Constructed on the chassis of a Silverado LD truck with a cabin fashioned from the super-size Suburban wagon, Avalanche discards 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 so much power. The back wall of the cabin also works as a door. It folds down 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. Three lock-down panels form a rigid cargo cover over the bed to secure contents.

A deluxe cabin in Avalanche resembles Suburban in a layout with seating for five or six. Avalanche comes in 1500 or 2500 series with rear-wheel-drive (RWD) or four-wheel-drive (4WD) driveline. The 1500 extracts power from a 5.3-liter V8 that generates 295 hp but the 2500 packs GM's 8.1-liter big-block V8 good for 320 hp. New exterior colors are available on 2004 models: Sunburst Orange, Silver Birch and Sport Red Metallic.

A pickup measuring up to the mid-size class debuts in Chevrolet's 2004 truck line. Called Colorado, the new truck shows up in nine models with three cab versions (two-door Regular Cab and four-door Extended Cab plus four-door Crew Cab), three suspension packages (standard, sport or off-road), and RWD or 4WD traction mode.

The Regular Cab has a bench clad in cloth or vinyl and divided 60/40, but bucket seats are optional. Colorado Extended Cab carries four doors and the Crew Cab also with four doors installs a folding rear seat with enough room to accommodate three adults in comfort.

Two new engines of in-line design where developed to propel Colorado. The base Vortec 2800 2.8-liter four-cylinder engine punches up 175 hp, while the optional Vortec 3500 3.5-liter in-line five-cylinder plant produces 220 hp. Options include heated seats and OnStar telecommunications, even side curtain-style air bags.

Chevrolet's compact-class S-10 truck for 2004 appears strictly in Crew Cab format with four doors and 4WD traction applied.

Powertrain is the Vortec 4300 V6 that makes 180 hp with a four-speed Hydra-Matic 4L60-E automatic transmission. The Insta-Trac 4WD system permits shift-on-the-fly switching from rear-wheel to four-wheel mode and has a 4WD low gear for off-road work. S-10 Crew Cab employs a cropped box of 55.2 inches to hold an easy-to-drive length.

A ZR5 Sport Appearance Package brings Spectra Gray wheel flares and bumpers, 15-inch aluminum wheels, bed rails and side steps, plus a roof rack.

Best-selling vehicle for General Motor happens to be the full-size Silverado LD truck from Chevrolet. The series is extensive, with pickups cast in 1500 and 2500 weight classes and rigged with various cab sizes, plus short or long box and standard Fleetside body styling or rakish Sportside on the 1500 Silverado.

New models for 2004 include a Silverado 1500 four-door Crew Cab with RWD or 4WD traction and a 2500 Crew Cab RWD or 4WD with gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) at 8600 lbs.

Seating for Silverado's Regular Cab is a bench for three split in 40/20/40 sections. For the Extended Cab, bench or buckets stand in front of a back bench with padded back tilted for comfort. One four-door format has two rear-hinged doors for easy entry to the rear, while the Crew Cab puts conventional rear doors aboard for true four-door function. Engines begin with a 4.3-liter V6 with 200 hp for Regular Cab. The Extended Cab brings a 4.8-liter V8 and 270 hp channeled through an automatic transmission.

Silverado's 5.3-liter V8 reaches 285 hp, while a 6.0-liter V8 makes 300 hp. For even more power, Chevrolet offers the new Silverado SS, built off a 1500 Extended Cab Silverado with short-box bed and a high-output version of the 6.0-liter V8 kicking up 345 hp.

Deluxe LT Silverado totes an automatic active transfer case -- called Autotrac -- but it's available on LS trim. Another system labeled Insta-Trac permits shift-on-the-fly switching from rear-wheel to four-wheel mode and has a 4WD low gear for off-road work. The option of four-wheel-steering (4WS) continues for 1500 HD short-box trucks with the Quadrasteer system that dramatically reduces the turning circle of a truck and brings improved high-speed stability plus low-speed maneuverability.

Silverado's Z71 off-road package for 1500 series 4WD models adds a skid-plate package, 46-mm gas-charged shocks and off-road jounce bumpers, plus a high-capacity air cleaner.

Other Silverado options range from Bose sound systems to a Panasonic Passenger Entertainment System with DVD player and flip-down screen, plus XM satellite radio service.

Chevrolet's heavy-duty work trucks under the Silverado banner continue as the most powerful pickups on the planet. The series also provides uncommonly comfortable passenger compartments in cabs with two or four doors, and they're smooth in suspension ride and downright easy to operate.

These trucks in 2500 and 3500 series come with two-door Regular Cab, four-door Extended Cab, four-door Crew Cab and no-cab Chassis Cab. The Regular Cab Silverado HD carries a bench seat for three and two front-hinged doors with a truck box in back of short or long length.

Rear doors for the Extended Cab are hinged on rear edges and close by tucking behind front doors or open in the absence of pillars to provide a broad and unencumbered space for easy entry to both the front bench seat or rear three-person jump seat. For Crew Cab, with full-size rear area and full-size bench seat for three, the conventional front-hinged back doors work like front doors in an arrangement that emulates a sedan.

Powerhouse engines and strong transmissions apply, including two gasoline Vortec V8 choices and a Duramax turbo-diesel V8. The Vortec 6000 300 hp 6.0-liter V8 is the entry plant. A Vortec 8100 8.1-liter big-block V8 is optional at 330 hp and works with either a ZF six-speed manual or Allison five-speed automatic transmission.

The Duramax 6600 6.6-liter V8 direct-injection turbo-diesel puts out awesome power and torque ratings, and it too mates with the ZF six-speed manual or Allison five-speed automatic.

New to the series, a 3500 4WD model with GVWR of 9900 lbs and single-rear-wheel (SRW) configuration for all cabs.