Yes yes. Dumb and Ugly. Dugly?
Dumb and Ugly:
SUV or truck?
Jack of all trades, master of none…reminds me of “Hybrid” mountain / road bikes, which are moderately OK for both road and off-road, but are certainly not great for either.
I’m completely on the fence about this one. I kind of like the way it looks, but I’m pretty certain I’d never buy one (and not just ‘cause it’s freakin’ $30K!). I don’t think I’d ever open the back up… although, now that I think about it, my dogs would LOVE it. But where would I keep them when it’s cold?
Minor Hijack, 'cause others are doing it- I LOVE the Aztek design. The only reasons I don’t want to get one is that it looks like the resale value’s going to be dirt low, and it’s not 4WD (only AWD). Otherwise, I’d be all over it. I’m really looking forward to the next generation design.
Who was the San Francisco 49’er several years back that wore that goofy-assed helmet with the big bowl added to the top? It looked stupid then and ditto for the Chevy.
The Avalanche with it’s plastic molding bandaided every is just ridiculous looking. They took a truck and decreased it’s utility… and those effing headlights! Uggh.
I hate that vehicle. They had one parked inside the mall here and the first thing I thought when I saw that monstrosity was:
“Can you name the truck with four-wheel drive?
Smells like a steak and seats thirty-five!
Canyonero! Canyonero!”
Just too damn big.
If you want a completely useless cargo vehicle, try the 2002 Lincoln Blackwood. Because you can’t drive it with the bed cover open, the height of the cargo is restricted to a whopping 18".
As for the Avalanche, I kind of like the look of it, and I figure it would be just as useful as a pickup if not more so, but I can’t get over the price. I mean, it starts at almost $32,000. That’s just too much for a pickup truck of any kind.
I like the 2001 Aztek. If someone gave me $16,000, I’d buy a light blue one to match my light blue 1986 Pontiac Parisienne Safari station wagon (now that is a useful cargo vehicle!). I don’t much like the 2002 Aztek without the cladding. The sides look too tall and slabby without something to break up the visual height of the body. By the way, they’re taking the cladding off the Avalanche for 2003. At least removing it will lower the sticker price by $750.
-Andrew L
I dont think these things look to bad, but I would be afraid of the “wall” or whatever the hell it is called, leaking a few years down the road.
What if you left your Lanche unlocked and someone stole your “wall”? Then what the hell would you do? You know some kids are gonna do that shit someday and its gonna be a hoot.
UUUGGLEEE!!
Okay, first off most of the cladding is going away.
The bed is 5’3" with the Midgate up, 8’1" with it down and 10’4" with the tailgate down. You can carry up to ten foot long building materials in it without flagging them.
The bed interior is Pro-Tec material, which is a fiberglass/polyurethane resin composite. The color is impregnated into the material, it can’t scratch and it’s remarkably resistant to damage. Hit it with a hammer, just bounces off.
The tonneau cover locks, can withstand 250 lbs of point pressure (it’s Pro-Tec sandwiching aircraft aluminum so it won’t bend or deform.) and when the Midgate is down you have eight feet of COVERED cargo space that’s about 23 inches tall.
There are lockable 48" long storage areas over each wheel well, and since they have drain holes in them you could use them for beer coolers.
There are drain holes all over the bed, so muddy stuff won’t collect puddles.
The Avalanche is built on the Suburban frame, with the back half cut away to form the bed. There is a one piece rolled steel member that encircles the entire back of the truck which actually makes for more torsional rigidity than the roof of the Suburban has. Not only is it stronger, but the increased body rigidity improves the handling and cornering. I took an 85 degree turn at 65 mph and it cornered flat with no break in the rear.
It seats up to six people comfortably.
Yeah, it’s a little expensive, but I see people spend a ton more money on vehicles with lots less going for them.
The only thing you can’t do with an Avalanche that you can do with a pickup is haul a fifth wheel trailer. This is because a standard pickup bed is 19" deep and the Avalanche is 22" deep.
It can tow up to 8300 lbs., has a 1400 lb payload capacity and you can get it with an E-85 capable 5.3L engine which can handle ethanol fuel up to an 85% concentration. Ethanol is a clean burning, completely sustainable resource.
So, what’s not to like, and how is this not kewl?