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The Chevrolet Avalanche is a four-door, five or six passenger sport utility vehicle sharing GM's long-wheelbase chassis used on the Chevrolet Suburban and Cadillac Escalade EXT. Breaking with a long standing tradition, the Avalanche appearance was not available as a GMC, but only as a Chevrolet. ==2001–2006== The Avalanche was launched in September 2001 as a 2002 model on the GMT800 platform. First year Avalanches featured light gray plastic body cladding, intended to provide visual distinction from the Suburban/Yukon XL, but at the expense of a third row seat. Avalanche also gave the public an advance look at the next generation of front fascia designs for the entire GM line. A full-length chrome strip splits each lamp assembly and the grille, with a gold Chevrolet "bow tie" in the center. The hood and fenders featured aggressive folds, in contrast to the soft box of the other GMT800 models. 2003 models featured a darker cladding, but GM's new president, Rick Wagoner, demanded removal of this "unpopular" trim (as did certain elements of the public). From mid-year, Avalanche could be ordered without the cladding. The uncladded model, known as the Without Body Hardware (or better by its acronym "WBH"), and alternatively called "slicksides" by GM marketers, resembles the '03-'05 Silverado in the front. Avalanche was nominated for the ''North American Truck of the Year'' award and was ''Motor Trend'' magazine's Truck of the Year for 2002. There are two engine choices: * A Vortec 5.3 L V8 producing 290 hp (216 kW), for the half-ton 1500 series; * A Vortec 8.1 L V8 with 340 hp (253 kW) and the 4L85-E four-speed transmission, for the three-quarter-ton 2500 series. The drive train is rear-wheel drive or available with selectable high/low four-wheel drive. The Avalanche was originally marketed as being able to "change from a pickup to an SUV". This was made possible by a plastic cover and an exclusive "midgate" which could open and close. The midgate was a divider behind the second row of seats that could be folded down, with the seats, to create a longer bed area, or folded up to make a larger cab area. A similar midgate was found on the Cadillac Escalade EXT, Hummer H2 SUT and the GMC Envoy XUV. For those who planned to go off-road in their Avalanche, a Z71 Off-Road package was available that added off-road suspension, GM's AutoTrac full-time, push-button four-wheel-drive system, all-terrain white-lettered tires, seventeen-inch alloy wheels, leather seating surfaces with cloth accents, front dual power bucket seats, cloth door panel inserts, GM's OnStar telematics system, all-weather rubber floor mats, Chevrolet bowtie emblems embedded into the bakcrests of the seats (for 2002 models), dual-zone automatic climate controls with rear HVAC vents and remote controls, remote radio controls with headphone jacks for two pairs of headphones, a security system, gray-finished side running boards, power-heated side view mirrors with integrated turn signals, mud flaps, SRS side airbags, and more. Aside from these details, a Z71 Off-Road sticker on the rear side panels identified an Avalanche equipped with this package. Full leather seating surfaces were an available option, also removing the cloth door panel inserts, and also added heated front seats. For those who liked the styling of the Z71 Off-Road package but did not plan to take their Avalanche off-road, a Z66 On-Road package was also available. The Z66 On-Road package featured all the equipment that the Z71 Off-Road package offered, but replaced the off-road suspension with sport on-road suspension, and did not offer four-wheel-drive. Aside from these details, a Z66 On-Road sticker on the rear side panels identified an Avalanche equipped with this package. As with the Z71 Off-Road package, full leather seating surfaces without the cloth accents were an available option, also removing the cloth door panel inserts, and also added heated front seats. To further distinguish it from its Silverado siblings, the Avalanche was practically fully equipped, and only came in one model. This model included features such as sixteen-inch alloy wheels and tires (chromed steel on the 2500 model), an A/M-F/M stereo with single-disc CD player and six speakers, cloth seating surfaces, front bench seat with power front driver's seat, power windows, power door locks, keyless entry, full instrumentation, dual front airbags, and air conditioning. Options included OnStar telematics system, cassette player, leather seating surfaces, front dual power bucket seats that could be heated, and side airbags for the front seats. A North Face Edition, in partnership with the North Face brand included limited exterior color options, a unique Ebony/Green leather interior, special exterior ornamentation and decals, white-faced gauges, OnStar telematics system, specially colored door panel inserts and speaker grilles, and more. For 2003, the Avalanche was slightly changed. A new interior, shared with the Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Suburban, added a new, larger steering wheel with subsequent audio system and OnStar controls and cruise and speed controls, an optional six-speaker premium Bose sound system with external amplifier, a new gauge cluster with information center, memory for the front driver's seat (on some models), new radio head units, which included an A/M-F/M stereo with single-disc CD/MP3 player and Radio Data System or an A/M-F/M stereo with six-disc CD/MP3 changer and Radio Data System, optional XM Satellite Radio, standard OnStar telematics system, optional rear audio controls with heaphone jacks, an optional rear DVD entertainment system by Panasonic with wireless headphones, new warning chimes that played through the vehicle's audio system instead of through a separate speaker behind the dashboard, and newly available seventeen-inch alloy wheels and tires. A new WBH option, standing for Without Body Hardware, deleted the Avalanche's standard gray body-side cladding panels and replacing them with a thin black strip of plastic, for a cleaner exterior appearance. If an Avalanche owner did not want any black accents on the side of their trucks, the black strip of plastic could also be removed altogether. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chevrolet Avalanche」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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