Have you ever thought about what happens to the ideal cars shown at the SEMA Show after the show? Are people stepping on them? Living in the barn of an engineer? Get established in a different place? Cars coops found the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche Base Camp Prototype in a brand-new eBay deal. After being at SEMA for over 20 years, this truck left the show tour and went to Canada. Do you still remember? If you do, it’s weird, but if you don’t, it’s okay! It’s hard to believe that a prototype of this Chevy Avalanche was ever put out into the wild. Giving pre-production samples to the general public is rare. The VIN for this Avalanche ends with “EX,” which stands for “experimental.” This shows that it is a one-of-a-kind car. It was a show car that GM sold through Barrett Jackson in 2006. That’s why it only has 1,956 miles on it, which is not a typo. The present owner, who likes to drive the cars in his collection, only puts them on the road for one mile. This is a big part of why he is willing to give it up. The Base Camp was a beta model made in 1998 and 1999, a few years before the Avalanche came out in 2002. It has built stickers and parts from those years. Under the hood, strange things could be going on because the Avalanche never got a 6.0-liter engine. The bright, three-stage yellow pearl looks like a one-of-a-kind colour rather than a mass-produced one. This Avalanche started the production Avalanche but also created the overlanding scene or “outdoor lifestyle of the Avalanche” decades before it became popular. Base Camp is what it’s called, after all. The GPS, a Coleman gas burner, a sink, and a chopping board that folds up are all built into the tailgate of the Base Camp. Over time, tailgates have become more and more strange. Built-in bedside storage lets you get to a Bose music system and camping gear like a lantern, coffee maker, air mattress pump, heater, and camping tools from inside the bed. Coleman made a trial tent that fits on top of a truck bed just for the Base Camp. This tent is the only one of its kind. The tent comes with a rubberized holding bag that says “Avalanche” and is one of a kind. The North Face gave sleeping bags, backpacks, and duffel bags to SEMA as part of their involvement. The Base Camp prototype has a lot of GM add-ons and aftermarket goodies, like a bag basket, brush guard, and tubular side stairs. On the doors, there is also plastic writing that says “Base Camp.” Two-way radios, a Magnavox screen in the dashboard, an overhead DVD player with four screens in the headrests, heated and cooled cup holders, white faces on the gauge clusters, a fitted fabric with yellow leather inlays, and an embossed Chevy logo all add to the sharp look of the interior. The owner says you can start the Base Camp without a key by flipping the starting switch. Yes, the keyless start for this Avalanche was hidden. This new technology is very different from Nokia phones, which are very old and have been around since the 1990s. The Base Camp, which still has its original wheels and tires, might be the most fabulous and worst Avalanche ever. The Avalanche Overlander is still for sale, even though the eBay ad has ended. Anyone who wants to buy this beautifully decorated piece of car history through this Hemings can talk to the owner about the price. We think GM should buy the Base Camp, put a crazy engine in it without changing anything else (except maybe the tires), and use it as a show car at the Overland Expo.
