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Never ask anyone from General Motors to help name your kid.

GM, the outfit that once stuck the Impact moniker on a battery-powered car, is bringing a new model to showrooms this month, a promised “trend-setter segment-buster” that combines the best of a sport-utility vehicle with the best of a pickup truck in one package.

And its name?

Avalanche!

Naming a vehicle for a natural disaster. Those GM folks have a sense of humor, don’t you think?

So what is an Avalanche on wheels?

“It’s not a pickup or a sport-utility, but a cross between the two that allows you to switch to either in a moment,” said Carl Hillenbrand, assistant brand manager for Chevrolet who escorted one into Chicago for a sneak peek and abbreviated drive.

Avalanche shares platforms and 85 percent of its parts (but only door handles and mirrors on the outside) with the full-size Chevy Suburban sport-utility.

Avalanche looks more like a truck than SUV, thanks to what Chevy calls body armor: thick plastic cladding over bumpers, wheelwells, rocker panels and the sail panels along the rear roof line.

In the first quarter of next year, Cadillac will come out with a luxury version of Avalanche called the ’02 Escalade EXT (Cars, Jan. 11) with the same shape, minus the armor.

Avalanche is a multipurpose people and stuff hauler, a workhorse and plaything with lots of interesting features and only one or two drawbacks–three tops.

Noteworthy items include:

– Four doors and two rows of seats for six adults with massive head, leg and arm room so it acts like a Suburban, and an abbreviated bed so it works like a Silverado pickup.

– A midgate, a rear cabin wall that folds flat when the rear window is removed and stored in a holder below. That task done, the 5-foot 3-inch bed swells to 8 feet 1 inch after you fold the rear seats.

– A midgate, a rear cabin wall that folds flat to allow the 5-foot 3-inch bed to swell to 8 feet 1 inch after you fold the rear seats to extend the bed into the cabin. You can leave the rear window in place with the midgate down or remove the window, store it in a holder in the midgate, and then fold the midgate down.

– A bed enclosed with three, 20-pound aluminum/urethane foam covers wrapped in plastic, each able to hold 250 pounds. Those plastic covers remove (latches glow in the dark to do so at night) and slip into a bag along the sidewall. You can opt for a softop for a $600 credit.

– Grooves in the sidewalls to hold plywood to divide the cargo hold into upper/lower portions. With the plastic panels secure and tailgate closed, the cargo hold locks to keep contents secure.

– Each sidewall has a built-in, lockable storage bin lined with rubberized plastic to convert wasted space into tool chest or swimsuit/fishing gear holders or coolers for a case or two of pop or juice, which may explain the six cupholders in the cabi n.

– When lowered, the tailgate hides the built-in bumper step, so a step was added in the bumper corner to help you up. And the bed floor is covered with a rubberized mat with drain holes to release water.

As for those drawbacks, the midgate and rear window are light, easy to remove and the glass easy to store in its midgate holder. But when you fold the midgate, it suddenly feels as if you are lowering a brick wall. Have a friend help and keep the kids out of the way.

To allow for a midgate, the bed walls stand rather high. It means you can carry a large load. But when driving or backing up with the bed enclosed, it also means you have to look over a barrier to judge how much room before you hit another object.

It would help if Avalanche had sonar sensors to warn of an object when backing up. The Cadillac Escalade EXT will have sonar sensors, not Avalanche.

And when you flip and fold the rear seats to fold the midgate, several inches of s ace between seat and the midgate or cabin wall are exposed that serve as wasted space/dirt catchers/dropped item hiding places.

Hillenbrand said Chevy may add a tool box in that space to clean up the appearance and serve a function. Cadillac is considering a drop panel along the midgate to cover the hole.

But one good thing about those seats, an opening in the seat bottom lets the seat back be folded without removing the headrest.

The Avalanche with its 5.3-liter, 285-horsepower V-8 is rated at 13 m.p.g. city/17 m.p.g. highway with four-wheel-drive, 14/18 with two-wheel-drive. Chevy boasts Avalanche can tow up to 8,300 pounds with 2WD, 8,100 pounds with 4WD. In July, a heavy-duty Avalanche 2500 series will be added with an 8.1-liter, 340-h.p. V-8 capable of towing up to 12,000 pounds. Mileage?

Chevy says you can drive Avalanche with the rear window removed/stowed without exhaust fumes entering the cabin. We asked for three volunteers in our test drive, but no hands were raised. But with the window removed we found no exhaust fumes filtering to the driver’s seat and surprisingly didn’t hear any noise filtering into the cabin from outside.

However, since you might not notice the window removed, be alert for items that might blow out the opening or be tossed out by kids–and, of course, be alert to kids in back when the window is stowed. Also, you probably won’t need but one rainstorm (or one gaping hole where the radio used to be) to remind you to replace the window before leaving Avalanche parked outside at night.

The 4WD is activated by an easy-to-use dial for 2 high, 4 high or 4 low. Ride is rather smooth, but the 5.3-liter seemed underpowered. And looking over the tall pickup bed when backing up was a chore.

Avalanche base price is $30,245 for 2WD, $33,245 for 4WD. The 2500 series will be $32,145 2WD, $35,145 4WD. Add $720 freight to all.

Standard equipment includes side air bags, air conditioning, four-wheel anti-lock brakes, AM/FM stereo with CD player, power windows/locks/mirrors (foldable and heated).

Options include power driver/passenger seats ($615); leather seats ($1,115); leather seats with heat/memory/recline ($1,415); power sunroof ($1,095); raised white-letter tires ($125); engine block heater ($33); roof rack ($195); snow plow package (2500 series only at $195); and running boards ($395), strongly advised for anyone less than 6 feet tall.

Two special option conversion packages are offered, the Z66 with specially tuned shocks and springs for smooth on-road touring for 2WD models, the Z71 with heavy-duty shocks and spring rates for rugged off-roading for 4WD models. Either runs $835, and both upgrade to 17-inch radials from the base 16 inchers.

Chevy’s goal is an ambitious 100,000 annual sales, 65 percent of them 4WD.

The Avalanche approach with all its goodies on a smaller midsize Chevy TrailBlazer would have a better ch ance of reaching 100,000 units based on expected lower price, better mileage and better chance of seeing over the bed when backing up.

In addition to the heavy-duty 2500 series, Chevy will add a North Face edition ($37,465) for 4WD models designed in conjunction with the camping outfitter this year.