and comes in both 4x2 and 4x4 flavors.
The Chevrolet S-10 shared the same underpinnings with the GMC Sonoma and it’s around since 1980. During its long life, the Chevrolet S-10 was sold in two generations and represented the American offensive to the success of the Japanese pickups.
However, despite being cheap, reliable and practical, the S-10 was still a half step behind its Japanese rivals which continued to be the segment leaders.
Basically, the Chevrolet S-10 was a compact pickup designed to offer a good compromise between practicality, comfort and efficiency.
The second generation Chevrolet S-10 was offered in regular, extended and crew cab bodies with short and long beds. The vehicle was also offered with a choice of three engines including a 118 hp 2.2 liter, 165 hp 4.3 liter V6 and a 195 hp 4,3 liter Vortec. The Chevrolet S-10 went out of production in 2005 when it was replaced by the Colorado model.
The old Chevrolet Colorado was starting to show its age and its cabin and technologies were slightly behind of what you’d expect to get from a modern pickup.
Luckily, Chevrolet took notes and decided to come up with a completely new Colorado which represents a huge step forward in terms of style, comfort and technology.
While the old Colorado had big lacks in the comfort and safety features departments, the new generation solved all these problems.
Initially the new 2012 Chevrolet Camaro was launched in Thailand with a choice of turbo diesel four cylinder engines available in 2.8 and 2.5 liter displacements. Three cab configurations are offered including crew, extended and regular. Maximum towing capacity of the Colorado reaches all the way up to 6,000 lbs.
The Chevrolet Colorado shares the same design and underpinnings with the GMC Canyon. The actual generation Colorado is around since 2004 but the company has announced that it will be completely replaced in 2013.
Chevrolet’s decision to replace its aged Colorado is a smart one, as the vehicle was a half step behind most of its rivals lacking the safety features, engines and other useful equipments found at pickups like the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger or Nissan Frontier.
The vehicle is available in three body styles including regular cab, extended cab and Crew cab. Chevrolet offers a choice of three engines in the Colorado namely 2.9, 3.7 and 5.3 liter units which develop 185, 242 and 300 hp, respectively.
The pickup trucks try to satisfy a very wide range of needs and, this makes them the most practical vehicles from the roads. They are usually built to tow massive loads, to offer spacious cabs and to deal with tough road conditions without backing down.
This mix however isn’t easy to achieve and during the long pickup’s long history we’ve seen a lot of uninspired ideas which failed to please the crowds (for instance take a look of the El Camino or Caballero).
Chevrolet’s Avalanche however, brought something new on the table and unlike the classical pickup trucks it features a special trait which makes it unique. For increased practicality, the open bed of the vehicle opens to the back seat area through a folding panel – named the Midgate - and a removable rear window.
Today, the big guzzling trucks don’t receive so much attention like a decade ago, when the price of fuel didn’t mean such a big deal. However there are some jobs that still require the use of a powerful truck to get the job done and one of the vehicles that is fitted for this mission is the Chevrolet Silverado Chassis Cab.
Available with crew cab or single cab and with either two wheel drive or full wheel drive, the truck has anything it needs to carry its maximum payload of 7,293 lbs. with ease. Moreover, when equipped with the enhanced trailering package, the Silverado 1500 can tow up to 10,700 pounds. Slightly revised in 2011, the Chevrolet Silverado Chassis Cab has a starting MSPR of $29.125 and is available with a range of strong V8 engines.
The Chevrolet Express Cutaway is the main rival of the Ford E Series Cutaway and holds a market share of 44.8 in Units, being just behind its competitor.
The Express is available in two versions namely the 2500 and 3600 Series. The 2500 Series includes heavy-duty models rated at 8,600 pounds (3,901 kg) GVWR. The heavy-duty 3500 Series includes full-bodied models rated at 9,600 pounds (4,354 kg) GVWR with the 6.0L gas V-8 and 9,900 pounds (4,490 kg) with the Duramax 6.6L diesel. The Chevrolet Express Cutaway has a starting price of $26,845 and is offered with a 3 years / 36,000 miles warranty.
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