2000 Chevrolet Avalanche

The Avalanche concept vehicle from Chevrolet represents a melding of the pick-up truck with the sport-utility vehicle, a common theme at this year's show. The rear seats fold down, along with a midgate, to extend the 5-ft 3-in. truck bed to a full 8 ft 1 in. And the bed is wide enough to carry 4 8 sheets of plywood. The truck's exterior carries armorlike body cladding to give it a rugged look and a sail panel that smoothes the transition from cab to cargo box. Engineers ended up making the sail panel functional, designing it to add stiffness to the body for more structural integrity and a better ride, according to John Carfaro, lead designer on the Avalanche project. A Vortec 5300 V8 and four-speed automatic 4WD transmission power the five-passenger vehicle. A production version of the truck could be in showrooms next year.