20 years ago I had a full-size pickup. I wanted a crew-cab (kids) but also the 8-foot bed for work, but those trucks were way too big for getting around in the city where a lot of my jobs were.
I was almost thinking of finding an old station wagon like dads that could go from hauling 6 kids to sheets of plywood.
Then saw an ad for the new Chevy Avalanche that was just coming out. Then 911 happened and with the business incentives and cut prices I bought one in Nov. 2021. I love it! 4’x8’ plywood all out of the rain. Pull them out, flip up the seat and 3 kids in the back.
oops - 2001. I hit a deer and totaled it in 2021. And bought a used Avalanche from a person.
When I was looking at the dealers one of them said “So you’re looking for an Avalanche? What happened to your old one?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“95% of the guys looking for Avalanches had one before and it either got totaled of the engine blew up.”
I did some research on the engine thing - the newer ones (2008?) had some fuel management system where it would go from 8 cylinders to 4 to save fuel. But the design was bad and the engines would seize or something.
I ended up buying a used one (2011) and the guy had just replaced the engine. The engine had 8,000 miles on it. I sent the computer board to a guy that for $50 disabled the stupid fuel management system so it runs on all 8 now and avoids the blown engine problem. IIRC the oil would drain out around the 4 cylinders that weren’t being used and then each time they kicked in there would be a slight lag in oil pressure on those. I suppose like starting it up for the drive, but doing that 100 times while you are on your commute?