GMC (automobile)

General Motors Truck Company (GMC), formally the GMC Division of General Motors LLC, is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that primarily focuses on trucks and utility vehicles. GMC currently makes SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and light-duty trucks, catered to a premium-based market. In the past, GMC also produced fire trucks, ambulances, heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles, motorhomes, transit buses, and medium duty trucks.

GMC Division of General Motors LLC

Type	Division LLC
Industry	Automotive
Predecessors	Rapid Motor Vehicle Company Reliance Motor Car Company
Founded	July 22, 1911 (1911-07-22)
Founder	William C. Durant
Headquarters	Detroit, Michigan , United States
Area served	North America and Middle East (except Iran and Syria)
Products	Automobiles Commercial vehicles Trucks
Services	Vehicle financing Vehicle insurance
Owner	General Motors
Divisions	GMC Hummer EV
Website	gmc.com

While many GMC and Chevrolet trucks are mechanically identical, GMC is positioned as a premium offering to the mainstream Chevrolet brand, with luxury vehicles such as the Denali series. In North America, GMC vehicles are almost always sold alongside Buick vehicles at joint dealerships, allowing the same dealer to market both upscale cars and trucks.

History

Model 25 One ton chain drive - 1915

GMC traces its history to the 1902 founding of the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company in Pontiac, Michigan. In 1909 William C. Durant gained control of Rapid Motor Vehicle Company and made it a subsidiary of his General Motors Company. In 1908 Durant gained control of Reliance Motor Car Company, another early commercial vehicle manufacturer. In 1911 General Motors formed the General Motors Truck Company and folded Rapid and Reliance into it. In 1912 the Rapid and Reliance names were dropped in favor of “GMC.” All General Motors truck production was consolidated at the former Rapid Motor Plant 1 in Pontiac, Michigan.[1]

GMC maintained three manufacturing locations in Pontiac, Michigan, Oakland, California, and St. Louis, Missouri.

In 1916, a GMC Truck crossed the country from Seattle to New York City in thirty days, and in 1926, a 2-ton GMC truck was driven from New York to San Francisco in five days and 30 minutes. During the Second World War, GMC Truck produced 600,000 trucks for use by the United States Armed Forces.

In 1925, GM purchased a controlling interest in Yellow Coach, a bus and taxicab manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois which was founded by John D. Hertz. The company was renamed Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Company (YT&CMC), an affiliated subsidiary of General Motors. All manufacturing operations of General Motors Truck Company were placed under YT&CMC. In 1928 Plant 2 opened and all headquarters staff moved to the administration building at 660 South Boulevard E in Pontiac, MI. In 1943, GM purchased the remaining interest in YT&CMC and renamed it GMC Truck and Coach Division.[2]

In 1981, GMC Truck & Coach Division became part of GM Worldwide Truck & Bus Group. Bus production ended in May 1987 and the division name was changed from GMC Truck & Coach to GMC Truck Division. The Canadian plant (in London, Ontario) produced buses from 1962 until July 1987. GM withdrew from the bus and coach market because of increased competition in the late 1970s and 1980s. Rights to the RTS model were sold to Transportation Manufacturing Corporation, while Motor Coach Industries of Canada purchased the Classic design.[3] In 1998, GMC's official branding on vehicles was shortened from "GMC Truck" to simply "GMC".

In 1996, GM merged GMC Truck Division with the Pontiac Motor Division in order to "give the combined division a brand image projecting physical power and outdoor activity".[4] This coincided with many GMC dealerships merging with Pontiac dealerships, allowing a single dealer to offer both trucks and entry-to-mid-level cars.

In 2002, GMC celebrated its 100 anniversary and released a book entitled GMC: The First 100 Years, a complete history of the company.

In 2007, GMC introduced the Acadia, a crossover SUV, which was the division's first unibody vehicle whose predecessor, the GMT-360 based Envoy, was discontinued with the closure of GM's Moraine, Ohio plant on December 23, 2008.

In 2009, GMC ended production of medium-duty commercial trucks after over 100 years.[5] They became exclusive to Chevrolet with the launch of the 4500HD/5500HD Silverado in 2018.[6] Also in 2009, GMC introduced the Terrain, a mid-size crossover SUV based on the GM Theta platform shared with the Chevrolet Equinox. It replaced the Pontiac Torrent after the brand's demise.

On January 30, 2020, General Motors released a series of short teaser videos revealing the return of Hummer.[7] The short spots tease a 30-second Super Bowl ad featuring NBA superstar LeBron James. The teasers confirm the nameplate's return—this time not as a separate brand, but as two models, an electric pickup truck and SUV, to be sold under the GMC brand as the "GMC Hummer EV.". According to the teasers, the production EV will feature 1,000 horsepower, hit 60 mph in 3 seconds and is scheduled to launch in late 2021. While the new Hummer EV was scheduled to be revealed on May 20, 2020, concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic have forced the revealing to be pushed back until a later date.

Platform sharing with Chevrolet

1919 GMC Tanker

1920 Chevrolet tow truck

1946 Chevrolet Pickup

1941 GMC Model 9314

2008 GMC Sierra

2010 Chevrolet Silverado

Beginning in 1920, GMC and Chevrolet trucks became largely similar, built as variants of the same platform, sharing much the same body sheetwork, except for nameplates and grilles – though their differences, especially engines, have varied over the years. GMC advertising marketed its trucks to commercial buyers and businesses, whereas Chevrolet's advertising was directed towards private owners. Beginning in 1928, GMCs used Pontiac's 186 cu in six-cylinder engines in their lighter trucks.[8] Medium-duty trucks relied on Buick engines, while the heaviest trucks used GMC's own "Standard Big Brute" engine.[8] From 1939 to 1974 GMC had its own line of six-cylinder engines, first the inline sixes known as "Jimmy's" from 1939 to 1959, and then their own V6 from 1960 until 1974, of which a V8 and a V12 version also existed. Additionally, from 1955 through 1959, the less than 2-ton, domestic GMC gasoline trucks were equipped with Pontiac, Buick, and Oldsmobile V8s—whereas the Canadian models used Chevrolet engines.

Between 1962 and 1972, most GMC vehicles were equipped with quad-headlights, while their Chevrolet clones were equipped with dual-headlights.

In 1971, GMC marketed their version of the Chevrolet El Camino, which was based on the Chevrolet Chevelle. Called Sprint, it was virtually identical to the El Camino, and a sport version, the SP, was equivalent to the El Camino SS.

In 1973, with GM's introduction of the new "rounded line" series trucks, GMC and Chevrolet trucks became even more similar, ending production of GMC's quad-headlight models, and setting the standard for the Chevrolet/GMC line of trucks for over thirty years.

As of 2020, GMC's vehicles are marketed as more premium, luxury vehicles positioned above similar vehicles from the more mainstream Chevrolet division. Chevrolet vehicles are priced lower than a comparable GMC, but GMC vehicles have features not found in a comparable Chevrolet.[9]

A joint Buick/GMC dealership in North America

In North America, Chevrolet offers a full lineup of cars, crossover vehicles, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks. GMC, however, does not offer any car models, so typically they are sold along Buick (or sometimes Cadillac) vehicles at joint dealerships, allowing the same dealer to sell a full lineup of upscale vehicles, including both cars and trucks. However, standalone GMC dealerships do exist, primarily for dealers who have a focus on selling to the commercial and fleet vehicle markets.

GMC models

Light-duty trucks

Image	Model	Introduced	Discontinued	Notes
	T and F series	1937	1938	Similar to the Chevrolet G/S and F/T series
	AC and AF series	1939	1940	AF series is cabover design
	C and E series[10]	1941	1947	Little difference with the Chevrolet Art Deco trucks
	New Design series	1947	1955	Little difference with the Chevrolet Advance-Design trucks
	Blue Chip series	1955	1959	Pontiac Powered, similar to the Chevrolet Task-Force trucks
	C and K Series	1960	1998	half–, three-quarter– and one-ton trucks, with Sierra, Sierra Grande, High Sierra, and Sierra Classic trim lines
	Sprint	1971	1977	Coupe utility – GMC version of the 1971 to 1977 Chevrolet El Camino
	Caballero	1978	1987	Coupe utility – GMC version of the 1978 to 1987 Chevrolet El Camino
	S-15	1982	1990	Became the Sonoma in 1991
	Sonoma	1991	2004	Formerly the S-15 1982–1990
	Syclone	1991	1991	High performance version of the Sonoma
	Sierra	1988	current	GMC version of Chevrolet C/K (1988–99) Chevrolet Silverado (1999-present) medium- and heavy-duty pickup
	Canyon	2004	current	GMC version of Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup
	Hummer EV SUT	2021	current	General Motor's first all-electric off-road pickup

Medium-duty trucks

Image	Model	Introduced	Discontinued	Notes
	Varies, first letter denotes production year: A=1939-1940, C=1941-1945, E=1946, F=1947-1950, Z=1954, Y=1955, X=1956, T=1957, S=1958-1959, N=1960; Second letter denotes cab style: C=cab behind engine, F=cab over engine	1939	1959	Line sold to Navistar, now marketed under the WorkHorse brand.
	L-Series	1960	c.1984	Steel Tilt Cab
	TopKick	1980	1996
	C-Series	1960	2009
	Forward	1980s	2010	rebadged Isuzu Elf
	W-Series	1984	2010	Rebadged Isuzu Elf
	T-Series	1994	2010	Rebadged Isuzu Giga
	TopKick	2003	2009	Model used for Ironhide in the Transformers film series

Heavy-duty trucks

Image	Model	Introduced	Discontinued	Notes
	DLR/F/“Crackerbox”	1959	1968	Aluminium Tilt Cab
	B-Model	1960	1966
	7500	1963	1978
	9500	1966	1978
	Astro 95	1968	1988
	General	1977	1988
	Brigadier	1978	1988

Buses

Image	Model	Introduced	Discontinued	Notes
	P-series[11]	1940s[12]	1980	"Parlor" (highway) coaches
	"Old Look"	1940[12]	1969	transit
	"New Look"	1959	1986	transit
	RTS	1977	1987	transit
	Classic	1982	1987	transit
	B-series	1966	2003	school bus
	S-series	1986	1989	school bus (forward control)

Vans

Image	Model	Introduced	Discontinued	Notes
	Handi-Van	1964	1970
	Handi-Bus	1964	1970
	Rally	1970	1996	GMC version of the Chevrolet Sportvan
	Vandura	1970	1996	GMC version of the Chevrolet Chevy Van
	Safari	1985	2005	GMC version of the Chevrolet Astro
	Savana	1996	current	GMC version of the Chevrolet Express

SUVs

Image	Model	Introduced	Discontinued	Notes
	Suburban	1937	2000	Rebranded as Yukon XL, it was sold in middle east with Suburban nameplate beside the Yukon XL, until 2007
	Jimmy	1969	2005	GMC version of the Chevrolet Blazer
	S-15 Jimmy	1983	2005	GMC version of the Chevrolet Blazer
	Tracker	1989	1991	Canada only, GMC version of the Geo Tracker
	Typhoon	1992	1993	High performance version of the S-15 Jimmy
	Yukon	1992	current	GMC version of the Chevrolet K5 Blazer (1992-1995) and Chevorlet Tahoe (1995–present)
	Envoy	1998	2009	GMC version of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer
	Yukon Hybrid	2009	2013	GMC version of Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid and Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
	Yukon XL	2001	current	Formerly the Suburban
	Acadia	2007	current	GMC version of the Chevrolet Traverse; became a mid-size crossover SUV commencing with the 2017 model year
	Terrain	2010	current	GMC version of the Chevrolet Equinox

Motorhomes

Image	Model	Introduced	Discontinued	Notes
	GMC motorhome	1973	1978

Military vehicles

Image	Model	Introduced	Discontinued	Notes
	CCKW/CCW	1941	1945
	AFKWX	1941	1945	Cab over engine
	DUKW	1942	1945	Amphibious

Sedans

Image	Model	Introduced	Discontinued	Notes
	Chevette	1992	1995	Rebadged Chevrolet Chevette intended for the Argentinian market

See also

• General Motors
• History of General Motors

References

1. "The First Century of GMC Truck History" (PDF). GM Heritage Center. Donald Meyer. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
2. Theobald, Mark. "Yellow Coach Part 1". Coachbuilt. Coachbuilt. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
3. Stauss, Ed (1988). The Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses. Woodland Hills, CA: Stauss Publications. pp. 29–32, 87, 102–105. ISBN 0-9619830-0-0.
4. Bradsher, Keith (February 20, 1996). "G.M. to Merge GMC Division With Pontiac". New York Times.
5. "GM Getting Out of Medium-Duty Truck Business". NBCNews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
6. No Plans For GMC Versions Of 2019 Silverado 4500HD, 5500HD Medium Duty Truck from GM Authority (January 22, 2018)
7. Paukert, Chris. "Hummer's electrifying return teased in GMC Super Bowl trailer". Roadshow. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
8. Stromberg, Austin W., ed. (January 1928). "New GMC Six Has Pontiac Engine". Power Wagon. XL (277): 64.
9. Hemer, Chris (November 28, 2019). "First Look: 2020 GMC Sierra HD". Trailer Life.
10. "A Brief Outline of the First Century of GMC Truck History". GM Heritage Center. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
11. "List of GM PD Series Parlor Coaches".
12. produced by Yellow Coach 1940–43

External links

• GMC Homepage
• Canadian GMC Homepage
• GMC History (GM's website)
• Official GMC Middle East