Sure, there are conventional trucks in the Chevrolet line for 2005 as cast in conventional formats of mid-size, full-size and even super-size measurements with Colorado, Silverado LD (light-duty) and Silverado HD (heavy-duty). But Chevy offers other ideas, like Avalanche -- which has the abbreviated bed of a pickup plus the cabin of a sport-utility wagon with four doors and two rows of seats for six -- and the slick SSR, a retro-mode pickup that looks like a hot rod but can shed its cab lid like a sporty roadster.

It's a two-seat roadster and an airy convertible; although with that obvious truck box in back there's no doubt it's also a pickup. Chevrolet calls this unique vehicle the SSR -- Super Sport Roadster. Think of it as a cross between a truck and an open-top roadster, but don't expect to see anything else on the road quite like it. There's that bed in back like a truck, but also a retractable hardtop that converts the vehicle via power controls to a breezy convertible. The lid folds in two pieces and tucks vertically behind front seats.

Frame and chassis for SSR were lifted from Chevrolet's mid-size TrailBlazer SUV, and for 2005 the powertrain comes out of a new Corvette. The new 6.0-liter LS2 V8 thunders with 390 hp and huge torque. To handle such muscle, SSR gets a heavy-duty Hydra-Matic 4L65-E HD four-speed automatic transmission or optional Tremec T56 six-speed manual gearbox. Wheels and tires are the largest stock rollers in the GM warehouse, with 19-inch alloy wheels in front and vast 20-inchers in back with Goodyear Eagle RS-A performance rubber.

Constructed on the chassis of a Silverado LD truck with a cabin fashioned from the super-size Suburban wagon, the Avalanche discards the Suburban's rear bay in favor of the shortened bed of a pickup. There's a husky V8 engine under the hood, a four-wheeling traction mechanism that automatically channels torque to all wheels, and a heavy-duty automatic transmission to manage all the power. The back wall of the cabin also works as a door. It folds flat after the back seat tumbles forward and forms a generous extension of the truck box. The rear box has high walls and indentations to rig tiers or segment cargo, and a detachable tailgate folds down to extend the floor of the box.

A deluxe cabin in the Avalanche resembles the Suburban in layout with seating for five or six. The Avalanche comes in 1500 or 2500 series with RWD or 4WD traction. The 1500 extracts power from a 5.3-liter V8 that makes 295 hp while the 2500 packs GM's 8.1-liter big-block V8 with 320 hp. GM's OnStar telecommunications system is standard for Avalanche in 2005, with power adjustable brake and accelerator pedals available in add-on equipment packages. (CONTINUED...)