2002 Chevrolet Avalanche; It's two, two, two trucks in one!

Chevy Avalanche brand manager Ed Schoener, who was introduced-we are not making this up-as ``The man who could sell fur to a bear,'' summed up reasons for the Avalanche this way: ``There are 30 million house-holds in America that own both a pickup truck and an SUV. Do you suppose there are some people within that number who are making a compromise, who would dump their Explorer and F-150 and buy one of these?''

(Or dump their Yukon and Silverado and buy one? We ask.)

After much market research, Chevrolet thinks there are 100,000 Avalanche buyers a year. Yes, 100,000 is a lot, especially for a brand-new vehicle in an untested segment, but that's how much manufacturing capacity Chevy is setting aside for Avalanche. If demand turns out to be less than that, it's a relatively easy thing to just build more Suburbans, since both vehicles roll down the same line.

Avalanche is basically a Suburban with a wildly different back end. It's not just half a pickup box behind the second row of seats. It can be a whole pickup box, and carry that all-important 4x8 sheet of plywood lying flat with tailgate up and locked.

The key is Avalanche's Midgate, a door that separates the rear seat from the cargo box. By folding the rear seat bottoms forward and flipping the Midgate down in their place, you get a flat, eight-foot-long pickup bed. The rear glass lifts out and ...