The Chevy Avalanche was discontinued at the conclusion of the 2013 model year and has not been seen since, with General Motors electing to get rid of the nameplate when it switched over to the K2XX platform. While GM has no plans to revive the nameplate, a digital rendering artist on Instagram recently used his talents to try and envision what it would look like if the automaker produced a new Chevy Avalanche based on its current T1 truck platform.
This rendering is based around a photo of a 2021 Chevy Suburban High Country and as such, it utilizes the full-size SUV’s front fascia and has the same wheelbase. The artist traded the body color body components and chrome trim for utilitarian black plastic cladding, however, which is a nod to the original GMT805 platform Chevy Avalanche and its abundance of exterior plastic. The artist also redesigned the door handles for his fictional T1-platform Avalanche, trading the Suburban’s bulky handles for slimmer handles that appear to sit flush with the vehicle’s bodywork. Ultra-thin C-pillars compliment the flush door handles to give this rendering a sleek, modern look.
View this post on Instagram
GM Authority penned a long story in 2019 on the inception of the Chevy Avalanche and its demise. We encourage Chevy fans to check out that post and learn more about this vehicle program, but in short, a K2XX-based Chevy Avalanche didn’t make sense from a cost standpoint and many of GM’s top decision-makers felt as though a large subset of Avalanche owners could be transitioned to the Silverado anyway. This was also not long after the automaker’s bankruptcy and federal bailout, which left many GM execs apprehensive to take unnecessary risks with regard to product planning.
Let us know what you think of this modern-day Chevy Avalanche rendering by voting or commenting below.
Comments
You guys should hire this guy for your hypothetical concept renders
This looks amazing, i think it could do well again
Andrew,
I agree 100%.
Buy one? I’ll take 2. We have a 2002 Z71 4×4 with 188k on the clock and it still runs like a champ. Looks great too. Garage kept for over 20 years. Adds year to the life of any vehicle.
I had a 2002 avalanche 2500 I loved it ran it till 253k never had one problem with it then traded it in for a 2009 chevy Silverado 2500 I miss it some times.
Looks too squared off…how about so curves.
Looks like a Unibody Silverado What’s amazing about that
you don’t know what unibody means.
I know what DUM look like ,U. It didn’t sell well before it’s not going to sell well today very little imagination went into this rendering. Voting me down for telling the truth means All of you are paying attention
lol what a little child you are. You still don’t understand wtf unibody means
With high margins and based off the Tahoe, if they sold 40,000 units annually that’s a win, especially given the heat in the truck segment. ROI could be well under 1000 units
I had a 2002 avalanche 2500 I loved it ran it till 253k never had one problem with it then traded it in for a 2009 chevy Silverado 2500 I miss it some times.
I think one of the biggest reasons it didn’t sell well is GM did a terrible job educating the public about its assets. I own one and work with about 200 truck owners and roughly none of them understand or know of the mid gate. I find mine so versatile It will be hard to have just a truck when I finally get rid of it.
GM was wrong about transitioning Avalanche owners to Silverado. That’s like using a spoon instead of a fork. Yes you can do it but it’s dumb.
Avalanche and Silverado are built different for a different purpose. I would rather continue to drive my 15 year old Avalance than buy a Silverado.
To this day you cant get a factory bed cover with locking bed side storage compartments on a Silverado not to mention a mid-gate. Yes a Silverado tows more with its rear leaf springs but its ride quality suffers as a result.
What makes them think the two vehicles are even in the same class?
You can get locking bed side storage on the Silverado. The 2018 High Desert package actually offered essentially the same bedside storage as the avalanche, were as the 2019+ trucks have interior cargo boxes that can be optioned. Same goes for the hard folder tonneau cover
I don’t like it, maybe a sportier electric Avalanche would be a hit though!
Love it! I own a 2008 LTZ and would not even think of trading it in for a Silverado. I agree with other posters the two trucks are not even in the same class. I really wish they would bring the Avalanche back. Midgate all the way!
I like it! I would buy it today if it was available! I”m still driving my 2004, after about 3 transmissions and an engine. The Avalanche to Silverado transition makes no sense to me. I’ll buy a later year model Avalanche instead of a Silverado.
Really like grille
Front end nice
Prefer truck bed seams more usable
Then mostly unused closed rear end
It’s one of those things, if you’ve never had you won’t miss. If you’ve owned one then you want more. Or at least for me it’s that way.
As an Avalanche owner I agree with all the other owner comments. I would buy another one in a second, but I can’t so I will keep my ’07 for as long as I can. There is absolutely nothing that compares
I too own an Avalanche, 09 Z71. Gave it a 6.2 heart transplant for more towing power INSTEAD of buying a Silverado or Sierra. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes a pickup is the way to go but 99.9% of the time my Avalanche does the job just fine! I’d sooner replace my truck with a Suburban than a pickup. The Avalanche was and is the best of both worlds. And it parks in tight parking lots better than an S-10 does.
Do you find the 6.2 made a big difference over the 5.3 for towing? I tow with mine as well and in Canada where I live, for 1 year in 2010 they came from factory with the 6.2. I would trade my ’07 for one but they are extremely rare and when I do come across one the mileage is too high for me to justify
I lucked out and bought mine with 57km. But the rear gear ratio of 3.42:1 was/is the biggest downfall for towing in my books. My swap was to get more power without loosing my fuel economy. I lost some for sure, 0.3l/100 if the lie-o-meter can be trusted. Did it help? Absolutely! 325hp — 450ish (post tuning) and over 100ft/lb torque! Now my truck doesn’t downshift to 2nd trying to climb hills and if I’ve got to pass, I pass with confidence.
It’s way more common to find the 6.2 in the Cadillac Escalade than the Avalanche. I just wish they still made the truck, and in a 3/4 ton. The bigger tow/payload and better ratios would be a big plus.
Is GM actually bringing back the Avalanche? If they are my guess is that it’ll be something like the Ford Maverick rather than the previous version. I for one would love that style of vehicle coming from GM. I would also love to see an electric truck come out with the Avalanche name.
I’ve loved the avalanche since it came out, and I still love it. I love this rendering and think it should be made.
I drive an 03 avalanche and love it. I would love for the avalanche to make a come back.
I own a 2013 black diamond avalanche. It’s awesome. Storage compartments are so much more secure than pickup. Please bring it back
Who was the idiot that said the Avalanche didn’t sell well? Clearly knows nothing about Chevy trucks.
My lifted 07 4×4 ltz is one of the best looking trucks on the road.. wouldn’t trade it for a brand new pu.. just love being able to camp with this machine.. can’t believe they don’t market it like that theses days.. gm needs to bring it back to compete with the cyber truck cuz elons making his camping friendly. eventually they will return I believe.. I’m holding out till they do..
I also agree with all of the Avalanche owners. I have an 04 with 156,000 and runs like a top. Wouldn’t trade it for a Silverado ever! I would also buy this new Avalanche if it ever went on sale…
3 transmissions? Oh Chevy Boys !
I think they should bring the new chevy avalanche back in 2022 with electric and Gas package 📦
My ’04 Z71 got stolen twice. Got a ’05 to replace it. This gal and her dog just loves it.
Just had to dump my ’08 Avalanche. Replaced it with a Silverado lease.
Would turn in the lease immediately if it meant I could pick up another Av. One of the best vehicles I’ve owned.
I owned a 2003, 2004 and the last year 2013. Loved all of them but my favorite was the 2013 LTZ 4×4. Loved everything but the paint flaking off in sheets after 5 years and one month due to corrosion. Chevy refused to fix it even though it was obvious that it was a problem well prior to the 5 year corrosion warranty. Piss on Chevy for screwing me over after I had bought 3 of them. I owned several K1500 Z71 LTZ’s as well prior to the Avalanche and they all had paint issues too.
.I changed up to the GMC Yukon Denali XL. Ni more Chevys for me.
You do know the GMC and Chevrolet versions are built in the same plants using the same paint systems, right? Same parts, same designers and same engineers, etc. Just different marketing.
Cliff for your info. GM had a problem with paint flaking back in 1994 -1995. Turned out it was caused by bad primer. In Canada GM came good for it and repainted several Municipal Vehicles, as well as my 1990 Suburban at no charge. I guess we got lucky here with a GM representative that took customer satisfaction seriously. Of course no one wants to loose fleet business.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I like the concept. We had an Avalanche in 2004 -2007 and liked it.
They won’t bring back the Avalanche, that’s why the Colorado has all the accessories to LOOK like an Avalanche. To the artist: Good Job but LOSE the cladding.
Why can’t you put that face on the Silverado?
I always wondered why they gave up on the Avalanche till I saw the sales numbers.
Sorry I loved this truck too but but I need to inject a little reality here.
CHEVROLET AVALANCHE – US – BY YEAR
Year sold
2005 63,186
2006 57,076
2007 55,550
2008 35,003
2009 16,432
2010 20,515
2011 20,088
2012 25,789
2013 16,526
2014 92
2015 8
The first three years were ok but not great and it got worse from there. I though they sold better than that but 20K units is not enough to make back the investments on these. The decline matches the same line of the increase in sales of the crew cabs.
I liked the idea and the concept but in the end I think the price really hurt Crew trucks are cheaper and more profitable.
Now if GM were to do a small truck like the Maverick based on a CUV I think the opening cab would be a big selling point to a small truck with a pointless bed.
I know those who had this truck held a lot of passion. for them but sadly there just was not enough of you to support spending money developing a new one.
It is easy and cheap to photo shop out a rear cargo area. To engineer a real one is much more expensive and if you don’t sell many you will lose money.
Great info – sheds a bunch of light on why they ended that line. For me it is a very functional vehicle and I see a lot of them on the road, but numbers show that they evidently weren’t that popular.
I too as shocked at how low the sales were. You do see them a lot but the numbers just don’t look good.
I suspect the added cost over the Crew Cab may have been a big part of it.
I still think the concept would be viable in a smaller CUV. Imagine a Traverse with a bed and opening cab or a Nox.
Why can’t you put that face on a Silverado?
I never understood why the Avalanche came about. The options for the bed cover and such can be added to the Silverado line. The Avalanche is more of a hulky El Camino… Personally I would prefer a new El Camino.
Love everything except the black cladding, needs to be all painted same as body color. Everyone who owns or owed one has that fading black plastic that looks Gray. Also GM should do away with AFM, ruins camshafts & lifters and no a great fuel saver.
Delete the AFM that trashes cams & lifters, also paint all plastics same as body like the 13 models were (no fading problems)
I’ve tried to by another Avalanche recently, and the ones with reasonable mileage are extremely overpriced. I currently own a 2011 Tahoe Z71 and would love a new version of the Avalanche, especially now that the Tahoe/Surburban, etc. have IRS.
Like it. If the price was reasonable id buy one looks like it has a 6’ box pus the fold down mid gate short wb than a crew cab with a long box could make a cool car camper overland rug
I
had an avalanche loved it. would love another!
I’m still driving my ’03 with 300K+ miles on it b/c I refuse to let it go. Had I been able, I should have bought a final year Black Diamond on it’s way out. I still find every aspect of my Avalanche useful and only Ram has similar bed storage bin (RamBox) that can do what my Chevy can do.
I’d do this in a heartbeat.
Buy one? In a heartbeat!!! I’ll take 2. We have a 2002 Z71 with 188k on it and it still runs and looks great. Garage kept saves them. I only wish GM would resume making these trucks. They would sell tens of thousands every year.
I Love my Avalanche!! If they bring it back I would buy another one in a heart beat!!!!! I have had a 05 and now have a 13!!!! Please bring it back!!!!!!!!!
Funny thing is when the Avalanche came out so many popooed it for having a small box. Now how many trucks come with roughly the same size box and then a teneau cover put on top.
Just shut up GM and take my money. I have 26 years working for the General and dropping the OG Avalanche was a mistake
They should never have stopped mak1ing them to begin with along with the Caddy version. Stupid GM.
I had a 2002 Avalanche 1500 and loved it. It was great in the snow and climbing hills, better than my previous and future Silverado’s were. It had a great balance to it and I loved the 32 gallon gas tank. I went to a Max Trailering Silverado with a smaller tank which made no sense and wish I would of bought the 2500 Avalanche to begin with. Like other comments, I had minimal issues with exception to a bad left front ball joint at about 30k. If they bring it back I only hope for the rugged version with plastic side molding like my 2002…..when they went to painted underbody sides, it took the beastiness away from it.
Bring the avalanche Back..!
All of my life I owned Chevrolets. I’ve owned three Avalanches, a 2003, a 2008 and now a 2013 Black Diamond Z71 with 153K miles. All three rank as the best trucks I have ever had. They are sooo vesatile! You can take it duck hunting in the morning , tow the boat to the lake in the afternoon , then put on your tux and take it to the opera in the evening (if you are in for that).
YES! Bring back the Avalanche!!! I’ll buy one in a heart beat!!!
When the Avalanche first came out I thought it was strange that GM would compete with themselves with a truck style SUV and a pickup and I have to admit I didn’t like the Avalanche. Now that I own one, a 2003 Z71, I understand the difference and I love it. GM thinking that Avalanche owners would transistion to Silverados was a mistake. Two different audiences but there isn’t much we can do so enjoy the one you own.
Love the Avalanche. For us it wasn’t practical@ that price. It was more like owning a designer watch. I got the small jobs done in style. But I can see a Colorado Avalanche flying off the shelves. It could do 90% of a full size @ 80% of the full size price. It could be a glamour vehicle that the ladies would have a hard time letting go. Make a high MPG light duty to a weekend off-roader.
I know of three people besides myself that would buy a Avalanche. GM could not build them fast enough. Also ,put the Blazer back on a frame with a true 4WD powertrain. Right now GM has nothing against the Jeep Grand Cherokee. As an employee, I’ve driven a lot of the jeeps. The Trailblazers/Envoy were more reliable and better quality.
The only year Avalanche I know is the Black Diamond, and I like it.
Frugally!!
I love my 2002 Avalanche I’ve got 245k and still running great. I would never own anything but an Avalanche!! Love the new take and y’all need to bring back the Avalanche.
I had a 2004 Avalanche, it had 485,000 klms on it when I traded it in. Never had a single bit of trouble with it!!! It had a 5.3, and I got 19 to23 miles per gallon! I don’t drive slow ever! It was a Loaded LTZ Z71 and I loved that truck! I then got a 2015 Silverado LTZ and have no problem with it either.