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2016 Avalanche rumor

boymayo

Full Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Messages
33
Location
Austin, Texas
I bought my 2013 Avalanche this week, and since I paid cash, I had everyone in management stopping by to meet me. Talked to the fleet manager for a good long while. I was mentioned how happy I was to get Avalanche before they were gone, and he just smiled and said, "C'mon, you don't really think they are getting rid of this car for good, do you? The Avalanche has probably the highest customer satisfaction and crazy fanbase of any GM car out there." He goes on to tell me that he was in Las Vegas at the end of last year for a big GM event. During a stage presentation, they showed a lot of detailed projected images of the new interiors of the new Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban. And then they had one on stage, but they only showed it for about 15 seconds, and it was spinning on a rotating platform with strobe lights, so you couldn't get a photo (phones were confiscated before they began) or a great look, but enough to get a glimpse of the outer retstyling.

Long story short - after the big auditorium deal, they broke select people out into smaller groups for some additional info and q/a. Not a lot of info was flowing, but my guy swears that they are going to give the Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban two years and then mid 2015 will see a release of a 2016 Avalanche with the new design... and there will be a GMC equivalent! I was so blown away, that I didn't even think to ask him anything about the EXT. He did say the GMC one would be branded as a Yukon with some other letter extension like the Yukon/Yukon XL.

So, there you have it, folks. A good solid rumor to chew on and think about.

I will say that I didn't find this forum until the day before I purchased. I was in the market for a Tahoe/Yukon myself (coming from an Acadia) and only got interested in these by seeing one on the lot then driving one and getting a demo. So my awareness of the Avalanche's devotion here and it's imminent demise, is all recent. So I have no agenda here other than to pass on what I heard this last week at the dealership.
 
Awesome if true. I have to believe that a midgate based vehicle is being developed. The idea is simply too good.
 
 
I hope it's true but wonder what GM will do to produce it without affecting their fleet gas mileage requirements? It won't do me any good if they downsize and make a "baby AV".
I think the AV is the most comfortable/versatile vehicle out there today but I can imagine it has trouble finding a niche in the market. It is good at many things but not really best at any one thing. Ex: Silverado in pickups has more models and bed lengths engine sizes for towing etc. Suburban hauls more people. So when magazines or T.V. shows want to show the best pickup or the best SUV the AV gets left out and doesn't get the press.
I like many like the midgate but others have water leaks. Then see what they have done to models like the Z71 off-road. They offer it in 2WD and put lots of plastic airdams and trim low on the AV. They also did away with the rough lower cladding which was good for parking lot and brush protection. How could a Z71 compete with a Ford Raptor or Hummer or other true off-road model trucks?
Smaller things like if they like the AV fan base and want to keep up an interest why do they not sell the Black Diamond book to every AV owner? Not just for 2013 AV buyers?
All that being said if GM can build a full size AV in the future and they haven't killed the power and performance I would consider another AV down the road.
 
This should be good news for the '13'ers.  Until then, really no place for them to go, should they desire to upgrade at some point.

Nick
 
Vaeagleav said:
I hope it's true but wonder what GM will do to produce it without affecting their fleet gas mileage requirements?

Allegedly the new Tahoes/Yukons are going to have mileage improvement very close to or equal to the current hybrid versions of same. A 2016 Avalanche would be built off that model.
 
the new Tahoe & suburban are going to be about 500 lbs less than the current with a improved frame and all aluminum block...
 
Glad I bought mine now. I'm sure they will come out with something they call an Avalanche in 2016, but past experience has been to wait a while, reissue a popular name and put the brand on a "great" new vehicle.

There is simply no way that they are going to produce a 6000 lb, 320 hp version of a "NEW" Avalanche in the future......been through all this energy efficiency nonsense before.....back in 1977  (when experts told us we only had enough oil and $1.25 gasoline reserves to last until 1999) they downsized the Impala full size class,next year the Chevelle mid size class, and year after the Nova compact class from powerful rear drive beasts to puny front drive ghosts of their former glory......prices went up also so you could get less for more. Anybody that went from an V8 Impala to a V6 Citation knows what I am talking about. My 1977 Blazer was a real 2 door Blazer with a powerful 350, not the tiny thing they called a Blazer in in the late 90s that I could fit in the bed of my Avy.

I bought the Avys for their room and ride, not felt since the mid 70s. The old saying was that there is no substitute for cubes, wide tires or weight. I'll take my 16-18 mpg and gladly pay $5. a gallon before the day I stuff my ass and rub shoulders with the passenger in a circus sized "clown" car! And it appears that is where they are want to lead us......fleet mileage is the governing factor of the future.......and there are not a lot of practical new technologies available to accomplish future mpg requirements..... so I'll be hanging on to these for a while because it's time to give the engineers another go at reducing weight and goosing more hp from existing/new engines by more complex and costly gimmicks....and in a few years you'll see something along the size of a Colorado with a turbo, a lot more plastic and aluminum panels/parts for a 2000 lb crew cut that will be called the Avalanche......but will it be an Avalanche?

I hope they prove me wrong........but I don't think so!
 
Who knows, maybe by the time 2016 rolls around they'll have a diesel in the light duty trucks. Or even a diesel-electric hybrid, like that Volkswagen concept in Detroit, sick mileage numbers for that. Nothing for power though. I'd be interested to see what the design would look like.

James.
 
I think the actual avalanche will always be based off of the tahoe/suburban platforms which are their main selling vehicles i dont see them getting rid of those for a long time...
 
My guess is that if it does come back...especially in light of Government (defacto part owners of GM) pressure to increase fleet mileage and overall mileage within vehicle categories........it will be as an SUV/Crossover.

GM (and others) is already playing politically correct with classification of vehicle platform and suspensions.......Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Yukon XL.......even the corporate twin, Cadillac EXT are not classified as trucks.....check the website, They are all listed as SUV/Crossover and not as trucks........the only consumer trucks in the GM line are Colorado/Canyon, Avalanche, and Silverado/Sierra.......technically by discontinuing Avalanche they are eliminating 1/3 of their truck lines. From there it is a small step to bring it back in a few years to replace a Traverse size V6 AWD platform....something like a Honda Ridgeline maybe even with a motorized midgate with a power window..
 
The 2014 silverado/seirra will come standard with a 4.3 litre V6, V8 as an option. Completely redesigned engines, based on the legendary small block. Wouldnt doubt a 2016 avy would have the V6 standard as well.
 
:eek: that would be sweet!
 
jeffs03avalanche said:
If its not a 6k lb beast. I wont be interested
:laugh:
 
Well if GM came out with a V6 that has some guts like that ecoboost engine, then maybe a V6 would be worthwhile.
 
The Silverado and Yukon, etc ...have Hybrid versions that play the environment card. That means they have the large coffin battery under the back seat. Avy needs that space for the midgate to drop, therefore they can not retrofit the Avy to a hybrid version. I wonder if that is one of the reasons it's going away? Kind of like the dinosaur.
 
james21 said:
Well if GM came out with a V6 that has some guts like that ecoboost engine, then maybe a V6 would be worthwhile.

Not if. It is, lol. The new trucks will come standard with a V6. But just like you, I hope it has enought power to be worth it. Unfortunatly it will have AFM, as will the V8's. And direct injection.
 
As long as I have my V8 dinosaurs they will never be extinct; and evolution isn't always a good thing......I consider a 6000 lb truck with a V6 to be a mutation.

No more V6s for me.......had 'em, don't like them......at least not the ones with the opposing cylinder banks at 90 degrees! I'd even take a similar displacement V4 over a V6. By design a V6 powers the crank with two pistons on one bank opposing one cylinder on the opposite bank for each rotation, not so with V4, V8 and V12 which have an equal number of opposing cylinders per rotation. Makes for a smoother engine without additional hardware to get rid of the bad harmonics. It's my opinion that V6s are a cheat they came up with to stuff them in front drive and compact vehicles with limited room. I'd rather have an in line straight 6 or at least a foreign version with opposing cylinder banks at 60 degrees with dual counter rotating cranks to counter the imbalance inherent the V6 design. A V6 makes no sense except to save space and has no business under a full size truck bonnet. Offering a V6 over a stock V8 is more likely to improve truck fleet mileage than to enhance performance and a smaller engine may improve mileage on a Government test track, but an undersized engine for the job will waste more gas and provide less performance that a larger, properly sized V8, (e.g. in real world mileage a Ford Pinto, a heavy all steel old technology sub compact, with a 1.6 one bbl. carb was good for 16 mpg, but the 2.0 two bbl. got 20 mpg). So the easy answer they will seek is to reduce the weight, usually by using alternative materials that will work long enough to get past the warranty period. What would you rather have: steel or nylon gears; steel or plastic brake pistons; steel or aluminum suspension gear; steel or plastic/aluminum body panels; or nice fat tires instead of skinny ones barely sized to pass the load ratings?

And just like any purchase of a product that uses a proprietary battery......before considering a hybrid price the cost of the battery replacement and installation before you make your decision.
 
Good response. I like your view on this and agree with your points. You seem passionate and knowledgeable about the design stuff. I once had a 66 Chevy Nova with a straight 6. That was fun, and had power -  wheels squealing and smoke'n everywhere. Just wonder about carbon or kevlar as material in the auto industry. Maybe coming too as some now have carbon fibre already. Ya, heard about those battery replacements - about $6 to $7,000 in Canada. Yikes! :eek:  We'll see what happens. I'll just hang onto my 2011 AVY and reevaluated when 2016 rolls around. BTW, I like dinosaur's  -  still got my tube radio from the 60's - I"ll give it to to my 1st grand kid when that happens.
 
                                            :laugh:
boymayo said:
Looks like an El Camino that's been working out with Alex Rodriguez.
 
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